SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

CS/CS/HB 1415

Use of Digital Currency by the Department of Financial Services

VERSION H 1415 c2 · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the use of digital currency by the
3 Department of Financial Services; creating s. 17.72,
4 F.S.; establishing the Florida Stablecoin Pilot
5 Program within the Department of Financial Services;
6 providing legislative intent; providing definitions;
7 authorizing the department to engage in certain
8 activities; authorizing the department to designate
9 one or more payment stablecoins for certain
10 activities; requiring that certain payment stablecoins
11 meet specified criteria; authorizing the department to
12 accept payment stablecoins; authorizing program
13 participants to elect to voluntarily participate in
14 the program and remit payment stablecoins to a
15 compatible digital wallet address; requiring certain
16 participants to provide the department with a
17 compatible digital wallet address; requiring the
18 department to comply with certain requirements;
19 requiring the department to provide a compatible
20 digital wallet address for a specified purpose;
21 authorizing the department to conduct examinations,
22 audits, and investigations of permitted payment
23 stablecoin issuers; requiring the department to
24 coordinate with the Office of Financial Regulation
25 under certain circumstances; requiring the department
26 to monitor and evaluate the pilot program and collect
27 certain data; requiring the department to submit an
28 annual report containing certain information to the
29 Governor and Legislature, beginning on a specified
30 date and annually thereafter; providing construction;
31 authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
32 an effective date.
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36 Section 1. Section 17.72, Florida Statutes, is created to
37 read:
38 17.72 Florida Stablecoin Pilot Program.—There is
39 established within the department the Florida Stablecoin Pilot
40 Program. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Florida
41 Stablecoin Pilot Program yield benefits from the acceptance of
42 payment stablecoins as a form of payment for governmental fees
43 through this voluntary pilot program.
44 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
45 (a) "Blockchain" means a mathematically secured,
46 chronological, decentralized, distributed, and digital ledger or
47 database that consists of records of transactions that cannot be
48 altered retroactively.
49 (b) "Compatible digital wallet address" means the address
50 of a software application that securely stores private keys for
51 accessing and completing transactions with payment stablecoins.
52 (c) "Digital asset" means any digital representation of
53 value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured digital
54 ledger.
55 (d) "Exchange platform" means a company licensed and
56 regulated by the Federal Government or a state government which
57 provides trading, custody, or money transmission services of
58 payment stablecoins or other digital assets.
59 (e) "Exchange platform fee" means a fee charged by an
60 exchange platform for the trading, custody, or money
61 transmission services of payment stablecoins or other digital
62 assets.
63 (f) "Federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer" means
64 any of the following:
65 1. A nonbank entity, other than a state qualified payment
66 stablecoin issuer, approved by the Office of the Comptroller of
67 the Currency to issue payment stablecoins.
68 2. An uninsured national bank that is chartered by the
69 Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pursuant to title LXII
70 of the Revised Statutes and is approved to issue payment
71 stablecoins. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term
72 "national bank" has the same meaning as in the GENIUS Act, Pub.
73 L. No. 119-27.
74 3. A federal branch that is approved by the Office of the
75 Comptroller of the Currency to issue payment stablecoins. For
76 purposes of this subparagraph, the term "federal branch" has the
77 same meaning as in s. 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12
78 U.S.C. s. 1813.
79 (g) "Network fee" means the cost paid by a user to have a
80 transaction processed and confirmed on a blockchain network.
81 (h)1. "Payment stablecoin" means a digital asset that
82 meets all of the following requirements:
83 a. Is, or is designed to be, used as a means of payment or
84 settlement.
85 b. The issuer of which:
86 (I) Is obligated to convert, redeem, or repurchase the
87 digital asset for a fixed amount of monetary value, not
88 including a digital asset denominated in a fixed amount of
89 monetary value.
90 (II) Represents that such issuer will maintain, or create
91 the reasonable expectation that it will maintain, a stable value
92 relative to the value of a fixed amount of monetary value.
93 2. The term does not include a digital asset that is any
94 of the following:
95 a. A national currency as defined in the GENIUS Act, Pub.
96 L. No. 119-27.
97 b. A deposit as defined in section 3 of the Federal
98 Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. s. 1813, including a deposit
99 recorded using distributed ledger technology. For purposes of
100 this sub-subparagraph, the term "distributed ledger" has the
101 same meaning as in the GENIUS Act, Pub. L. No. 119-27.
102 c. A security as defined in s. 517.021, section 2 of the
103 Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. s. 77b, section 3 of the
104 Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. s. 78c, or
105 section 2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. s.
106 80a-2.
107 (i) "Permitted payment stablecoin issuer" means a person
108 formed in the United States which is one of the following:
109 1. A subsidiary of an insured depository institution that
110 has been approved to issue payment stablecoins under the GENIUS
111 Act, Pub. L. No. 119-27. For purposes of this subparagraph, the
112 term "insured depository institution" has the same meaning as in
113 the GENIUS Act, Pub. L. No. 119-27.
114 2. A federal qualified payment stablecoin issuer.
115 3. A state qualified payment stablecoin issuer.
116 (j) "State payment stablecoin regulator" means the Office
117 of Financial Regulation. The term also includes a state agency
118 in another state that has primary regulatory and supervisory
119 authority in such state over entities that issue payment
120 stablecoins.
121 (k) "State qualified payment stablecoin issuer" means an
122 entity legally established under the laws of a state and
123 approved to issue payment stablecoins by a state payment
124 stablecoin regulator.
125 (2) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.—
126 (a) The department may engage in any of the following
127 activities that meet the requirements of this section:
128 1. Accept payment stablecoin for the payment of authorized
129 fees as provided in paragraph (c).
130 2. Issue refunds, reimbursements, or other similar
131 disbursements in the form of payment stablecoins to any
132 participant who elects to receive a payment in such form. The
133 department may purchase payment stablecoins in an amount that is
134 necessary to support such activity.
135 3. Hold payment stablecoin. If such payment stablecoin
136 does not earn any interest or yields, the department may hold
137 payment stablecoin only in the amount that is estimated to be
138 required to issue refunds, reimbursements, or other similar
139 disbursements during a revolving 30-day period. Any direct or
140 indirect yields earned with respect to payment stablecoins shall
141 be credited to the benefit of the state.
142 (b) The department may designate one or more payment
143 stablecoins for activities authorized in paragraph (a). Any
144 payment stablecoin that is accepted, purchased, held, or
145 disbursed by the department pursuant to this section must meet
146 all of the following criteria:
147 1. Have an average market capitalization of at least $1
148 billion during the preceding 12-month period.
149 2. Be fully backed by reserve assets on a one-to-one basis
150 limited to United States currency, demand deposits at insured
151 depository institutions, United States Treasury bills having a
152 remaining maturity of 93 days or less, or reverse repurchase
153 agreements collateralized by such treasury bills.
154 3. Be redeemable at all times at a one-to-one ratio for
155 United States dollars through the permitted payment stablecoin
156 issuer or its agent.
157 4. Be issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer.
158 5. Be purchased by the department directly from a
159 permitted payment stablecoin issuer through a blockchain network
160 or indirectly through an exchange platform, or received by the
161 department from a program participant.
162 6. Be subject, if network fees or exchange platform fees
163 are paid by the department, only to reasonable fees that do not
164 exceed the fees that would be charged to the department if
165 payment were accepted by similar mediums of exchange.
166 7. Except as otherwise provided in this section, be issued
167 by an issuer that meets any additional criteria for a permitted
168 payment stablecoin issuer under any applicable federal or state
169 law including, but not limited to, the GENIUS Act, Pub. L. No.
170 119-27.
171 (c) The department may accept payment stablecoins as a
172 form of payment for fees that include, but are not limited to,
173 licensing fees, registration fees, certification fees,
174 assessment fees, application fees, renewal fees, other
175 regulatory fees administered by the department, or any other fee
176 owed to the department.
177 (d) An applicant, a licensee, or other program participant
178 may elect to voluntarily participate in the pilot program and
179 remit payment stablecoins to a compatible digital wallet address
180 designated by the department as a valid form of payment for any
181 fee authorized in paragraph (c).
182 (e) A participant that elects to receive from the
183 department a refund, reimbursement, or other similar
184 disbursement in the form of payment stablecoin must provide the
185 department with a compatible digital wallet address where such
186 payment may be sent.
187 (3) DEPARTMENT DUTIES.—
188 (a) The department must comply with all of the following
189 requirements:
190 1. Ensure that any payment stablecoin issuer designated
191 for use in the pilot program is a permitted payment stablecoin
192 issuer. If the Federal Government has not approved any federal
193 qualified payment stablecoin issuers and no state payment
194 stablecoin regulator has approved any state qualified payment
195 stablecoin issuers, the department may not engage in any of the
196 activities authorized in subsection (2).
197 2. Provide a compatible digital wallet address to any
198 participant that elects to participate in the voluntary pilot
199 program for the payment of any fees authorized in paragraph
200 (2)(c) to be paid in the form of payment stablecoins.
201 3. Within a reasonable time after receiving a payment
202 stablecoin from any program participant, convert the payment
203 stablecoin into United States currency and credit the applicable
204 account where the funds would be held in a qualified public
205 depository, unless an exception applies pursuant to s. 280.03,
206 in the same manner as a payment made by any other authorized
207 means. The department must attempt to minimize the amount of
208 potential fees, if applicable, when determining the date and
209 time to convert the payment stablecoin.
210 (b) The department may conduct examinations, audits, or
211 investigations of a permitted payment stablecoin issuer of a
212 payment stablecoin designated for use in the pilot program to
213 verify asset backing, redeemability, and adherence to consumer
214 protection standards, including standards related to fraud
215 prevention and dispute resolution. To the extent that the
216 department intends to engage in such conduct as to a state
217 qualified payment stablecoin issuer, the department must
218 coordinate with the Office of Financial Regulation to avoid
219 duplicated efforts and to efficiently regulate such issuer.
220 (4) REPORTING.—
221 (a) The department shall monitor and evaluate the pilot
222 program and collect data on transaction volume, cost savings,
223 security incidents, regulatory compliance, and economic impacts,
224 as well as any instances of fraud or disputes.
225 (b) Beginning February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter,
226 the department must submit a report to the Governor, the
227 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
228 Representatives which must include all of the following:
229 1. A summary of the data collected pursuant to paragraph
230 (a).
231 2. Any findings the department makes with respect to the
232 pilot program which include, but are not limited to, findings
233 regarding any trends or patterns relating to financial matters,
234 such as fiscal impacts, or nonfinancial matters, such as
235 utilization analysis.
236 3. Any recommendations for expansion or termination of the
237 pilot program.
238 4. Any proposed statutory changes, if appropriate.
239 (5) CONSTRUCTION.—This section:
240 (a) Does not alter or supersede any existing statutory fee
241 obligations, licensing requirements, or enforcement authority of
242 the department.
243 (b) Authorizes the acceptance of payment stablecoins as an
244 optional payment method and does not require or authorize the
245 acceptance of any other digital asset.
246 (c) May not be construed to relieve the Chief Financial
247 Officer or the department of any obligation to secure public
248 funds, including any payment stablecoins, in a qualified public
249 depository unless an exemption applies pursuant to s. 280.03 or,
250 with respect to payment stablecoins, to hold such stablecoins in
251 a manner similar to how direct United States Treasury
252 obligations are held pursuant to s. 17.57(2)(a).
253 (d) Authorizes the department to give preference to, when
254 designating payment stablecoins for use in the pilot program
255 pursuant to paragraph (2)(b), state qualified payment stablecoin
256 issuers approved by the Office of Financial Regulation.
257 (6) RULEMAKING.—The department may adopt rules to
258 implement this section.
259 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.