• North Carolina Senate overrides Governor’s veto to pass Fed CBDC ban bill.

  • This state is moving toward a CBDC ban, akin to Florida’s legislation.

The North Carolina General Assembly has passed a bill prohibiting the implementation of a Federal Reserve-issued central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the state, following a Senate override of Governor Roy Cooper’s veto.

The Republican-majority Senate voted 27-17 in favor of House Bill 690, surpassing the 60% threshold required to counter the governor’s veto on Monday. 

The newly passed bill prevents the state from accepting CBDCs as a new form of valid payment. It also prevents them from participating in future CBDC pilot programs conducted by any Federal Reserve branch.  

Sen. Brad Overcash, a member of the North Carolina State Senate, stated:

“It’s an opportunity for us to send the signal that North Carolina, the ninth largest state in the union, is not interested in a federal central bank digital currency.” 

Despite receiving overwhelming bipartisan support in June, Governor Cooper initially vetoed the legislation on July 5, with the House voting 109-4 and the Senate 39-5 in favor. Moreover, the North Carolina House had already voted to overturn Governor Cooper’s veto in early August with a 73-41 vote. 

Previous Attempts to Bring the CBDC Ban Bill 

However, the political landscape changed by the time of the Senate’s final vote, as 12 Democratic senators who initially backed the bill altered their stance and supported the governor’s veto. 

Cooper mentioned that North Carolina should wait to see how CBDCs work before making a final decision, and the bill needed to be more suitable for passing into law. 

Further adding, he stated:

“This legislation is premature, vague, and reactionary and proposes an end result on important monetary decisions that haven’t even been made yet.”

Cooper also observed that the legislature should have allocated more funds to tackle the current cybersecurity threats rather than passing the now-vetoed bill.

In March, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated at a Senate Banking Committee that the US was “nowhere near recommending or let alone adopting a central bank digital currency in any form.”

Notably, in May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to block the issuance of government-controlled CBDC in the state, alongside a similar bill introduced by Senator Ted Cruz. With this CBDC ban bill, North Carolina joins Florida in adopting a ‘No CBDC for the State’ stance.

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