Florida drops 2 Bitcoin reserve bills worth 10% of state funds

Florida has indefinitely postponed and withdrawn House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550, which proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) reserve for the state.

The bills were removed from consideration as of May 3, shortly after the state’s legislative session adjourned on May 2 without passing the measures.

HB 487, introduced in February, would have authorised Florida’s chief financial officer and State Board of Administration to invest up to 10 percent of certain state funds in Bitcoin.

Similarly, SB 550 aimed to permit public fund investments in Bitcoin.

Despite extending the legislative session until June 6 to address budget issues, lawmakers did not include crypto reserve legislation among the approximately 230 bills passed.

The session focused on topics such as banning fluoride in water, protecting state parks, and restricting smartphone use in schools.

Florida’s withdrawal from Bitcoin reserve legislation places it alongside states like Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Oklahoma, where similar bills failed to pass.

This development follows Arizona’s recent veto of its Digital Assets Strategic Reserve bill by Governor Katie Hobbs, who described digital assets as “untested investments.”

The Arizona bill would have allowed investment of seized funds into Bitcoin to create a state-managed reserve.

“Arizona has two more chances to be the first in the nation to establish a Bitcoin reserve,” commented Dennis Porter, founder of the Satoshi Action Fund.

Porter noted that House Bill 2749, which proposes a budget-neutral approach using profits from the unclaimed property fund, is the most likely to pass.

Another related bill, SB 1373, would permit the Arizona state treasurer to allocate up to 10 percent of state funds into digital assets but has yet to reach a final vote.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin price was $94,428.35.