Legislators in the State of Arkansas have approved a bill that will provide regulations for Bitcoin mining activity, sending the proposed legislation to the governer’s office for approval.
The Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023, proposed by Senator Joshua Bryant on March 30, aims to protect miners and their businesses from discriminatory taxes and regulations. The bill was quickly passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate and is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
The document states that data centers create jobs, pay taxes, and benefit local communities, and outlines the regulations for miners. According to the act, miners must pay applicable taxes and fees in acceptable forms of currency and operate in a manner that does not strain the electric public utility’s generation and transmission network.
In addition, the bill grants miners the same rights as data centers, mandating that they should not be subject to different requirements. The recent move follows similar legislation in the State of Montana, which seeks to protect miners from taxes and discriminatory energy rates.
At the same time, Texas is looking to go in a different direction. On April 4, the State’s Senate Committee on Business and Commerce passed a bill that would remove incentives for miners operating in the state, as reported by Cointelegraph.
New York State took an even stronger approach last November, when Governor Kathy Hochul signed a two-year mining moratorium into law, banning crypto mining activities in the State. On a federal level, crypto miners in the United States might be faced with a 30% tax on electricity costs, according to a budget proposal by President Joe Biden.
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