Arizona governor rejects Bitcoin reserve bill HB 2324, says it hurts asset forfeiture cooperation

Key Takeaways

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed HB 2324, which proposed a state-managed Bitcoin and digital asset reserve fund.
The invoice aimed to permit funding of seized crypto belongings however was criticized for probably disincentivizing native regulation enforcement cooperation.

Arizona’s Home Invoice 2324 (HB 2324), which was revived final month in a bid to kind a reserve of Bitcoin and different digital belongings from prison forfeitures, didn’t turn into regulation after Governor Katie Hobbs rejected the proposal on Tuesday.

In a veto issued on July 1, Hobbs mentioned the invoice would disincentivize native regulation enforcement from cooperating with the state in instances involving digital asset forfeiture.

HB 2324 goals to create a state-managed fund composed solely of seized crypto. Nevertheless, it could on the identical time redirect a part of the proceeds from seized digital belongings away from native regulation enforcement businesses.

Beneath the proposed distribution framework, the primary $300,000 from the sale of seized digital belongings could be allotted to the Lawyer Common’s Workplace. Any remaining proceeds could be divided so that fifty% goes to the Lawyer Common, 25% goes to the state’s basic fund, and 25% goes to the Bitcoin and Digital Belongings Reserve Fund.

Arizona lawmakers revived HB 2324 final month and swiftly handed it within the Senate. The invoice cleared the Home simply final week on a 34-22 vote.

The veto was not fully surprising, on condition that Governor Hobbs had beforehand shut down a number of crypto-related measures. This began with Senate Invoice 1025, which sought to allow state officers to take a position as much as 10% of treasury and pension belongings in digital belongings like Bitcoin.

Senate Invoice 1373, which might have created a Digital Belongings Strategic Reserve Fund, and Senate Invoice 1024, which aimed to permit state businesses to just accept crypto funds for taxes, charges, fines, lease, and penalties, had been likewise blocked.

Arizona has solely enacted HB 2749, changing into the second US state to cross a crypto reserve invoice into regulation after New Hampshire. The laws addresses unclaimed crypto belongings presumed deserted.