Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law this week that banned the federal government from ever being able to introduce Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the state of Florida.
The law bans the federal government from using CBDC by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code, the governor’s office said. The bill also bans foreign-issued CBDC to “protect consumers against globalist efforts to adopt a worldwide digital currency.”
DeSantis signed another piece of legislation into law that bans credit card companies from using firearm-specific Merchant Category Codes and punishes any company caught using them with a fine for violations of Florida’s consumer protections against gun owner registries.
“The government and large credit card companies should not have the power to shut off access to your hard-earned money because they disagree with your politics,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Biden’s Central Bank Digital Currency aims to increase government control over people’s finances, and we will not allow it. In Florida, we value personal freedom and won’t allow self-interested elites to chip away at our liberty.”
DeSantis called on the Florida-led 20-state coalition against ESG to follow Florida’s lead by banning CBDC in their states.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis warned against Biden’s attempt to implement a federally-controlled Central Bank Digital Currency, saying that the political Left will make sure it’s “weaponized” against their opponents.
“It’s just another way for Floridians to have their vital financial information surveilled and controlled by the federal government,” he said. “No one asked for this, and Florida won’t let it stand. Every day, your privacy and financial freedoms are under attack, but thankfully we have leaders like Governor DeSantis fighting to Keep Florida Free.”
The governor has been busy racking up victory after victory by signing into law legislation that he championed throughout Florida’s legislative session, which concluded last week.
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Major pieces of legislation signed into law this week include legislation that protects Floridians from medical mandates, empowers doctors, and prohibits dangerous gain of function research.
DeSantis also signed into law legislation that severely restricts the CCP’s ability to acquire land in the state of Florida, cracks down on the CCP’s data collection of U.S. citizens, and bans CCP influence from the education system.
He also signed into law legislation that was deemed by The New York Times as “the toughest crackdown” on illegal immigration by any state in the country.
The law does the following:
- Requires employers to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of employees, and fines employers who fail to use E-Verify $1,000 per day.
- Suspends licenses of any employer who knowingly employs illegal aliens, and makes using a fake ID to gain employment a felony.
- Enhances penalties for human smuggling, including making knowingly transporting five or more illegal aliens or a single illegal alien minor a second-degree felony subject to a $10,000 fine and up to 15 years in prison.
- Provides $12 million to continue the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program to relocate illegal immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Bans local governments and NGOs from issuing identification documents to illegal aliens and invalidates all out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to illegal aliens.
- Requires hospitals to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal aliens.
“The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the United States and has put Americans in danger,” DeSantis said in a statement. “In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country.”
“The legislation I signed today gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration,” he added.