A bill before the Utah State Legislature could eventually see Bitcoin being available for use in everyday transactions with the State Government.

H.C.R. 6: Concurrent Resolution on Payment Options for State Services was drafted by Utah State Rep. Mark K. Roberts (R) and proposes that the “Legislature and the Governor proposes the creation of the Council on Payment Options for State Services to study whether and how the state could accept Bitcoin as a valid form of payment.”

Further the bill “encourages the expanded use of Bitcoin in the state” and that by passing the bill the “legislature of the state of Utah, and the Governor concurring therein, recognizes the potential benefits that could come from the expanded use of Bitcoin in the state and recognizes that the state could be a key player in promoting the use of bitcoin.”

Not surprisingly given Utah is a traditionally red, as in raw meat red, Republican voting state, the bill calls that Bitcoin be recognized as “based on the principles of free-market capitalism and is not centrally regulated.”

Shout outs are given to one local company, with the bill noting that “many major companies now accept bitcoin as a valid form of payment, including Utah-based Overstock.com.”

It’s not clear whether the bill will find popular support in the Utah State Legislature, although it’s certainly feasible: the Utah House of Representatives is currently split 61 Republican, 14 Democrats, while the Utah Senate splits at 24 Republican and a nearly too small to count four Democrats.

The current status of the bill is that it was submitted February 11th and currently sits with the House Rules Committee, presumably for approval to be presented to the floor of the House of Representatives.

It’s a bold move from Utah; if the bill passes, and they broadly adopt Bitcoin, they will be the first state to do so as a whole. Utah, despite its some-what theocratic image given local politics has been dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has been highly assertive in attracting tech companies to the state, in particular data centers through tax breaks and offering cheap power.

photo credit: Welcome to Utah via photopin (license)