Ohio state senator Matt Dolan introduced a bill that proposes to include blockchain records and smart contracts into the electronic records section.
If senate Bill 300 is signed into law, Ohio will join Arizona, and possibly California, Florida and Tennessee in recognizing blockchain transactions.
Additionally, senate Bill 300 allows smart contracts to have legal force, the same as any other contracts do. It adds to existing legislation making it clear that smart contracts can be used as legally valid documents.
“Smart contracts may exist in commerce. A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation or because the contract contains a smart contract term,” – SB 300 said.
If passed, the bill would add language stating that if a person uses blockchain technology to secure information, they “retain the same rights of ownership or use with respect to that information as before the person secured the information using blockchain technology."
By Ekaterina Ulyanova