Hawaii seeks to create Blockchain Working Group With New Proposed Bill

By: Michael Wilson

January 27, 2021 6:18 AM

On monday, January 25, at the Hawaiis house of representative, a bill was introduced that calls for the formation of a blockchain working group to be led by states economic agency.

The partisan bill which was introduced by democrats in Hawaiis House of Rep. Is advocating for a strategy to support and study the use of blockchain technology by state agencies, firms and individuals.

The introduction to HB622 states:

“The legislature recognizes that the distributed ledger format that blockchain technology functions as can be leveraged to support an array of government and public-sector applications, including land registration, identity management, supply chain traceability, health care, corporate registration, taxation, voting, digital currency and payments, and legal entities management. Such a technology requires an educated and thorough approach so that the implementation of blockchain technology in the State does not impede innovation and growth.”

The bill which provides a detailed outline of how the proposed working group would be set up. It suggests that the chairperson of the board of directors at the Hawaii technology development corporation would serve as the chair of a newly-created task force that would recruit members from various state agencies to contribute their input.

These representatives would include specialists from the ICT sectors, among them technology manufacturers, software and service providers; enterprises of all scales; blockchain technology experts; academic researchers; rural and urban stakeholders; nonprofit organizations and consumer advocacy groups, among others.

The bill specifies that many of these civil society representatives should be invited to join the task force on the basis of their existing engagement in various activities related to blockchain technology whether research, use or development.

If the proposed legislation is successful, the working group would convene within 90 days of the act's passage and would be expected to submit a report and recommendations to the state legislature including its definition of blockchain, proposed opportunities for the technology's adoption by state and private actors, as well as any suggested further legislation.

The state of Hawaii began considering a bill dedicated to digital assets that would be supportive of their custody by banks. The state also established a digital currency sandbox in March of last year, aimed at attracting crypto businesses into the state.