An act to add Chapter 37 (commencing with Section 7599.210) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to digital assets.
AB 2409 would create a new chapter in the Government Code governing “prohibited digital financial transactions” involving meme coins. The bill bars a public officer or specified public employee from issuing a meme coin, and it defines those covered officials broadly to include state and local elected or appointed officers, including legislators and members of boards, commissions, committees, and advisory bodies. It also defines meme coin, digital asset, digital asset exchange, token, stablecoin, and related terms for purposes of the new restrictions.
The bill further prohibits a digital asset exchange from listing a meme coin for sale to, or on behalf of, a California resident if the meme coin uses the likeness or image of a federal public official or a state or local public officer. Enforcement would be available through civil actions brought by the Attorney General for injunctive relief, with possible disgorgement, and district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsels could also enforce the exchange-listing prohibition. The measure is framed as an anti-corruption and public-trust safeguard, aimed at preventing officials from monetizing their office through speculative digital assets.
AB 2409 would add new state-law restrictions to the Government Code and create enforceable limits on conduct by public officers, certain public employees, and digital asset exchanges operating in California. It would not broadly regulate all digital assets, but it would specifically target meme coins tied to public officials and the sale of such coins to California residents when they depict public officials. The bill would also expand enforcement authority for the Attorney General and certain local prosecutors, potentially exposing violators to injunctions and disgorgement remedies.
The available voting history suggests the bill has received strong support in committee, passing both recorded votes unanimously (12-0 and 9-0). The bill’s findings emphasize ethics, anti-corruption, and public confidence in government, indicating a generally favorable posture toward the measure among lawmakers who advanced it. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or hearing debate to show broader opposition or support beyond the votes.
The main points of potential contention are the breadth and novelty of the restrictions. The bill reaches beyond direct financial misconduct to prohibit officials from issuing meme coins at all, and it also restricts exchanges from listing certain meme coins based on the image or likeness of public officials. That could raise questions about how broadly “meme coin” is defined, whether the law could affect expressive or promotional digital assets, and how exchanges would verify likeness-based content. The inclusion of legislators, advisory board members, and certain public employees with contract authority as covered persons may also be seen as expansive, though the recorded committee votes do not show active opposition.