This bill creates a new statutory framework (adding Sections 1–4 and 7 as a new chapter in Title 43 RCW) that defines "legal tender," "monetized bullion," and "precious metal bullion" and may be cited as the "Washington state sound money act." It requires Washington courts to order specific performance when a contract expressly calls for payment in specified gold or silver bullion or monetized bullion, and it bars any person or entity from compelling another to tender or accept such bullion as payment unless a law or contract specifically provides otherwise. The bill also provides that exchanging bullion for legal tender does not create tax liability and amends RCW 82.04.062 to exclude sales of precious metal or monetized bullion from the chapter’s wholesale/retail sale definitions and to limit the tax on commissions and permit certain deductions; it amends RCW 84.36.070 to classify specified bullion as intangible personal property exempt from ad valorem taxation. These are changes of law that both create new statutory provisions and modify existing tax statutes and court procedure: a procedural change requiring courts to enforce contract terms calling for bullion payment, a substantive rule prohibiting compelled acceptance of bullion absent agreement or law, and tax law changes classifying certain bullion transactions and property as non-taxable under the cited RCWs. The act takes effect July 1, 2025 and affects Washington courts, persons and entities that tender or accept bullion, businesses selling bullion, and owners of property reclassified as intangible. The bill text does not show a chapter number or placement within Title 43, does not provide detail about how courts must implement or enforce the specific-performance requirement, and contains an unclear textual edit in the amendment to RCW 82.04.062 without further explanatory detail.

If enacted, people and businesses will be more able to make and insist on contracts that require payment in gold or silver bullion because Washington courts must order specific performance when a contract expressly calls for bullion payment. Dealers and sellers of bullion will face a different tax regime: exchanges of bullion for legal tender are treated so they generally do not create tax liability under the cited sales and property tax rules, commissions and employee pay related to bullion sales get specific deductions or offsets, and holdings of bullion are defined as intangible personal property exempt from ad valorem (property) tax. The most affected are courts (which will have a new enforcement duty), bullion buyers and sellers (who gain more payment options and likely lower tax burdens on transactions and holdings), and state and local governments (which likely lose some sales and property tax revenue tied to bullion). How courts will implement the required enforcement and the exact placement of the new chapter in Title 43 are not specified in the text, leaving some practical enforcement and administrative details unclear before July 1, 2025.