Ohio state legislators have approved a recently introduced bill that labels blockchain data as legally recognizable electronic data in an effort to become a safe haven for companies in the industry. The passed bill makes Ohio the latest state in the country to legally recognize blockchain data.

Senate Bill 300 was first introduced by Senator Matt Dolan in May with the goal of amending sections of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in order to add blockchain data and smart contracts as legally recognizable electronic data. The then proposed bill also added language to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act that provided ownership rights to designated blockchain data, saying:

"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 the same rights of ownership or use with respect to that information as before the person secured the information using blockchain technology."

Much of the wording in Senate Bill 300 was incorporated into current legislation, which was passed by the state’s senate in June and signed by the governor on Friday, making the changes official. Importantly, however, smart contracts were omitted from the language in the final draft of the bill, excluding them from being treated as legal data.

On smart contracts, the original bill stated:

“A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation, or because the contract contains a smart contracts term.”

Arizona is currently the only other state to legally recognize blockchain data and smart contracts, and the California government has similar legislation in the works. Florida and Nebraska have already both denied similar proposals.