Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed a bill allowing Texas residents to use gold or silver as legal tender in transactions. The bill, HB 1056, allows the comptroller to create “one or more electronic systems that enable depositors, or vendors on behalf of depositors, to make and receive payments that are backed by bullion held in the depository.”
Abbott declared upon signing the bill that it “fulfills the promise of Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution.”
The Constitution asserts: “No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.”
State Representative Mark Dorazio (R), the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement, “Texas is the state best positioned to lead on transactional gold, and House Bill 1056 is an authorization, not a mandate.” He noted that the “establishment of the Texas transactional gold program rests in the hands of the next Comptroller.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a similar bill in May. The bill, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, states, “Such tax shall be at a rate of 6 percent of the price at which the coin or currency is sold, exchanged, or traded, except that, with respect to a coin or currency that which is legal tender of the United States or any gold coin or silver coin recognized as legal tender in this state … and that which is sold, exchanged, or traded, such tax shall not be levied.”
