CALIFORNIA BLOCKCHAIN WORKING GROUP

On July 1, 2019, the California state government established a multistakeholder blockchain technology working group to evaluate the risks, benefits, best practices, and legal implications of blockchain for the people of California.

 

Camille Crittenden, CITRIS Policy Lab Co-Founder and Executive Director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, is serving as the chair.

 

The Government Operations Agency formed the Blockchain Working Group as part of the implementation of AB 2658 (Calderon, Chapter 875, Statutes of 2018, G.C. 11546.9) requiring that the Secretary of the Government Operations Agency appoint a blockchain technology working group and chairperson by July 1, 2019.

 

This group is charged with:

    • Evaluating blockchain uses, risks, benefits, legal implications, and best practices;
    • Defining the term blockchain; and
    • Recommending amendments to other statutes that may be impacted by blockchain

 

The Blockchain Working Group issued its final report “Blockchain in California: A Roadmap” in July 2020, which includes the potential uses, risks, and benefits of blockchain to state government and California-based businesses as well as amendments to existing law that may be impacted by the deployment of blockchain.

The Blockchain Working Group issued its final report “Blockchain in California: A Roadmap” in July 2020, which includes the potential uses, risks, and benefits of blockchain to state government and California-based businesses as well as amendments to existing law that may be impacted by the deployment of blockchain.

Blockchain for the Public Good Podcast with Camille Crittenden

How do we amplify the positive effects of blockchain innovation? Influencing policy makers on technological capabilities and wider implications on society is a good place to start.

 

In a podcast created by Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), Camille Crittenden, Executive Director of UC Berkeley’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), envisions many possible use cases where blockchain will make a difference in the next 5-10 years. Camille chaired the California Blockchain Working Group that created a roadmap to recommend potential public applications for government legislation.

 

This conversation leads you through considerations for appropriate applications and defining blockchain characteristics that make it fit for certain areas, such as health records, supply chains, property, utilities and finance, commercial business, and education.

SB-689 Records: Blockchain

Introduced by Senator Hertzberg, SB-689 would authorize a certified copy of birth, death, or marriage record to be issued by means of blockchain technology.

 

The bill analysis cites the California Blockchain Working Group’s report and draws on its definition of blockchain.