Arizona legislators voted to breathe new life into a bill that would expand the forfeiting laws of the State to record digital assets and set up a new Bitcoin Reserve Fund.
After a motion of 19 June in the Senate, House Bill 2324 went back to the House of Representatives of Arizona for reconsideration.
The measure, which previously had not passed on May 7, was reduced after a narrow 16-14 senate to vote.
Republican senator Janae Shamp, one of the legislators who initially voted against the bill, submitted the motion to reconsider.
It must now secure a majority voice of the 60-person house, where Republicans have 33 seats, after which it will transfer to the office of Governor Katie Hobbs for possible approval.
What is HB 2324?
HB 2324 proposes the establishment of a “Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve Fund” to seize assets via criminal forfeiture. It contributes to the existing forfeiting laws of Arizona to record formal digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, the expansion of legal definitions to cover virtual currency and other items with only digital value with economic value.
The bill outlines new procedures for law enforcement agencies to seize, open and store digital assets, including requirements to use safe digital portfolios approved by the state.
Under the proposed allocation system, the first $ 300,000 would be addressed to forfeited digital assets at the office of the attorney general. Any remaining value would be divided, 50% for the attorney general, 25% of the general fund of the state, and 25% for the newly established reserve fund.
HB 2324 also clarifies regulations for the forfeiture of real estate by adding protection for innocent owners and determining limits when other real estate types, such as vehicles, can be taken up.
Proponents of the bill claim that the changes are needed to keep pace with the growing role of digital assets in criminal investigations and economic activity.
HB 2324 differs considerably from House Bill 2749, who signed Governor Hobbs on the same day in the law that was initially rejected the first.
HB 2749 enables the State to claim digital assets that have not been claimed for at least three years. These assets must be transferred to the Arizona Department of Revenue in their original digital form.
In contrast to HB 2324, HB 2749 has no to do with criminal forfeiture or procedures for law enforcement. Instead, it establishes a regulation process for identifying and managing abandoned assets, together with a reserve fund that may receive rewards or airdrops.
It is important that HB 2749 prohibits the use of tax money, only aimed at assets that are already in state ownership due to desolation.
Both accounts include creating a “bitcoin and digital assets reserve fund”, but the financing mechanisms and purposes differ.
The Fund of HB 2749 comes from non -required properties and is subject to the legislative -owning, while the version of HB 2324 is bound to seized assets of the criminal proceedings.
Arizona is not the only state that takes steps to integrate digital assets into public finances. Earlier this year, New Hampshire House Bill 302 passed and became the first US state to authorize his treasurer to invest up to 10% of public funds in Bitcoin and other qualifying digital assets with a market capitalization of more than $ 500 billion.
