Bill Text: NY A08780 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to allowing signatures, records and contracts secured through blockchain technology to be considered in an electronic form and to be an electronic record and signature; allows smart contracts to exist in commerce.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A08780 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A08780-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8780
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    November 27, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations
        AN ACT to amend the state technology  law,  in  relation  to  blockchain
          technology and smart contracts
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 302 of the  state  technology  law  is  amended  by
     2  adding two new subdivisions 6 and 7 to read as follows:
     3    6.  "Blockchain  technology"  shall mean distributed ledger technology
     4  that uses a distributed, decentralized, shared  and  replicated  ledger,
     5  which may be public or private, permissioned or permissionless, or driv-
     6  en by tokenized crypto economics or tokenless. The data on the ledger is
     7  protected  with cryptography, is immutable and auditable and provides an
     8  uncensored truth.
     9    7. "Smart contract" shall mean an event-driven program that runs on  a
    10  distributed,  decentralized,  shared  and replicated ledger and that can
    11  take custody over and instruct transfer of assets on that ledger.
    12    § 2. The state technology law is amended by adding a new  section  310
    13  to read as follows:
    14    §  310.  Signatures  and records secured through blockchain technology
    15  and smart contracts. 1. A signature that is secured  through  blockchain
    16  technology  is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an elec-
    17  tronic signature.
    18    2. A record or contract that is secured through blockchain  technology
    19  is  considered  to  be  in  an  electronic  form and to be an electronic
    20  record.
    21    3. Smart contracts may exist in commerce. A  contract  relating  to  a
    22  transaction  may  not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability
    23  solely because that contract contains a smart contract term.
    24    4. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the  contrary,
    25  a  person  that,  in  or  affecting interstate or foreign commerce, uses
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13679-01-7
        A. 8780                             2
     1  blockchain technology to secure information that the person owns or  has
     2  the  right  to  use  retains  the  same  rights of ownership or use with
     3  respect to that information as before the person secured the information
     4  using  blockchain technology. This subdivision does not apply to the use
     5  of blockchain technology to secure  information  in  connection  with  a
     6  transaction  to  the  extent that the terms of the transaction expressly
     7  provide for the transfer of rights of ownership or use with  respect  to
     8  that  information.
     9    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.