Montana ‘right to mine’ crypto bill passes the House
The legislation had already passed in the Senate in February and will now make it to the table of Governor Greg Gianforte.
The bill, seeking to enshrine crypto miners’ rights in the United States state of Montana, successfully passed the third reading in the state’s House of Representatives. Now, the only thing required to become law is the governor’s signature.
Bill number 178, prohibiting local authorities from obstructing the crypto mining operations, was passed during the third reading by 64 votes to 35 on April 12. The legislation had already passed through Senate voting in February. It will now make it to the desk of Governor Greg Gianforte. While Gianforte has a right to veto the bill, it’s unlikely he will do so, as he belongs to the Republican party, along with the bill’s sponsor, state Senator Daniel Zolnikov.
The legislation aims to establish a “digital asset mining right” and forbid any discriminatory electricity rates charged to cryptocurrency miners. Additionally, it seeks to safeguard mining operations that take place “at home” and remove the authority of local governments to utilize zoning laws to impede crypto-mining activities.
The bill also bars any extra taxes on using cryptocurrency as a means of payment. It categorizes “digital assets” comprising cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and nonfungible tokens as “personal property.“
Related: How Montana stands to benefit if its pro-crypto mining bill is approved
The amended draft of the bill contains one major change in comparison to the original draft — Section 3 was significantly shortened. The old version of Section 3 occupied almost three full pages and contained a number of articles, which had nothing to do with the topic of crypto mining. Now Section 3 outlines three specific areas, limiting the power of the local authorities. They won’t be able to impose on mining centers any requirements different from those of data centers. And they might not prevent crypto mining both in industrial areas and in private homes.
In early April, a bill, protecting crypto miners from discriminatory regulations and taxes, has passed through the House of Representatives and Senate in the state of Arkansas and now is also awaiting a Governor’s decision.
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