Public Policy
Educating policymakers, driving good crypto legislation, and ensuring blockchain innovation stays in our city, state, and country.
Texas DAO Bill
For the 2023 Texas legislative session, Rep. John Bucy introduced House Bill 3768, “relating to the formation of decentralized unincorporated associations and the use of distributed ledger or blockchain technology for certain business purposes”. As of Friday, May 12th, the bill passed the House of Representatives unopposed and now is headed to the Texas Senate. With this, ATX DAO became the first DAO in history to help draft, push, and pass legislation through an official government chamber.
This bill was the culmination of over a year of work, research, and testimonies. It was a decentralized effort that included several individual DAO contributors and multiple partner organizations like the Texas Blockchain Council and a16z Crypto. The bill has harnessed widespread support across the industry, and represents a pivotal point in advancing blockchain policy and innovation nationwide.
Three states, Wyoming, Tennessee, and Vermont, currently recognize Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as legal entities through LLC statues. The Texas DAO bill leverages the Texas Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act (TUNAA), to propose a first-of-its-kind operating framework for DAOs in Texas and in the United States.
The bill clarifies existing definitions within the Texas Business Organization Code to provide clarity on how aspects of distributed ledger technology intersect with existing law, and creates a category within the existing Texas Nonprofit Unincorporated Association statutes appropriate for technology enabled decentralized operations like blockchain networks and smart contract protocols. This makes it clear how DAOs can operate within the bounds of the law and in a manner consistent with other business entities.
Business & Industry - House Committee Testimony
Bill Overview
The following is a summary of the changes proposed by HB 3768:
Modernizes existing business code language, and clarifies the use of existing Texas entity structures as appropriate for technology enabled decentralized operations like blockchain networks and smart contract protocols.
Clarifies electronic data systems (such as distributed ledger technology like blockchain) and electronic signatures (such as smart contracts) as sufficient for company agreements, books and records, and other documentation requirements.
Presents a Decentralized Unincorporated Association (DUA), mirroring existing guidance available under the Texas Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act tailored to provide additional clarity and resolve issues presented by the technology.
Promotes the concept of an Administrator for DUAs, or person authorized by the community to fulfill administrative or operational tasks subject to existing Texas laws on Agency and Contract.
The bill does not:
Replace the need for LLCs or Corporations. Rather, it sends a message to emerging communities that Texas is open for business, and willing to help guide the path forward for new technologies.
Forces DAOs to operate under this framework. DAOs operating in Texas should retain the flexibility to organize themselves as whichever legal structure they see fit, so long as they abide by the legal requirements of the chosen framework.
Present any sort of tax or other unique advantages to DAOs. It is simply a mechanism for DAOs to pay taxes as business entities just as any other business organization.
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A vision founded on three pillars:
Consciousness
At ATX DAO, we believe that legislation and regulation are the true Layer 0. Without legislation, blockchain technology will never scale to deliver on its promises and change the very fabric of society. But without good legislation, blockchain innovation will be pushed out of our cities, states, and country.
We are, first and foremost, crypto natives. But we are also conscious of the responsibility we carry as representatives of the industry in Texas. We don’t take this responsibility lightly and work hard to ensure that crypto legislative initiatives in our state are beneficial to the industry and our citizens.
Pragmatism
Unlike most areas of technology, policy innovation requires thorough examination and deliberation. There is no such thing as “move fast, break things” when dealing with policy. As such, we oppose reckless, rushed, and poorly thought out initiatives and projects - especially when these impact the industry at large.
We take a stance of pragmatism and deliberation in our efforts. We avoid supporting things that sound good on paper but don’t work in real life. We drive meaningful legislative progress while ensuring that our recommendations truly benefit our community at the end of the day.
Community
We make sure that, with all our legislative efforts, we are staying true to the ethos of the space: Decentralization, transparency, and community. We take an inclusive approach to our policy research, enabling any participants of the broad crypto community - not just members of our DAO - to share pertinent ideas regarding our efforts. We are transparent about our stance, work, and efforts. We build out in the open, with feedback from the community. Lastly, we work hard to craft partnerships that go beyond the scope of our city or state, and include the crypto community at large.
Policy Vision
Previous Efforts and Testimonies
Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters Testimony on DAO Policy
City Council Testimony on the approval of Resolution 55 and Resolution 57:
Policy Gallery
