Pennsylvania's bill to define Bitcoin as a currency is on hold

According to foreign media reports, the U.S. state of Pennsylvania attempted to update the definition of currency to cover digital currency, but it was shelved due to the ongoing budget deadlock last year.

State Sen. Adam Harris told local news source The Herald-Mail that a bill introduced last March has been shelved because of a budget battle between the state Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf.

Harris said in an interview:

“One interesting issue is that the Commerce Committee has been looking at updating the ‘money transmitter’ section of the law to cover virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. This is a fascinating and complex research issue, and unfortunately, due to the budget impasse, we had to cancel the planned hearing.”

Harris, who was elected as a Republican in 2002, went on to suggest that lawmakers need to focus on both the use of digital currencies today and their potential applications in the future.

“The big question for me is whether this is just a flash in the pan or whether it is something that, in the future, fundamentally changes banking and the way we pay for things,” he told reporters.

According to a draft of the bill, the state’s updated definition of currency is: a unit of exchange that is generally considered a medium of exchange, which should include any form of virtual currency .

The purpose of the bill, according to a March 16 memorandum, is to “update definitions and terminology in the statute.”

The bill's author, Assemblyman Ryan Mackenzie, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US states seek to define digital currency

In 2015, many states in the United States were creating new regulations for Bitcoin activities and companies, or expanding existing regulations to cover the technology.

Last summer, North Carolina introduced a bill that, similar to Pennsylvania’s, would have updated its money transmitter laws to include digital currencies. The state later chose to exempt certain entities, including miners.

Other states are pushing for stricter regulations that would require certain companies to obtain operating licenses, with New York currently the only state in the country to have a licensing system in place.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/define-bitcoin-money-pennsylvania-stalls/
By Stan Higgins
Compilation: Overnight porridge
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/pennsylvania-stalls)