Arizona governor vetoes bill making gold, silver legal tender

This is OUTRAGEOUS -- a "Republican" vetoing a bill that (a) would have moved Arizona closer to obeying the U.S Constitution (Article I, Section 10) and (b) would have ended up increasing overall revenue for the State. And why? Because it "would result in lost revenue to the state" and give an "unfair tax advantage" to some businesses that deal in this money.

Gov. Brewer obviously doesn't know anything about (a) the U.S. Constitution or (b) economics.

Oh, and who praised her veto? A leading Democrat, of course.

SHAME.

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(Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a measure on Thursday that would have made gold and silver legal tender in the state, saying the legislation could have resulted in lost tax revenue.

The Republican-controlled state legislature voted through the measure last month in a response to what backers said was a lack of confidence in the international monetary system.

The bill called for Arizona to make gold and silver coins and bullion legal tender beginning in mid-2014, joining existing U.S. currency issued by the federal government.

"While I believe the concern over a devalued dollar as a result of an unsustainable federal deficit is justified, I am unable to support this legislation," Brewer, a Republican, said in an open letter to state Senate President Andy Biggs.

Brewer noted that the "administrative and fiscal burdens" for taxpayers and the revenue department "remain vague." She also cited uncertainty over whether the legislation would have required the state to exempt transactions involving collectable coins and bills that were authorized by Congress and could be used as legal tender.

"This would result in lost revenue to the state, while giving businesses that buy and sell collectable coins or currency originally authorized by Congress an unfair tax advantage," she said.

The push to establish gold and silver as currency has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years among some hardline fiscal conservatives, with the backing of groups including the Tea Party movement, American Principles Project and the Gold Standard Institute.

Senator Chester Crandell, a Republican and sponsor of the bill, previously said the ability to use gold and silver in everyday life in the state was still a "work in progress" and that more legislation was needed before it could be viable. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Democratic state Senator Steve Farley, an opponent of the measure who had warned it could create massive problems for businesses and government officials trying to administer what would in effect be a dual monetary system, welcomed the veto.

"I was very pleased the governor showed the common sense to realize this was a terrible move for Arizona that would have caused incredible negative consequences at a government and business level," Farley told Reuters.

Had Brewer signed the measure, Arizona would have become the second state in the nation to establish the precious metals as legal tender. Utah approved such legislation in 2011.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE...

Arizona gold bill moving forward

PHOENIX -- A bill that would make gold and silver legal tender in Arizona has passed both the Arizona Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives.

"All this bill does right now is put into place the language to recognize gold and silver coin as legal tender," said Sen. Chester Crandell, the Heber Republican who authored the bill.

The state Department of Revenue has refused to back the bill, but the Arizona House passed an amendment to the bill ensuring that the Department of Revenue would not have to accept gold and silver as payment. Crandell must approve the amendment before it goes to both houses for a final reading then to Gov. Jan Brewer for signing.

Crandell said the bill would remove the commodities tax currently in place for gold and silver.

"This gives a lot of opportunity for those who would like to use an alternative method of payment," Crandell said.

The current bill only has language in place to add gold and silver as legal forms of currency. It does not include instructions for how merchants would accept payment, though Crandell said it would not necessarily mean that customers would have to lug around gold coins.

"I don’t think we need to go back into the dark ages and everybody has to take their gold coins to the store," Crandell said.

Instead, he said he envisions a system where private companies hold the gold and silver and issue credit or debit cards for people to use.

Arizona Democratic Sen. Steve Farley opposed the bill.

"I’ve looked at some of the charts of the value of gold and silver over time and they are anything but stable," Farley said. "In the 19th century when we had private mints we had counterfeiting problems, depressions, bank runs, and people buying up all the gold coins and cornering the market."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE...

Arizona Gold & Silver "Legal Tender" Act Passes Senate Committee

Yet another State has introduced a version of a "Constitutional Tender Act" -- this time, it's Arizona, where the bill (the "Legal Tender Act") basically recognizes that U.S. Minted gold and silver coins ARE legal tender (which, of course, they are, under U.S. law). What that would mean, if this bill becomes law, is that they would NOT be taxed when exchanged for Federal Reserve Notes, since it's nonsensical to tax exchanges of currencies that are legal tender within the same country. (That would be like going to a bank, asking for two five-dollar bills for a ten, and having to pay a 50-cent tax for the exchange!)

While these kinds of bills (like the Utah law passed in 2011) are not "pure" Constitutional Tender Acts, since they only allow for voluntary exchanges of gold and silver coins (rather than requiring the State to use only gold and silver coins in all transactions, as Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution requires), they are still useful steps towards that ultimate goal of getting back to the Constitution and ending the Federal Reserve from the bottom up.

(To be honest, from a pure Constitutional position, this bill is still unconstitutional, because it states:
1-702(A): Legal tender in this state consists of all of the following: 
1. Legal tender authorized by Congress.
That is in violation of Article I, Section 10, which specifically states that "No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts". This means that no State can make something besides gold or silver a "tender in payment" (which means they cannot "make something else an offer as payment") for any debts -- regardless of whether Congress calls it "legal tender" or not. But let's not be picky at this moment...)

Arizona's Senate Finance Committee voted 4-3 in favor of this bill, so it now goes to the Senate Rules Committee as the next step on the way to a full vote in the Arizona Senate.

By the way, the reporter who wrote the article linked below got it WRONG, as so many reporters often do when discussing Constitutional Tender Bills. Usually, they make the mistake of saying "such-and-such State wants to print their own currency"; this time, the reporter claims that the State wants to make "privately minted gold and silver coins" legal tender. Oh well, at least WE know what's going on...

If you live in Arizona, scroll down to take action in support of this bill!

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Bill before AZ Senate committee called hedge against hyperinflation

February 21, 2013 12:00 am • Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX - Arizonans who fear the federal government will make their folding money worthless may soon be able to substitute privately minted gold and silver coins.

The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday took the first steps to making such coins legal tender in Arizona. SB 1439 would give them the same legal status as the bills and coins authorized by Congress.

Nothing in the proposal by Sen. Chester Crandell, R-Heber, would force anyone to actually accept these coins as payment for any debt. Their use would be voluntary.

But proponents said it's only a matter of time before the country suffers hyperinflation, making the greenback worthless.

"We need to have a lifeboat for Arizona so we can construct Plan B," testified Miles Lester.

The measure is crafted in a way intended to get around a provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars states from minting their own coins. But supporters also note it says states cannot "make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts."

That, they contend, permits states to recognize coins minted by others.

Crandell said the ultimate bottom line is a lack of confidence in the dollar - or at least the real value of the dollar, what with the Federal Reserve continuing to print new money.

"I think you can see that all over the country," he said. Countries including China are moving to have their own currencies recognized as an international standard "because the dollar doesn't do what it used to do."

But Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, questioned whether something else was at play. He said a similar Utah law adopted in 2011 was pushed by Old Glory Mint, a company that makes these gold and silver coins.

Beyond that, Farley said while the current financial system has its flaws, the country hasn't had the financial panics that occurred regularly in the 19th century.

"I don't see the need to go back to something that has proven to fail," he said.

But Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, said there may be reason to worry.

"We've never had this amount of debt as a country," he said. And Worsley said if people want the right to use silver and gold coins as legal tender, "I'm OK with that."

Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, said she wasn't going to speculate on the soundness of the dollar. But she agreed to go along, saying, "I don't see where it could hurt, either."

One thing the legislation would do is say taxes incurred by people using these coins "shall be paid proportionately in the same legal tender." Crandell said that is designed to ensure that people are paying only what they owe, without fear of losing value based on some artificial exchange rate.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE...

If you live in Arizona, you can voice your opinion about SB 1439 by contacting your Arizona Legislators. For their contact information, visit: http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp

Tell your Legislators that this bill is about more than politics - it's about the U.S. Constitution, it's about ARIZONA, and it's about saving the money of the citizens of this State!