Four new bills related to cryptocurrency were presented this week at the Michigan Legislative Assembly, covering public retirement investments in crypto, mining, income tax exemptions and restrictions on CBDC support.
As of May 23, four new proposed legislations, the bills of the Chamber 4510, 4511, 4512 and 4513, were introduced in the legislative assembly of Michigan, marking a coordinated push to define the state approach to cryptocurrency.
Bill 4510 of the Chamber, presented by the representative Bill Schuette, seeks to modify the law on the investment of the retirement system of Michigan employees to allow the treasurer of the State to invest in cryptocurrencies.
The bill restricts eligibility for digital assets with an average market capitalization of at least $ 250 billion in the previous calendar year. Currently, only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) respect this threshold. These investments must be made through negotiated products on the stock market issued by an investment company registered.
Bill 4511, sponsored by the representative Bryan Postthumus, proposes to prohibit the State and its subdivisions from prohibiting the detention of digital assets or of imposing licenses, authorizations or discriminatory tax requirements based solely on the use of digital assets.
It also forbids the State agencies to defend or support any federal CBDC by issuing memorandas or official endorsements.
In addition, the bill protects participants in the blockchain by preventing restrictions on node operations, asset transfers and staking, while protecting validators and node operators from civil liability.
Meanwhile, the Bill of Chamber 4512, presented by a bipartite group led by the representative Mike McFall, describes a Bitcoin mining partnership program targeting the abandoned oil and gas wells.
As part of the proposed program, participants would receive temporary rights to use the wells for energy production in exchange for the responsibility of the plugs, the restoration of the site and the response activity.
The bill obliges the Wells supervisor to identify eligible sites, publish detailed assessments and manage a competitive tender process. Selected participants must provide financial insurance, submit environmental and production data and report each year.
The mining rights depend on the membership of these obligations and the cabled connection costs.
McFall also directed the introduction of the Bill of the Chamber 4513, which would modify the Michigan income tax law to exempt the income gained thanks to the proposed Bitcoin operating program from state income tax.
The amendment defines the extent of exempt income and aligns it with the framework of the program under the HB 4512, which gives the clarity of individual taxpayers and companies participating in the initiative.
In addition to these four bills, Michigan also plans to create a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Presented on February 13 under the name of House Bill 4087, this previous proposal, supported by Posthumus and Ron Robinson representatives, would authorize the State treasurer to allocate up to 10% of the general fund and the budgetary stabilization fund for cryptographic investments.
