SB 132 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Legal Tender

Summary

Legal Tender; Requiring the Department of Financial Services to contract with an appropriate vendor to conduct a specified study and submit a report to the Legislature by a specified date; prohibiting the vendor from having certain relationships; requiring, by a specified date, the department to provide proposed statutory and administrative rule language if certain conditions are met, etc.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Apr 29, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 132 c1 → S 132 c2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten from a comprehensive legal tender reform into a study mandate. The new version removes all provisions that would actually make gold and silver coin legal tender, instead requiring the Department of Financial Services to conduct a study on whether the state should recognize such coins as legal tender.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from implementing legal tender laws to conducting a feasibility study. All substantive provisions about gold and silver coin recognition, sales tax exemptions, custodianship requirements, and financial institution obligations were removed.

SCOPE

All provisions establishing gold and silver coin as legal tender were removed, including definitions, sales tax exemptions, and requirements for businesses to accept such coins.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for the Department of Financial Services to contract with a vendor to conduct a study on whether Florida should recognize gold and silver coin as legal tender, with a report due December 1, 2025.

Added detailed requirements for the study report, including specific topics on constitutional authority, practical considerations, financial system impacts, tax implications, and public policy considerations.

Added provision requiring the department to submit proposed statutory and administrative rule language by January 1, 2026, if the study recommends recognition of gold and silver coin as legal tender.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed all enforcement provisions including licensing requirements for custodians, prohibitions on refusing to accept legal tender, and disciplinary actions for violations.

TIMELINE

Changed effective date from unspecified to immediate upon becoming law, but the substantive changes will only take effect after the study is completed and recommendations are made.

S 132 Filed → S 132 c1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill was significantly revised by the Banking and Insurance Committee to narrow its scope and add regulatory oversight. The original version broadly defined 'specie' to include foreign coins and bullion, while the committee version restricts legal tender status to only gold and silver coin with specific purity requirements (99.5% for gold, 99.9% for silver). The revision also creates a new licensing framework for custodians of precious metals and adds requirements for financial institutions and money services businesses handling these assets.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from allowing any recognized foreign or domestic specie as legal tender to only gold and silver coin meeting specific purity standards. The revision also adds comprehensive regulatory requirements for custodians, financial institutions, and money services businesses that were not present in the original version.

DEFINITION

Changed legal tender definition from 'specie' (including foreign coins and bullion) to specifically 'gold coin' (99.5% purity) and 'silver coin' (99.9% purity), excluding jewelry and other precious metal items.

REQUIREMENT

Created new licensing requirements for custodians of gold and silver coin, requiring security measures, insurance, audits, and compliance with state regulations.

Added restrictions requiring financial institutions and money services businesses to either refuse gold/silver coin transactions or comply with specific custody, insurance, and security requirements.

TIMELINE

Changed effective date from July 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026 for gold and silver coin legal tender status.

ENFORCEMENT

Added provisions requiring the Department of Financial Services to submit a report on implementation progress and challenges by January 1, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified tax exemption provisions to place the burden on the seller to prove gold or silver coin meets purity requirements, with a presumption of compliance based on stamped purity.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations, 04/22/25, 11:00 am, 110 Senate Building

upper

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Banking and Insurance, 03/31/25, 1:30 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Committee

Referred to Banking and Insurance; Finance and Tax; Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors