Delaware Blockchain Stock Bill Likely to Advance in House Vote Today

Budget cuts in Delaware are “sucking the air out of the room,” according to a corporate lawyer who has been following the US state’s efforts to amend incorporation law to legalize the issuance of stocks on a blockchain.

As $51m have been slashed from the state’s budget, important issues such as votes on legislative changes to the state’s death penalty and marijuana policies will likely be cast aside until next year.

Even so, local lawyer Matthew O’Toole, chair of the corporate law section of the Delaware bar association, believes long-planned blockchain amendments won’t be overlooked.

In interview with CoinDesk, O’Toole asserted that a state legislator “in a position to know” confirmed to him that the amendments will be put to a vote today in the state’s House of Representatives, the last day legislators can cast such a vote until next year.

Further, O’Toole expressed confidence the bill will pass, stating:

“A couple of high-profile issues are basically going to be tabled until next year because they’ve got bigger fish to fry. But the corporate bills are important, everybody recognizes that, and I’m assured that they will be voted on and they will pass.”

The vote, expected later today, is the final step before the state’s governor, John Carney, would then sign the bill into law, completing a process that started last year when the previous governor began a push to embrace blockchain innovation.

The bill was formally introduced in May of this year and approved by Senate earlier this month. If the amendments pass in the house, this would explicitly make it legal for companies to store their records – including stock ledgers – on a blockchain.

O’Toole said he expects Governor Carney to sign the bill into law by the end of July, with the legislation going into effect 1st August.

Delaware Legislative Hall image via Shutterstock