Ohio Member Leads Effort Against CBDCs
by Peter Rykowski, Research Associate and Bulletin Editor
Dedicated members are essential to expanding the JBS’s influence and, by extension, restoring Americanism and constitutional government. This was recently demonstrated by an Ohio member’s tireless efforts to influence his state Legislature.
Dakota Sawyer is a 19-year-old member from Brunswick, Ohio, who leads a local Business & Professional (B&P) chapter. Sawyer learned the legislative process in Ohio, and then took action to stop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the state.
First, he set up a private briefing between state Representative Jennifer Gross and TNA senior editor Alex Newman to review how a CBDC severely threatens individual freedom and privacy. Then, Sawyer and Representative Gross drafted legislation to ban CBDCs within Ohio’s borders. They also met with key members of the Ohio House and Senate, and Sawyer worked with JBS HQ to ensure the legislation was as strong as possible.
On May 1, Representative Gross and eight other representatives introduced H.B. 163, which would amend Ohio’s definition of “money” to exclude CBDCs “issued by the United States federal reserve system, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system.” This would effectively ban them within the state.
On May 5, Sawyer organized a conference in the Ohio Statehouse to promote H.B. 163. This meeting was designed to highlight The John Birch Society’s role behind the bill, and to handle any pushback. However, there was no pushback, and the JBS was well received. Not only was this event a success, but Sawyer effectively delegated tasks to other members and raised all the needed funds to cover their costs.
Now, JBS members in Ohio are holding town hall meetings to educate citizens about the dangers of CBDCs and help advance H.B. 163.
If you want to get involved in similar undertakings to advance Americanism, contact your local field coordinator at JBS.org/coordinator. Coordinators exist in part to provide you with all the information and materials needed to influence your legislators and community — and the execution depends on you and other dedicated JBS members.