California Banking and Finance Committee OK’s Bitcoin Bill

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Article by Sean Wince
California’s assembly committee on banking and finance has approved a bill that would regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin in a similar fashion to ‘s controversial BitLicense. Dubbed AB-1326 Virtual Currency, the legislation is now headed to the appropriations committee before reaching a vote on the assembly floor.
The bill would make it a crime in California to operate a virtual currency business without first registering with the commissioner of business oversight, satisfying all requirements, and paying an application fee of $5,000. Businesses must also file audits and reports to the commissioner multiple times a year in order to prove solvency and know-your-customer records.
AB-1326 was first submitted to the California legislature on February 27 by assembly member Matt Dababneh, a democrat from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. On March 23 the bill was referred to the committee on banking and finance, where Dababneh also serves as chair. It was amended and re-referred to the same committee again on April 21.
The bill was approved this past Tuesday with a vote of 8-2, and now it’s headed to the appropriations committee for another review. This extra step is common for ‘all bills with any fiscal impact,’ according to the committee website. If they approve the bill, it will reach an official vote on the California assembly floor. After that, it will also need to be passed by the state senate and signed by Governor Brown before becoming law.

This post was published at Inside Bitcoins on May 1, 2015.

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