Lawmakers in New York have introduced four bills related to blockchain technology, smart contracts and digital currencies.
If passed, the proposed legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Clyde Vanel would amend the New York state technology law to to define “blockchain technology” and “smart contracts”, as well as create specialized working parties tasked with studying blockchain technology application and digital currencies impact within the state of New York.
New York Assembly Bill 8780: Blockchain technology and smart contracts defined
The proposed legislation relates to allowing signatures, records and contracts secured through blockchain technology to be considered in an electronic form and allows smart contracts to exist in commerce.
Bill 8780 would add sections to New York’s technology law to define “blockchain technology” and “smart contract”, as well as clarify the legal status of electronic signatures stored on blockchain.
According to the proposed bill, Section 302 of the New York state technology law is amended by adding two new subdivisions in reference to blockchain technology and smart contracts, as follows:
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“Blockchain technology shall mean distributed ledger technology that uses a distributed, decentralized, shared and replicated ledger, which may be public or private, permissioned or permissionless, or driven by tokenized crypto economics or tokenless. The data on the ledger is protected with cryptography, is immutable and auditable and provides an uncensored truth.”
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“Smart contract shall mean an event-driven program that runs on a distributed, decentralized, shared and replicated ledger and that can take custody over and instruct transfer of assets on that ledger.”
New York Assembly Bill 8783: Creates a digital currency task force
The proposed bill creates a digital currency task force to provide the governor and the legislature with information on the potential effects of the widespread implementation of digital currencies on New York financial markets.
If passed, Bill 8783 would create a specialized working party tasked with:
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examining and evaluating digital currencies within the state of New York;
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identifying the potential effects of the widespread implementation of digital currencies on financial markets;
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reviewing the impact of the department’s BitLicense program on the use of digital currencies;
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making recommendations to further utilize digital currencies within the state of New York;
New York Assembly Bill 8792: Use of blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results
The bill directs the state board of elections to study and evaluate the use of blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results.
Bill 8792 gives the state board of elections one year to study the use of blockchain technology in preventing voter fraud, improving cybersecurity for digital voting platforms, and maintaining better voter records. The collected data will be submitted to the New York governor and legislature.
New York Assembly Bill 8793: Use of blockchain technology in state record keeping
The bill establishes a task force to study and report on the potential implementation of blockchain technology in state record keeping, information storage, and service delivery.
Bill 8793 establishes a ten-member task force to assess the feasibility, economic impacts and effectiveness of the implementation of blockchain technology in state record keeping, information storage, and service delivery.
According to the New York bill, the task force is required to present a final report due later than January 1, 2019.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency bills introduced in New York legislature – Image source: pixabay
