H.R. 3074

[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.