RICHMOND — Virginia takes pride in having its own culture and history, its own unique way of doing business.

But does the commonwealth also need its own money?

Maybe so, says Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William), who is pushing a bill in the General Assembly that would mandate a study of whether the state “should adopt an alternate medium of commerce or currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.”

With ongoing high-stakes debates underway over transportation funding, education reform and Senate redistricting, creating a new currency may not be high on anyone’s to-do list in Richmond. But a House subcommittee did advance Marshall’s measure Thursday, ensuring it will at least get a look from the full House Rules Committee and drawing a sharp response from Democrats.

A study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission “is expensive,” complained Del. Mark Sickles (Fairfax), the Democratic Caucus chairman. “It can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Are we seriously going to spend taxpayer resources studying a replacement to the world’s backbone currency? Are we descending into la la land?” Sickles asked.