HB 1306: Transactional Gold and Silver Act; enact

Georgia currently does not treat gold and silver coins or bullion as legal tender, and there is no state system for storing or spending them. This bill, called the Transactional Gold and Silver Act, would add a new article to Georgia's Office of State Treasurer law recognizing gold and silver specie (coins or bullion meeting purity standards) as legal tender that private parties and government bodies can accept for debts, taxes, and fees if they agree to it. The bill creates a six-member Bullion Depository Commission, appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker, to set up one or more secure depositories for storing gold and silver and an electronic payment system letting account holders spend their holdings with participating vendors. Deposits must be fully insured, kept private, and never used for social credit scoring. The commission must implement the system by January 1, 2028, report annually to the General Assembly starting July 1, 2028, and gold and silver transactions would be exempt from state tax liability. The law would take effect once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature.

• Recognizes gold and silver specie (coins or bullion of specified purity) as legal tender that can be used, by mutual consent, to pay private debts and government taxes or fees.
• Creates a six-member Bullion Depository Commission to set up and regulate one or more secure bullion depositories and an electronic payment system.
• Requires all deposits in the bullion depository to be insured for 100 percent of their replacement value under an all-risk nongovernmental policy.
• Bans use of the electronic payment system or bullion depository records for social credit scoring, surveillance, or behavioral conditioning.
• Exempts the exchange, purchase, or sale of gold and silver specie from state tax liability.
• Sets a January 1, 2028 deadline for the commission to implement the system and requires annual reports to the General Assembly starting July 1, 2028.

Georgians who want to buy, hold, or spend gold and silver as currency; private parties and businesses negotiating debts; state and local governments deciding whether to accept precious metals for taxes and fees; the state treasurer's office; and any depository agents or electronic payment vendors that contract with the new commission.

If enacted, Georgians could choose to pay debts, taxes, or fees in gold and silver where the other party agrees, use a new state-backed depository to store metal, and spend it electronically through participating vendors, all without state tax owed on those exchanges, though no one would be forced to accept it.

• Section 50-5A-24 requires gold coins to be at least 99.5 percent pure and silver coins at least 99.9 percent pure to qualify.
• Section 50-5A-25 makes gold and silver specie legal tender for private debts and government obligations, but only when both parties or the government agree to accept it, and no one is required to accept it.
• Section 50-5A-22 establishes the Bullion Depository Commission with five voting members (appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Speaker) plus the state treasurer as a nonvoting member.
• Section 50-5A-26 directs the commission to set rules for depository security, electronic payment reliability, fraud prevention, and privacy protections for account holders.
• Section 50-5A-28 requires the bullion depository to insure all deposits for 100 percent of full replacement value.
• Section 50-5A-32 states the article does not authorize a central bank digital currency or any surveillance or social credit scoring mechanism.
• Section 50-5A-33 exempts purchases, sales, and exchanges of gold and silver specie from giving rise to tax liability.
• Section 50-5A-31 requires the commission to implement the article by January 1, 2028, with annual reports to the General Assembly starting July 1, 2028.

1. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-17House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-12House Hopper (House)

• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)Primary sponsor
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Johnny Chastain (R, HD-007)
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)

• gold and silver legal tender
• state treasury
• bullion depository
• tax exemptions
• sound money legislation