Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 6147
     November 14, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Carra, Maddock, DeSana, Schriver, Jaime Greene, Fox
       and Friske and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
          A bill to regulate the use of digital assets; to prohibit
    certain digital asset taxes; to protect the right to home digital
    asset mining; to regulate a digital asset mining business; to
    protect the right to operate a node; to prohibit certain uses and
    acceptances of central bank digital currency as legal payment; and
    to provide remedies.
                     THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
       Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "digital asset act".
       Sec. 3. As used in this act:
       (a) "Blockchain" means data that is shared across a network to
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 create a ledger of verified transactions or information among
 network participants linked using cryptography to maintain the
 integrity of the ledger and to execute other functions and
 distributed among network participants in an automated fashion to
 concurrently update network participants on the state of the ledger
 and any other functions.
       (b) "Blockchain protocol" means any executable software
 deployed to a blockchain composed of a source code that is publicly
 available and accessible, including a smart contract or any network
 of smart contracts.
       (c) "Central bank digital currency" means a digital currency,
 a digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account
 issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal
 agency, state agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank,
 or a foreign reserve system, that is made directly available to a
 consumer and processed and validated by those entities.
       (d) "Data center" means a building or premises in which the
 majority of the use of the building or premises is occupied by
 computers, telecommunications, or related equipment including, but
 not limited to, supporting equipment, where digital information is
 processed, transferred, and stored.
       (e) "Digital asset" means virtual currency, cryptocurrency,
 natively electronic assets, including stablecoins and non-fungible
 tokens, and other digital-only assets that confer economic,
 proprietary, or access rights or powers.
       (f) "Digital asset mining" means using electricity to power a
 computer or node for the purpose of securing a blockchain.
       (g) "Digital asset mining business" means a group of computers
 working together that consume more than 1 megawatt of energy for
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 the purpose of securing a blockchain protocol.
       (h) "Digital interface" means the medium through which an
 individual or a technology interact with a device, software, or
 application.
       (i) "Hardware storage wallet" means a physical device that is
 not continuously connected to the internet, allows an individual to
 secure and transfer digital assets, and under which the owner of
 the digital assets retains independent control over the digital
 assets.
       (j) "Home digital asset mining" means using digital asset
 mining in an area zoned for residential use.
       (k) "Node" means a computational device which contains and
 updates a copy of a blockchain.
       (l) "Person" means an individual or a partnership, corporation,
 limited liability company, association, or other legal entity.
       (m) "Self-hosted wallet" means a digital interface used to
 secure and transfer digital assets and under which the owner of the
 digital asset retains independent control over the digital assets
 that are secured by the digital interface.
       (n) "Third-party wallet" means a digital interface used to
 secure and transfer digital assets and under which a third party
 maintains and secures control over an individual's digital assets
 that are secured by the digital interface.
       Sec. 5. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of
 a governmental entity shall not prohibit, restrict, require a
 license or permit, or otherwise impair a person from using digital
 assets to purchase legal goods or services.
       (2) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a
 governmental entity shall not prohibit, restrict, require a license
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 or permit, or otherwise impair a person from using any of the
 following to maintain custody of digital assets:
       (a) A self-hosted wallet.
       (b) A third-party wallet.
       (c) Hardware storage wallet.
       (3) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a
 governmental entity shall not impose a tax, withholding,
 assessment, or charge on a digital asset used as a method of
 payment based only on the use of the digital asset as a method of
 payment by an individual.
       Sec. 7. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of
 a governmental entity shall not interfere with a person that
 engages in home digital asset mining if the person complies with
 all local ordinances while engaging in home digital asset mining
 including, but not limited to, local noise ordinances.
       (2) A local unit of government shall not set a specific limit
 on decibels generated from a person engaging in home digital asset
 mining other than any applicable general limits set for sound
 pollution.
       Sec. 9. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of
 a governmental entity shall not interfere with a digital asset
 mining business that engages in digital asset mining if the digital
 asset mining business is engaging in digital asset mining in an
 area that is zoned for industrial use.
       (2) A local unit of government shall not set a specific limit
 on decibels generated from a digital mining business other than any
 applicable general limits set for sound pollution that apply to
 industrial zoned areas.
       (3) A local unit of government shall not impose any
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 restriction, requirement, or imposition on a digital asset mining
 business that is not a restriction, requirement, or imposition for
 a data center located in the same zoning district.
       Sec. 11. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of
 a governmental entity shall not interfere with a person that
 operates a node to connect to a blockchain protocol or a protocol
 built on top of a blockchain protocol and transfers digital assets
 on a blockchain protocol.
       (2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person engaged
 in digital asset mining, operating a node or series of nodes on a
 blockchain protocol, or providing digital asset mining as a service
 for individuals or other businesses is not liable for a specific
 transaction if the person only validates that specific transaction.
       Sec. 12. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of
 a governmental entity shall not do either of the following:
       (a) Accept central bank digital currency as legal payment in
 this state.
       (b) Require central bank digital currency as legal payment for
 any service, tax, license, permit, fee, information, or other
 amount due to the governmental body.
       (2) An administrative branch of a governmental entity shall
 not advocate for or support the testing, adoption, or
 implementation of a central bank digital currency by the United
 States government.
       Sec. 13. A person that suffers a loss as a result of a
 violation of this act may bring a civil action against the person
 or the governmental entity or political subdivision of a
 governmental entity that committed the violation to recover treble
 damages.
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