Bill > S684

This bill updates and modernizes various sections of the Massachusetts Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), with a particular focus on electronic records, digital transactions, and financial technologies. The bill makes comprehensive changes across multiple articles of the UCC, introducing new definitions and provisions related to electronic money, controllable electronic records, and updating terminology to reflect modern business practices. Key provisions include defining new terms like "electronic money", "controllable electronic record", and "controllable account", establishing rules for control and transfer of digital assets, and modifying existing provisions to accommodate electronic and digital transactions. The bill replaces instances of "authenticated" with "signed" throughout many sections, updates rules around security interests and priority of claims for digital assets, and introduces a new Article 12 specifically addressing controllable electronic records. Notably, the bill includes transitional provisions to ensure existing transactions remain valid and provides a phased implementation approach, with the primary effective date set for January 1, 2027. These changes aim to provide a more comprehensive legal framework for emerging financial technologies and digital transaction methods, bringing the Massachusetts UCC more in line with contemporary commercial practices.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S684