NY Blockchain Legislation & Digital Currency Taskforce w/Assemblyman Clyde Vanel

YOU MUST HAVE A TICKET FROM EVENTBRITE - SEATING IS LIMITED ($20 - food and drinks included)

TO SEE FULL DETAILS ABOUT THIS EVENT VISIT: http://bit.ly/t25thinktank6

THINK TANK SPONSOR: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Martin Tuchman School of Management (https://budurl.me/AboutNJITEMBA)

Goal of this Think Tank “We can’t be too quick to regulate (blockchain), we need to understand it first. New York State remains the financial capital of the world. We must, as lawmakers, be sure that we foster an environment for cutting-edge [technology] and innovation, while providing safe and responsible investment opportunities." -- Assemblyman Clyde Vanel

In the wake of allegations (https://www.npr.org/2017/09/22/552956517/ten-months-after-election-day-feds-tell-states-more-about-russian-hacking) by the Department of Homeland Security against Russia for interfering in the 2016 US elections, Assemblyman Clyde Vanel (http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Clyde-Vanel) (serving the 33rd Assembly district of Queens, NY) began to explore the possibility of using technological solutions to secure our elections. In a recent interview with Government Technology Magazine, Vanel explained, "In 2016, Kings County lost 120,000 voter records. I felt we needed to secure and safeguard our election system. I wondered if blockchain (technology) was the solution. "

https://tech2025.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Clyde-Vanel-3-1-300x225.png

IBM recently published the results of new research (Building trust in government: Exploring the potential of blockchains) on how governments (international and state-wide in the US) are considering blockchain technologies. The study "revealed a group of government organizations that are embracing blockchain technology to reduce frictions to innovation and information and facilitate more extensive collaboration" and 96 percent of blockchain-savvy government executives say they plan to use blockchain for financial transaction management by 2018. The U.S. Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security were highlighted for their impressive research on blockchain technologies.

The report named 14 “trailblazer” governments leading in blockchain innovation. The United States was not on the list.

On November 27, 2017, Assemblyman Vanel (who is also an attorney and entrepreneur) introduced four bills (http://www.govtech.com/Four-Blockchain-Bills-Introduced-in-New-York-State-Assembly.html). Three bills propose exploring blockchain technology and the effects it would have on securing voting records, election results and government record storage. The fourth bill proposes the creation of a cryptocurrency/blockchain task force to analyze the impact of cryptocurrencies on New York financial markets.

JOIN US as our special guest, Assemblyman Vanel, steps into the Think Tank to present this crucial legislation and its potential impact on government, business and financial markets in New York State. As always, our Think Tank events are interactive and meant to be an exchange of ideas between attendees and our speakers in a problem-solving format. Everyone gets an opportunity to express ideas and ask questions about this hot topic affecting us all!

Proposed Blockchain Legislation Assemblyman Vanel enlisted a bi-partisan group of legislators to co-sponsor the 4 bills he has introduced, including Rep. Edward P. Ra (http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Edward-P-Ra) (R-Nassau County), Rep. Luis R. Sepúlveda (http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Luis-R-Sepulveda) (D-Bronx); and Rep. Ron Kim (http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Ron-Kim) (D-Whitestone). If these bills pass, New York will join a short but growing list of states moving swiftly to enact blockchain legislation including Arizona, Vermont, Illinois, North Dakota, Hawaii, California, and Delaware.

BILL #8780: Relates to allowing signatures, records and contracts secured through blockchain technology to be considered in an electronic form and to be an electronic record and signature; allows smart contracts to exist in commerce. (read more (https://legiscan.com/NY/text/A08780/2017))

BILL #8783: Creates the digital currency task force to provide the governor and the legislature with information on the potential effects of the widespread implementation of digital currencies on financial markets in the state. (read more (http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08783&term=2017&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y))

BILL #8792: Directs the state board of elections to study and evaluate the use of blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results. (read more (http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08792&term=2017&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y#A08792))

BILL #8793: Relates to establishing a task force to study and report on the potential implementation of blockchain technology in state record keeping, information storage, and service delivery. (read more (http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08793&term=2017&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y&Committee%26nbspVotes=Y&Floor%26nbspVotes=Y#A08793))

Event Agenda: The Think Tank will start promptly at 6:15pm. We do not allow any recording of the Think Tank except by our staff. Light food and beverages will be served.

6PM - 6:15PM: sign in, networking, light food and drinks served 6:15PM - 6:25PM: announcements, topic and speaker introduction 6:25PM - 7:00PM: Assemblyman Vanel's presentation 7PM - 7:20PM: Interactive, problem-solving Think Tank 7:20PM - 7:35PM: Informal presentations and Assemblyman Vanel's feedback 7:35PM - 7:45PM: Q&A with Assemblyman Vanel 7:45PM - 8PM: More mingling and then it's a wrap!

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