The bill amends Oklahoma law to enhance the use of gold and silver coins as legal tender, specifically in 62 O.S. 2021, Section 4500. It introduces definitions for "legal tender" and "specie," clarifying that legal tender includes gold and silver bullion and allows for public debts to be paid with legal tender while permitting private debts to be settled with silver specie. The bill prohibits individuals from being compelled to accept specie for debt payments unless agreed upon in a contract and establishes that transactions involving specie will not incur tax liabilities, exempting it from personal property assessments. Additionally, the State Treasurer is tasked with developing a plan to store a minimum of 10% of state fund balances in gold and silver legal tender.

The bill also proposes amendments to the tax code, focusing on personal exemptions and standard deductions, including a $1,000 personal exemption for individuals and additional exemptions for blind individuals and those aged 65 or older, contingent on their adjusted gross income. It outlines standard deduction amounts for various filing statuses from 2006 through 2017 and modifies the treatment of military compensation, allowing full deductions for income received by armed forces members. Other adjustments include provisions for retirement benefits, Social Security benefits, and medical savings accounts, aimed at providing tax relief to specific groups. The bill includes several insertions to clarify language and ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 68-2358