According to Cointelegraph: A series of Senate bills filed in Utah, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee could pose significant challenges to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the United States. The proposed bills argue against including a CBDC within the definition of money.
State Senator Frank Niceley of Tennessee introduced a bill on January 12 aimed at adjusting the state's Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The UCC, a consistent framework for business transactions across the US, currently defines money as an authorized medium of exchange, but Niceley's bill would explicitly exclude any CBDC from this definition.
In Utah, House Bill 164, introduced by Representative Tyler Clancy on January 4, defines a CBDC as a digital form of money issued and directly accessible by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Reserve. However, the bill stipulates that "a central bank digital currency is not specie legal tender and is not legal tender in the state."
Similar amendments to the UCC have been proposed in South Carolina via Senate Bill 861, filed by State Senator Shane Martin on November 30, 2023, and in South Dakota through Senate Bill 58, requested by the Department of Labor and Regulation and introduced on January 9.
Notably, Florida has taken a comparable stance towards CBDCs. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill which restricts the state’s use of CBDCs and forbids use of CBDCs issued by foreign governments, also encouraging other states to implement similar prohibitions within their commercial codes.