Bill Text: NJ S846 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes gold and silver transactional currency system; designates Commissioner of Banking and Insurance as administrator; provides legal tender status; authorizes fees.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S846 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S846-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes gold and silver transactional currency system; designates Commissioner of Banking and Insurance as administrator; provides legal tender status; authorizes fees.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the establishment of gold and silver transactional currency and supplementing Title 17 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Bullion" means refined gold or silver in bulk form, traded by weight and typically cast as ingots.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
"Gold and silver transactional currency" means the electronic representation of gold and silver specie and bullion held in the pooled depository account as established under this act.
"Pooled depository account" means the account established under this act to hold gold and silver specie and bullion backing the transactional currency.
"Qualified depository institution" means a depository institution that is authorized to do business in this State, maintains adequate insurance coverage for the protection of deposited precious metals, and meets such other requirements as the commissioner may establish by regulation.
"Specie" means coins made of gold or silver.
"Transactional currency system" means the electronic system established under this act that enables persons to make and receive payments using currency backed by gold and silver bullion.
2. a. The commissioner may establish and provide for the issuance of a gold and silver transactional currency that represents a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold or silver, as applicable, held in trust as provided by this act.
b. The commissioner may contract with one or more private vendors to establish the gold and silver transactional currency system or perform other duties under this act. To the extent consistent with State and federal law, in contracting with a private vendor under this subsection, the commissioner shall give preference to a vendor whose principal place of business is in this State.
c. In establishing the gold and silver transactional currency, the commissioner shall provide a means to ensure that a person who holds the currency may:
(1) use the currency for payment of obligations; and
(2) by electronic means readily transfer or assign the currency to another person.
3. a. To the extent authorized by Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution, gold and silver specie that meet the requirements of this section are legal tender in this State for the payment of debts.
b. To be legal tender in this State, gold and silver specie:
(1) shall be imprinted, stamped, or otherwise marked with the specie's weight and purity and may be imprinted, stamped, or otherwise marked with a name or symbol that identifies a refiner or mint of the specie; and
(2) except for the information described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, may not be imprinted, stamped, or otherwise marked with any name, symbol, or other information or design, including any suggestion that the specie has been minted or issued by a government.
c. This section shall not:
(1) restrict the electronic transfer of gold and silver specie or gold and silver transactional currency for the payment of a debt;
(2) apply to United States coins or currency issued or recognized under federal law; or
(3) prohibit or limit the legal tender, acceptance, or use of Federal Reserve notes in the payment of a debt.
4. A person shall not be required to offer or accept gold and silver specie or gold and silver transactional currency for the payment of a debt, for deposit, or for any other purpose. The acceptance of such currency shall be voluntary on the part of both parties to any transaction.
5. a. The commissioner, serving as trustee, or another person the commissioner appoints to serve as trustee, shall hold in trust on behalf of gold and silver transactional currency holders all gold and silver specie and bullion owned or purchased for the purposes of issuing the currency. The trustee shall maintain enough gold and silver specie or bullion to provide for the redemption of all units of the currency issued but not redeemed.
b. The trustee shall establish a pooled depository account with a qualified depository institution to hold in trust as trustee on behalf of gold and silver transactional currency holders all gold and silver specie and bullion owned and allocated or purchased for purposes of issuing the currency.
6. a. The commissioner may issue to a person the appropriate number of units and fractional units of gold and silver transactional currency when the person, together with any fee charged under section 9 of this act:
(1) makes the appropriate payment to the commissioner for the commissioner to purchase gold or silver specie or bullion for the pooled depository account to be represented by the currency; or
(2) designates gold or silver specie or bullion held in a qualified depository account to be transferred to the pooled depository account for the purpose of being represented by the currency.
b. On receiving payment under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall:
(1) using the money received, purchase gold or silver specie or bullion in the number of fractional troy ounces equal to the number of units or fractional units of gold and silver transactional currency to be issued to the person under subsection a. of this section;
(2) deposit for the person the gold or silver specie or bullion purchased under paragraph (1) of this subsection into the pooled depository account; and
(3) issue to the person a gold and silver transactional currency account, or, if applicable, add to an existing account held by the person, the number of units or fractional units of gold and silver transactional currency equal to the amount of specie or bullion that the money received from the person would buy on the date the payment is received.
7. a. A person who holds gold and silver transactional currency may present to the commissioner any number of units or fractional units of the currency to redeem for United States dollars.
b. On receipt of a person's request for redemption, the commissioner shall:
(1) sell from the gold or silver specie or bullion held in the pooled depository account a number of fractional troy ounces equal to the number of units or fractional units of gold and silver transactional currency being redeemed; and
(2) provide to the person an amount of United States dollars equal to the amount received from the sale of the gold and silver specie or bullion under paragraph (1) of this subsection, less the amount of any fee charged under section 9 of this act.
8. a. A person who holds gold and silver transactional currency may present to the commissioner any number of units or fractional units of the currency to redeem for an equal fractional number of troy ounces of gold or silver specie or bullion from the pooled depository account.
b. On receipt of a request for redemption, the commissioner shall:
(1) withdraw the equivalent fractional number of troy ounces of gold or silver specie or bullion from the pooled depository account; and
(2) on the payment of any fee charged under section 9 of this act, deliver the gold or silver specie or bullion to the requestor.
9. The commissioner may establish reasonable fees for the issuance, maintenance, transfer, or redemption of gold and silver transactional currency to cover the commissioner's costs in administering this act. The commissioner shall deposit fee proceeds, after deducting administrative costs, to the credit of the General Fund.
10. Money received under section 6 of this act, gold or silver specie or bullion purchased or deposited in the pooled depository account, and money received from the sale of gold or silver specie or bullion in response to redemption requests shall:
a. be held by the commissioner as trustee outside the State treasury on behalf of persons who hold gold and silver transactional currency; and
b. not be available for legislative appropriation.
11. The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as necessary or convenient to implement this act, including rules and regulations to:
a. ensure the security of gold or silver specie or bullion, gold and silver transactional currency, transactions, and related data;
b. prevent fraud;
c. determine the value of gold and silver transactional currency at the time of transactions;
d. establish standards for qualified depository institutions;
e. approve vendors to provide electronic systems described in this act; and
f. prohibit transactions involving foreign adversaries or entities known to engage in illegal activities.
12. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment, except that the commissioner may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a voluntary gold and silver transactional currency system in New Jersey. The bill creates an electronic currency system backed by gold and silver held in trust, providing an alternative transactional medium while maintaining existing monetary systems. The bill designates the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance as the administrator of the system, with authority to contract with private vendors for implementation. The bill recognizes qualifying gold and silver specie as legal tender under constitutional authority and creates electronic transactional currency backed by precious metals held in pooled depository accounts. Participation in the system is voluntary with no requirement for acceptance of the currency by any party. The bill provides full redemption rights for currency holders in either United States dollars or physical precious metals and includes security and anti-fraud protections. Trust fund protections prevent legislative appropriation of backing assets, and the bill includes a delayed effective date to allow for proper system implementation and regulatory framework development.
