Gold Fever

The Montana Legislature once again got a case of “Gold Fever” today, when Rep. Bob Wagner’s bill that seeks to force the state to do some business in gold and silver received a full debate on the House Floor.

This bill, which is based on wild conspiracy theories, received one of the most interesting floor debates of the session. If passed into law, the bill would seek to slowly move the state towards doing business in only gold and silver.

In order to illustrate the oddness of this bill, Democrats introduced a series of amendments that sought to change the bill so it would require the state to do business in other random things. Rep. Barrett of Missoula sought to amend the bill to require the state to do business in coal. Rep. Noonan, of Butte, urged members of the House to change the bill so copper became the official currency of the state.

Other members of the House took a more serious tact as they showed that the bill had clear ties to the secessionist movement.

Ultimately, the bill died by a 48-52 vote.

The full floor debate can be viewed below. It is nearly an hour-long, but incredibly entertaining if you have the time.