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TX Gov Signs Law Allowing Texans to Use Gold, Silver as Legal Tender
"I signed a law authorizing Texans to use gold & silver as legal tender in day-to-day financial transactions," the Texas governor declared on X Sunday after signing House Bill 1056.
"It fulfills the promise of Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution," he added.
Article I, Section 10 Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution states:
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.
The law, which takes partial effect May 1, 2026, and goes into full effect Sept. 1, 2026, authorizes the State Comptroller's office to establish electronic payment systems "backed by bullion" stored at the Texas Bullion Depository, though it does not require vendors accept the precious metals as payment.
Gold and silver used in transactions must also meet certain requirements, and cannot be minted by governments, but bullion from private minters like Apmex is fine.
Bill author Rep. Mark Dorazio (R-San Antonio) at one point in 2024 said the measure "makes gold and silver functional money in Texas," adding, "It has to be functional, it has to be practical and it has to be usable."
In 1933, in order to stop Americans from hoarding gold amid the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order requiring residents to remit gold coins, bullion, and certificates back to the U.S. government in exchange for Federal Reserve notes backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, greasing the skids for America to be taken off the gold standard.
The move comes as Gov. Abbott last week signed a bill authorizing the creation of a Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which would hold the cryptocurrency as one of the state's assets, with the law stating "bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can serve as a hedge against inflation and economic volatility."