Restore Sound Money in Tennessee

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly are seeking to enact legislation helping restore sound money and enforce the U.S. Constitution’s monetary provisions.

Senate Bill 150 (SB 150) and House Bill 1480 (HB 1480), titled the “Tennessee Bullion Depository Act,” and Senate Bill 311 (SB 311) and House Bill 1481 (HB 1481) have been introduced. Both bills are sponsored by Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) and Representative Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport), respectively.

If enacted, SB 311 and HB 1481 would officially recognize gold and silver as legal tender, a major step toward returning to constitutional adherence and treating gold and silver as currency.

Meanwhile, SB 150 and HB 1480 would create a state bullion depository. Tennessee has already taken steps toward such an action, having passed a 2016 resolution in favor of a gold depository, and a 2021 bill studying such a move.

Additionally, Senator Niceley and Representative Hulsey have introduced Senate Bill 519 (SB 519) and House Bill 1479 (HB 1479). These bills would allow Tennessee to buy, sell, and hold reserves of precious metals, thus increasing its financial independence from the Federal Reserve. On March 23, 2023, Governor Bill Lee signed HB 1479 into law, bringing Tennessee one step closer to restoring constitutional money.

These bills are great steps toward enforcing the Constitution’s monetary provisions. Article I, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution plainly states that “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” It’s long overdue that states begin to enforce this provision once again.

Additionally, these bills are important steps toward nullifying the unconstitutional Federal Reserve, which has a monopoly on money, and also reducing Tennessee’s financial dependence on the federal government. It will also help Tennessee avoid the federal government’s planned “Central Bank Digital Currencies,” which severely threaten privacy and individual freedom.

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution obligates state officials to uphold the Constitution and nullify all laws not “made in Pursuance” of it. Officials at all levels of government must push back against the federal government’s many unconstitutional laws and agencies, and robustly enforce the Constitution and only those laws “made in Pursuance thereof.” SB 150, HB 1480, SB 311, HB 1481, SB 519, and HB 1479 are good models for other states to follow.

Urge your state representative and senator to support SB 150, HB 1480, SB 311, HB 1481, SB 519, and HB 1479, and to fully restore sound money in Tennessee.