There is still hope for the bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly banning the American state from testing or accepting a United States central bank digital currency (CBDC) after the state House of Representatives overturned the governor’s veto. If the state Senate follows suit, the bill will go into force.
The bill passed both chambers of the state legislature in overwhelming bipartisan votes on June 26. The state’s General Assembly is dominated by the Republican party, which has shown strong opposition on the state and national levels to the introduction of a US CBDC. The veto override has already been passed to the Senate Committee on Rules.
More support for the ban than the override
Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the bill on July 5. Only two Democratic lawmakers voted in favor of overturning the veto, while 40 reversed their stance in the passage of the bill. Cooper wrote in his veto:
"This legislation is premature, vague and reactionary and proposes an end result on important monetary decisions that haven’t even been made yet.”
State Representative Mary Belk, who voted against the legislation and the override of the veto, said, “There’s enough space in the digital economy for everyone. There’s no reason to limit our choices before we know what they are.”
Related: North Carolina House passes bill to commission study on holding Bitcoin
Surging state opposition to a US CBDC
North Carolina is only one of a number of American states seeking to block the introduction of a US CBDC. The other states include Utah, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Florida and Louisiana.
United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 31 that “there’s really nothing new going on at all” with a US CBDC, which has been the subject of research by the Fed. The Fed has stated repeatedly that it would not introduce a CBDC without a Congressional mandate.
Despite the Fed’s assurances, the US House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in May. A companion bill has been introduced to the Senate by Senator Ted Cruz.
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