CA lawmaker introduces legislation to accept crypto as payment for govt services

Published at: Feb. 21, 2022

California State Senator Sydney Kamlager, representing the 30th Senate District including parts of downtown Los Angeles, has introduced a bill which would amend the state’s code to allow for the acceptance of cryptocurrencies for certain payments.

According to Senate Bill 1275 introduced in the California Legislature on Feb. 18, Kamlager proposed authorizing a state agency “to accept cryptocurrency as a method of payment for the provision of government services.” The modification of the current state law, which allows for the establishment of state agencies to provide services to residents which require payments, would add crypto to the list of acceptable payment methods.

The adoption of crypto and blockchain seems to be a prominent issue for many candidates running for office in California in 2022. Aarika Rhodes, an elementary school teacher running to represent the state’s 30th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, is accepting Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens for campaign contributions in her efforts to unseat anti-crypto lawmaker Brad Sherman.

The crypto bill is the latest move by lawmakers on the state level seemingly to address any potential regulatory uncertainty around digital assets. Last week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he expects the state to accept tax payments using cryptocurrencies by summer 2022. In addition, a Tennessee state representative introduced a bill earlier this month which would allow the state to invest in crypto and nonfungible tokens.

Related: California named ‘most crypto ready’ US state

Though many of the pushes for state-level regulation of crypto have been from Republican lawmakers, Kamlager and others suggesting similar legislation — as well as efforts at the federal level — seem to suggest that the space can be open to more than one political party. Patrick McHenry, a Republican representing North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, called for “broad, bipartisan consensus” in January over issues potentially affecting the crypto industry.

Cointelegraph reached out to Senator Kamlager’s staff, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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