Fuel Retailers Applaud Upcoming House Vote on Penny Legislation
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — NATSO, representing truck stops and travel centers, and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, applaud the U.S. House of Representatives for taking definitive steps to resolve the ongoing penny problems that have plagued retailers and consumers since penny production ceased by scheduling a vote on The Common Cents Act (H.R. 3074). The associations urged lawmakers to quickly advance this bipartisan legislation, providing much-needed clarity on cash transactions for retailers while minimizing consumer confusion.
Championed by Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Robert Garcia (D-CA), the Common Cents Act (H.R. 3074) would codify the end of penny production for general circulation and permit retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. It would further protect businesses from conflicting state and local laws when following federal rounding guidelines, providing certainty that they are engaging in legal cash transactions.
“Since the U.S. Mint announced that it would stop producing pennies last summer, retailers have struggled to access coins and to price products for cash-paying customers without violating a patchwork of state requirements,” said LeeAnn Goheen, Senior Director of Government Affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. “An absence of exact change necessitates a uniform set of rules that includes the ability to round prices to the nearest nickel without fear of being in violation of the law.
“We applaud Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) for actively working to resolve an issue that has been negatively impacting businesses and consumers across the country. We urge the House of Representatives to pass The Common Cents Act (H.R. 3074) and encourage the Senate to take up this important issue as quickly as possible.”
Since the federal government halted production of the one-cent coin last June, truck stops, travel centers and fuel marketers have been navigating a series of unanticipated “penny problems.”
As pennies disappear from circulation, retailers must round cash transactions to the nearest five cents when exact change is unavailable. Yet many states and local jurisdictions have complex or conflicting rounding rules. Rounding the price of food purchased under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) risks a violation of SNAP regulations, which prohibit treating SNAP customers more or less favorably than other customers. Retailers that facilitate check cashing, including pay checks, also struggle to accommodate check cashing requests in absence of exact cash amounts.
Fuel retailers and marketers implore lawmakers to advance common sense legislation that will end these existing operational challenges and allow them to legally and fairly serve their customers.
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