This bill aims to protect privacy rights by restricting the use of any currency that inherently compromises privacy. It prohibits the use of tangible, digital, or any other form of currency as legal tender in the state of New Hampshire if it provides transaction or usage details to government agencies or partners, allows programming of prohibited or mandatory uses, has the ability to block or refuse lawful transactions, can be connected to credit scores, can be programmed with an expiration date, or can be programmed with non-market driven inflation. The bill amends RSA 359-C:6 to include these provisions, ensuring that no such currency may be used for any debts within the state, including by the Federal Reserve.
The fiscal note attached to the bill indicates that there is no immediate fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues or expenditures. However, the expenditures are indeterminable for future years. The bill also contains penalties that may impact the New Hampshire judicial system, but there is no method to determine the number of charges that could result from the bill's changes, making the fiscal impact on expenditures indeterminable. The bill is set to take effect 60 days after its passage, with the assumption that any fiscal impact would not occur until FY 2024. Agencies contacted regarding the fiscal impact include the Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties.