One of the things that is so great about The Valley Grassroots is that we see a ton of great information coming from our friends and members.  Tim brought this potential bill to our attention and we just had to share it.  It is called the Honest Money Act and is out of Indiana.  Here the release on this bill:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2009

Indiana State Senator Files Gold Money Bill Senate Bill 453, The Indiana Honest Money Act Indiana Picks Up Where New Hampshire Left Off !

Indianapolis, Indiana — State Senator Greg Walker of District 41, (R-Columbus), has officially filed a Bill that would allow Indiana to offer its citizens a choice of Gold (and Silver) coin or the Electronic equivalent in payable and receivable transactions with the state. This bold bill will finally bring Indiana back into conformance with the Constitution for the United States of America which states “No state shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts…” Article 1, Section 10.

The Indiana Honest Money Act will be voluntary for citizens, but mandatory for certain, specialized businesses and will allow Indiana to fund the Treasury with enough assets insuring that no current state funds will need to be earmarked. S.B. 453 is NOT a replacement for Federal Reserve Notes, but more of a competing, Constitutional currency and an insurance policy for our current, tenuous “money” system.

Indiana is picking up where New Hampshire left off in their attempt to get essentially the same Bill passed back in 2003 and 2005. The Bill was written by eminently qualified Constitutional Money Scholar and practicing Constitutional Lawyer, Dr. Edwin Vieira of Virginia. Jerry Titus of Kokomo, a Senior Field Service Engineer, worked to take New Hampshire’s Constitutionally compliant wording of Dr. Vieira’s Bill, and adapted it for Indiana’s unique purposes.

This exciting juncture is only the beginning of S.B. 453 as it needs to be approved by the Tax and Fiscal Committee for House consideration, etc., and will probably be subject to debate and possible amendments. There will be about 700 Bills under consideration in the current Legislature and only about 200 will survive to be voted on.

END Article

This is really interesting stuff.  I especially like the part that talks of “Electronic equivalent.”  One of the complaints that I have heard about going back to gold and silver backed currency is that it is too hard to break apart for smaller purchases, or is inconvenient to carry around.  Technology really gives us a great opportunity here.  Peter Schiff touched on this idea in his book “Crash Proof.”  Truly exciting and interesting stuff.  What do you think?  Can you dig it?

Please comment and share!

1. Bridget Says:
   January 16th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

   Let’s get this in our state!

   Find an ambitious legislator willing to sponsor a similar bill. Contact legislators. And fast. The deadline for ND reps to introduce bills is January 19. The deadline for ND senators to introduce bills in January 26.

   http://www.legis.nd.gov/docs/pdf/eventsnews.pdf

   Find your reps and senators here:

   http://www.legis.nd.gov/

   It would stand out from the lot that are being introduced. You can check those out here:

   http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/61-2009/leginfo/bills-res-jour/index.html

   If you don’t like what’s on the table, call your legislators and let them know.

   Thanks for the info Tim.

   Keep up the good work! We don’t have much time so do it! Don’t wait for someone else to do it!

   Bridget

2. Brian Says:
   January 16th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

   This sounds like a great mission for TVG. Great info!