H.R. 10167

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10167 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10167
 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to
  require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest 5
                     cents, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                            August 27, 2026
Mrs. McClain (for herself and Mr. Garcia of California) introduced the
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
                                Services
_______________________________________________________________________
                                 A BILL
 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting the penny, to
  require cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest 5
                     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
            (5) 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. DISCONTINUATION OF CIRCULATION OF COINS.
    Section 5111 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) may discontinue the minting for circulation of any
        coin that is described in paragraph (1) (and that is minted for
        circulation, as of the date of enactment of this paragraph)
        only in accordance with the procedures described in subsection
        (e).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Discontinuation.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `covered
        committees' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
                Affairs of the Senate; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Financial Services of the
                House of Representatives.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The Secretary of the Treasury may not
        discontinue the minting for circulation of a coin described in
        subsection (a)(5) unless the Secretary--
                    ``(A) not later than 60 days before that
                discontinuation, and in coordination with the Director
                of the United States Mint, submits to the covered
                committees notice regarding that discontinuation, which
                shall include--
                            ``(i) a description of the reasoning for
                        that discontinuation, including fiscal and
                        operational considerations; and
                            ``(ii) a comprehensive plan for phasing out
                        the circulating coin, taking into
                        consideration--
                                    ``(I) the potential impacts of that
                                discontinuation on consumers and
                                businesses; and
                                    ``(II) the potential economic
                                impacts of that discontinuation; and
                    ``(B) not later than 30 days after the date on
                which the Secretary submits the notice required under
                subparagraph (A), provides a briefing to the covered
                committees regarding the plan for implementing that
                discontinuation.''.
SEC. 7. 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)).
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