House panel OKs gold, silver as legal tender

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would allow South Carolina residents to use gold and silver coins as currency has advanced.

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would let people use the precious metals as money as long as businesses agreed to take them.

The measure would also exempt the coins from any sales tax and create a study committee to look at the issue.

Advocates say the metal coins are more stable than the dollar.

Last year, Utah became the first state in the country this month to legalize gold and silver coins as currency. As in the South Carolina proposal, that law also exempted the sale of the coins from state capital gains taxes.

Several other states including North Carolina have explored similar bills.

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP