FloridaHB 9992025HouseWALLET

Legal Tender

Sponsored By: Douglas Michael "Doug" Bankson (Republican)

Signed by Governor

AppropriationInsurance & Banking SubcommitteeWays & Means CommitteeCommerce CommitteeHouse CalendarAppropriations

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

9 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 6 mixed.

Coin customers get withdrawal deadlines

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, direct custodian customers receive opening and annual risk disclosures. They also receive quarterly itemized statements and requested audit reports from the latest two calendar years within 10 business days. Custodians must return physical coins within 10 business days or convert them and deliver cash within five business days. Physical returns must total at least 1 gram; smaller holdings may be converted at the market rate when requested. Account information generally stays private unless written consent, a court order, subpoena, or other legal authority allows disclosure.

Coin owners get stronger storage protections

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, coin custodians owe customers a legal duty as fiduciaries. They must keep each owner’s exact coin quantity and type in Florida, fully assigned to that owner. Custodians must meet location, security, cybersecurity, recordkeeping, asset-separation, and chain-of-custody standards, and act only on owners’ directions. They must obtain annual independent audits or examinations and report them to Florida’s financial regulator. Customer holdings require all-risk insurance covering 100% of replacement value from an eligible nongovernmental insurer.

Optional coin services get customer safeguards

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, banks and money-services businesses can decline coin services. Banks face no liability for declining unless a contract specifically provides otherwise. Providers offering covered services must separate coin accounts from dollars and insure 100% of replacement value, unless permitted custodian coverage applies. Applicable duties include accredited sourcing, chain-of-custody controls, Florida custodian storage, and disclosure of a bank’s contracted storage location. Providers must disclose price swings, possible federal capital-gains tax, terms, fees, and the spot rate used for conversions.

Qualifying coin buyers get tax exemptions

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, qualifying Florida gold and silver coins are sales-tax exempt. The law sets a 6% sales and use tax on non-legal-tender coins or currency and above-face-value or metal-priced transactions. Exemptions cover U.S. legal tender, qualifying Florida coins, and specified international currency exchanges used solely as legal tender. When an otherwise taxable transaction’s taxable amount exceeds $500, the entire amount is exempt; dealers must keep required records. Claimants must determine eligibility; stamped purity or verified electronic transfers create a purity presumption that contrary evidence can overcome.

Financial technology firms get regulatory exemptions

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, the law expands exemptions in Florida’s financial technology testing program. Relief applies to licensees with approved applications during their testing periods. Regulators can adjust net worth, bond, and collateral requirements to match the business’s risk and scope. The law also changes which licensing provision is exempted; the supplied provision does not explain that reference change’s practical effect.

Estates must classify qualifying coins separately

For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, qualifying legal-tender gold and silver coins are not tangible personal property in probate. This change depends on legislative rule approval and reenactment. Physical precious metals that are not legal tender remain tangible personal property when held for historical, artistic, collectible, or investment value. Prior law applies to deaths before July 1, 2026.

Gold and silver payments stay voluntary

The law recognizes qualifying coins for debts incurred on or after July 1, 2026, when the creditor agrees. Gold must be at least 99.5% pure and silver 99.9%; coins must show weight and purity without prohibited government-mint markings. Nobody must offer or accept these coins, and refusal creates no liability unless a contract specifically provides otherwise. Implementation requires legislative approval of the required rules and reenactment to avoid repeal on June 30, 2026. Rulemaking starts upon enactment; adopted rules and a report on state coin payments and recommended fixes are due November 1, 2025.

Coin businesses face licensing and inspections

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, money-services rules cover coin intermediaries, custodians, and paid exchangers. Custody generally means holding coins over 10 days, excluding personal legal-tender use; Florida-code-regulated financial institutions need no separate custodian license. Custodian applicants must show insurance, exact-coin custody plans, approved depository accreditation, and a safe-operations business plan. Regulators must inspect applicants and vaults before licensing, then examine custodians at least annually and other licensees every five years. Customer transfers become regulated two-party transactions, and defined gold and silver coins enter the financial-institution money-laundering law’s monetary-instrument definition.

Government coin payments must be electronic

Beginning July 1, 2026, subject to rule approval and reenactment, government coin payments for debts, taxes, charges, or dues must be electronic. Government offices cannot make or accept these payments in physical coins and need not accept coin payments at all. Participating offices need a written, competitively bid contract with a qualified public depository, except for statutory public-deposit exemptions. Custodians holding public coin deposits must meet qualified public depository standards and applicable public-deposit rules. These deposits need not have federal bank or credit-union insurance, but must carry the state-required coin insurance.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Douglas Michael "Doug" Bankson
Republican • House

Cosponsors

Commerce Committee
Affiliation unavailable
Chip LaMarca
Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 263 • No: 1

House vote • 4/30/2025

House Floor Vote

Yes: 113 • No: 0

Senate vote • 4/29/2025

Senate Floor Vote

Yes: 38 • No: 0

House vote • 4/23/2025