A Texas lawmaker has filed legislation that would allow local governments to invest taxpayer money in cryptocurrency. Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, submitted House Bill 81
A Texas lawmaker has filed legislation that would allow local governments to invest taxpayer money in cryptocurrency.
Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Missouri City, submitted House Bill 815 on the first day of prefiling for the 90th Texas Legislature.
The measure would let each municipality or county put up to $10 million into Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, starting September 1, 2027, if it becomes law.
The bill is only two sections long.
It amends the Public Funds Investment Act by adding a new section on crypto as an authorized investment. The $10 million limit applies to each city or county, not to the state as a whole. School districts are not covered.
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The definitions of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency come from the law that created the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve last year. That means local governments would not be restricted to Bitcoin.
The bill also leaves out the reserve law’s market capitalization threshold of $500 billion and its custody rules. It says nothing on audits for digital assets or how losses would be handled.
Cities and counties would still need to add crypto to their written investment policies before buying any. The existing act requires those policies to put safety of principal and liquidity first.
Reynolds filed a broader bill in March 2025 that would have let the comptroller invest up to $250 million of the state’s rainy day fund in crypto. It carried the same $10 million local cap but never became law. The new bill drops the rainy day fund language.
The state reserve was created separately and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2025.
The comptroller’s office has since bought about $10 million in a BlackRock Bitcoin fund and has sought a custodian for direct holdings.
The legislative session starts January 12, 2027. The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee.
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