Florida Senate Passes State Regulatory Framework for Payment Stablecoins by 37-0 Vote

The Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 314 on March 7 by a 37-0 vote, creating a state regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuance and sending the bill, along with companion House Bill 175, to Governor Ron DeSantis for signature within 30 days, BlockBeats reports. Modeled on the federal GENIUS Act enacted in July last year, the legislation sets consumer protection and financial stability guidelines, amends the state's Anti-Money Laundering Act to bring stablecoins under supervision, and clarifies that specified payment stablecoins are not securities. The bill requires out-of-state qualified issuers to file written notice with the state financial regulator, with some stablecoins overseen solely by the Office of Financial Regulation and others co-regulated by the federal OCC, and bars issuers from paying interest to holders when federal law prohibits such payments. Companion bill CS/CS/SB 1440 was enacted the same day to expand confidentiality protections for information related to virtual currency businesses, qualified payment stablecoin issuers and other entities, including trade secrets and nonpublic data.