Tennessee is creating a state gold and silver reserve with the help of House Bill 1479. The reserve will allow the state to purchase, sell, and stockpile precious metals like gold and silver. On March 23, 2021, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed House Bill 1479, creating a state gold and silver reserve. This law allows the state to invest its funds in physical gold and silver coins and bullion.
The legislation defines precious metals as “metals that are formed into uniform shapes and quantities such as ingots, bars, or plates, with uniform content and purity, as are suitable for or customarily used in the purchase, sale, storage, transfer, and delivery of bulk or wholesale transactions in precious metals.” Specie is defined as “a precious metal stamped into coins of uniform shape, size, design, content, and purity, suitable for or customarily used as currency, as a medium of exchange, or as the medium for purchase, sale, storage, transfer, or delivery of precious metals in retail or wholesale transactions.”
Governor Lee said that by signing this measure into law, it creates a secure way for the state to hold precious metals. The bill directs the Treasurer of State to create an account for the purpose of managing the reserve. The Treasurer will be responsible for all transactions related to purchasing and selling the metals. This includes issuing coins and bars of gold, silver, platinum and palladium.
House Bill 1479 grants the state government authority to create a Gold and Silver Reserve Fund. The fund will be used for debt service or income taxation purposes. The legislation makes important changes regarding state reserves and income tax provisions, as well as making certain grants to the state government for the enactment of Bill 1479.
This bill was passed by the Tennessee State Senate and House with overwhelming support, and will allow the state to begin a Gold and Silver Reserve Fund. This fund will be used to protect state funds from inflationary paper money systems and bring gold as an alternative buttressing of state funds. The physical gold will be stored in a Missouri-based facility, which will propel gold transactions and investments through a reserve fund account managed by the Tennessee State Treasurer’s Office.
It is also intended to provide additional income tax revenue, which can then be deposited in the reserve fund account. This bill of law is an innovative way to end capital assets such as paper money and instead use physical gold as a form of currency for financial transactions, thus protecting state funds from inflationary pressures.
