In a unanimous vote, the lower chamber of Arizona’s legislature has advanced a bill that seeks to protect blockchain signatures and smart contracts under state law, CoinDesk reported.

Introduced by state representative Jeff Weninger, the bill HB 2417 has been submitted to Arizona Senate, after the House voted 59-0 to pass it last week. The bill states:

“A signature that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic signature.

“A record or contract that is secured through blockchain technology is considered to be in an electronic form and to be an electronic record.”

Importantly, the measure also includes a clause on smart contracts – self-executing contracts that run on a blockchain, saying:

“Smart contracts may exist in commerce. A contract relating to a transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because that contract contains a smart contract term.”

Moreover, the bill also includes a clause regarding the ownership of an information secured by a blockchain:

“Notwithstanding any other law, a person that, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, uses blockchain technology to secure information that the person owns or has the right to use retains rights of ownership or use with respect to that information as before the person secured the information using blockchain technology”.