Common Cents Act

Bill: 119-s-1525
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2025-04-30
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Latest action: action_date: 2025-04-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1525 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 30, 2025 Ms. Lummis (for herself and Mrs. Gillibrand ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Common Cents Act . 2. Elimination of production of one-cent coin (a) Elimination Except as provided in subsection (b), and notwithstanding any other provision of law (including section 5112(a)(6) of title 31, United States Code), beginning on a date that is not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall cease minting and issuing one-cent coins. (b) Exception (1) In general On and after the date described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall continue to mint and issue one-cent coins as appropriate solely to meet the needs of numismatic collectors of the one-cent coin. (2) Sale Any one-cent coin minted and issued under this subsection shall be sold in accordance with section 5132(a) of title 31 United States Code, and any other provisions of law governing numismatic coins. (3) Net receipts The net receipts from the sale of a one-cent coin minted and issued under this subsection shall equal or exceed the total cost of production, including variable costs and the appropriate share of fixed costs of production, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. (c) No effect on legal tender All coins and currencies of the United States, including one-cent coins, regardless of when coined, printed, minted, or issued, shall continue to be legal tender for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties, and dues, in accordance with law. 3. Cash transaction rounding (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person selling goods or services in a cash transaction, entering into any other transaction that results in a payment or transfer of cash between the parties to the transaction, or paying cash wages to an employee as compensation shall round the payment in the following manner: (1) Rounding down In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes, ends with 1 cent, 2 cents, 6 cents, or 7 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded down to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any person seeking to make payment with legal tender. (2) Rounding up In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes, ends with 3 cents, 4 cents, 8 cents, or 9 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any person seeking to make payment with legal tender. (b) Exception Subsection (a) shall not apply to a transaction— (1) in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes, totals $0.01 or $0.02, in which case that transaction amount shall be rounded up to $.05 for any person seeking to make payment with legal tender; or (2) for which payment is made by any demand or negotiable instrument, electronic fund transfer, check, gift card, money order, credit card, or other similar instrument or method. (c) Effective date This section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.