[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3074 Engrossed in House (EH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3074
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to
permit cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five
cents, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Common Cents Act''.
SEC. 2. SPECIFICATIONS OF 5-CENT COINS AND CEASING PRODUCTION OF ONE-
CENT COINS.
Section 5112 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``weighs 5
grams.'' and inserting the following: ``weighs--
``(A) 5 grams, with respect to such coin that is an
alloy of copper and nickel; or
``(B) between 4 and 6 grams, with respect to such
coin as described in subsection (c).''; and
(B) in paragraph (6)--
(i) by striking ``except as provided under
subsection (c) of this section,''; and
(ii) by striking ``and weighs 3.11 grams'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the sixth sentence--
(i) by inserting ``either'' before ``an
alloy''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or a composition
described in subsection (c)'' before the
period;
(B) by inserting ``with respect to such coins that
are an alloy of copper and nickel'' after ``nickel
required''; and
(C) by striking ``Except'' through ``zinc'' and
inserting ``The one-cent coin is composed of copper and
zinc'';
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
``(c) 5-cent Coin.--
``(1) In general.--The 5-cent coin may be a coin with an
inner layer of zinc and an outer layer of nickel.
``(2) Composition.--The Secretary may prescribe the
composition of zinc and nickel in the 5-cent coin, subject to
testing and evaluation that such composition--
``(A) reduces the cost incurred to produce such
coin; and
``(B) to the greatest extent practicable, has a
minimal adverse impact on machines designed to accept
coins.''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(bb) Ceasing Production of One-cent Coin.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the Secretary shall cease production of one-cent coins for
general circulation, but may continue to produce and issue one-
cent coins for sale as numismatic items.
``(2) No effect on legal tender.--Any one-cent coin that is
minted and issued on any date before the date of the enactment
of this subsection shall remain legal tender for all debts,
public charges, taxes, and dues.''.
SEC. 3. CASH TRANSACTION ROUNDING.
(a) In General.--Any person, including a financial institution,
selling goods or services in a cash transaction or entering into any
other transaction that results in a payment or transfer of cash between
the parties to the transaction may, if exact change cannot be provided
at that time of such transaction, round the covered amount in the
following manner:
(1) Rounding down.--Except as provided in paragraph (2)(B),
in any case in which the covered amount ends with 1 cent, 2
cents, 6 cents, or 7 cents as the final digit, the amount of
cents in the sum may be rounded down to the nearest amount
divisible by 5 for any person seeking to make payment with
cash.
(2) Rounding up.--
(A) In general.--In any case in which the covered
amount ends with 3 cents, 4 cents, 8 cents, or 9 cents
as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum may
be rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for
any person seeking to make payment with cash.
(B) Small transactions.--In any case in which the
covered amount totals $0.01 or $0.02, such amount may
be rounded up to $.05 for any person seeking to make
payment with cash.
(b) Additional Authority to Round.--With respect to a person,
including a financial institution, conducting a cash transaction with a
customer of the person, the amount of cents in the sum of the
transaction may be rounded, if such rounding is in favor of the
customer, as follows:
(1) Up to the nearest amount divisible by 5, if the person
is paying the customer in cash.
(2) Down to the nearest amount divisible by 5, if the
customer is paying the person in cash.
(c) Employer Payments to Employees.--
(1) In general.--With respect to an employer providing a
cash payment to an employee in an amount that is not divisible
by 5 cents, if the employer chooses to round the amount of
cents in such payment, the employer shall round the amount of
cents in such payment up to the nearest amount divisible by 5
cents.
(2) No rounding requirement.--Nothing in this subsection
may be construed to require rounding by an employer described
in paragraph (1) who provides a cash payment to an employee in
an exact amount.
(d) Application.--Subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall not apply to
any transaction for which payment is made by any demand or negotiable
instrument, electronic fund transfer, check, gift card, money order,
credit card, or other like instrument or method.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to
require any person to round a payment as described in subsections (a)
or (b).
(f) Covered Amount Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered
amount'' means--
(1) the total transaction amount, including taxes; or
(2) in the case of a person selling goods or services in a
cash transaction or entering into any other transaction that
results in a payment or transfer of cash between the parties to
the transaction, the amount of change due to the customer if
the customer provides a cash payment that exceeds the total
transaction amount, including taxes.
SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND TRIBAL LAW WITH RESPECT TO
CASH TRANSACTION ROUNDING.
(a) Federal Law.--Any person selling goods or services in a cash
transaction, including a financial institution, entering into any other
transaction that results in a payment or transfer of cash between the
parties to the transaction shall not be in violation of any Federal
requirement, law, regulation, or standard based on the adherence to the
cash rounding provisions described in section 3.
(b) State and Tribal Law.--Any person selling goods or services in
a cash transaction, including a financial institution, entering into
any other transaction that results in a payment or transfer of cash
between the parties to the transaction shall not be in violation of any
requirement, law, regulation, or standard of a State, Tribe, or a
political subdivision of a State based on the adherence to the cash
rounding provisions described in section 3.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or of any order
thereunder shall excuse noncompliance with any Federal, State, Tribal,
or local law, regulation, ordinance, or requirement establishing a
minimum wage, providing for overtime pay requirements, or providing for
paid leave.
SEC. 5. STRATEGIC PLAN AND REPORT ON COIN TERMINAL OPERATIONS AND COIN
DISTRIBUTION STABILITY.
(a) Strategic Plan and Report.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System shall submit to the covered committees and make
publicly available a report that outlines a strategic plan for the
acceptance of penny orders and deposits at commercial coin terminals
providing services under agreements with the Federal reserve banks
nationwide, including--
(1) a description of the Board's approach to limiting
disruptions in penny supply and maintaining the stability of
and efficiency of the coin distribution system, to the greatest
extent practicable;
(2) an evaluation of such coin terminals where the Federal
reserve banks no longer accept penny deposits or penny orders;
(3) an assessment of whether processing penny deposits or
penny orders at such coin terminals could mitigate any
challenges related to ceasing the production of the penny,
including challenges related to the implementation of rounding
practices;
(4) an assessment by the Secretary of the Treasury, which
the Secretary shall conduct and deliver to the Board not less
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act--
(A) on the impact of penny supply and demand
disruptions, and rounding practices for check cashing,
on low-income communities, older consumers, debanked,
unbanked, and underbanked individuals, including
feedback from State or local entities; and
(B) that includes recommendations to the Congress
to address any adverse impacts identified under
subparagraph (A); and
(4) any additional considerations the Board determines
relevant to maintaining penny distribution stability.
(b) Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after submission
of the report required under subsection (a), the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall submit to the
covered committees and make publicly available a report that
evaluates the progress of implementing the strategic plan
described in subsection (a), including--
(A) any material changes to the plan; and
(B) any identified or emerging stress in the penny
distribution system.
(2) Successive reports.--The Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System shall submit to the covered committees
and make publicly available 2 additional reports that evaluate
the progress described in paragraph (1) on dates that are not
later than--
(A) 18 months after the submission of the report
required under subsection (a); and
(B) 30 months after the submission of the report
required under subsection (a).
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered committees.--The term ``covered committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate.
(2) Financial institution.--The term ``financial
institution'' means any person, other than an individual, the
business of which is engaging in financial activities in
section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C.
1843(k)).
Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2026.
Attest:
Clerk.
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3074
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to
permit cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five
cents, and for other purposes.