HB259, the Financial Innovation and Market Expansion Act, creates a state regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. It prohibits anyone from issuing stablecoins in Alabama unless they are an authorized issuer and, beginning July 18, 2028, generally bars digital-asset service providers from offering or selling stablecoins that were not issued by an approved issuer. The bill authorizes the Alabama Securities Commission to license and regulate Alabama stablecoin issuers, implement applicable provisions of the federal GENIUS Act, and impose civil or criminal penalties for violations.

The Alabama State House of Representatives passed HB259 on March 10, 2026 by a vote of 97 to 1. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill expands government regulation, surveillance, and control over private financial activity under the guise of regulating stablecoins. By creating a state licensing scheme, imposing compliance requirements, and subjecting issuers to investigations, fees, and enforcement actions, HB259 moves digital assets further under government control and helps normalize the infrastructure for programmable, surveillable money. This threatens financial privacy and free-market innovation while undermining the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches and unwarranted government surveillance.