Committee approves law to allow cash rounding when pennies are unavailable
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Summary
The panel approved CS for HB 951 to allow retail cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 or 0 cents when pennies are not available; sponsors clarified pennies remain legal tender and credit-card transactions are unchanged. The committee adopted an amendment that defines cash transactions and clarifies treatment of money orders and gift cards.
The Insurance & Banking Subcommittee advanced CS for HB 951, a measure to formalize rounding rules for cash transactions in the event pennies are scarce. Sponsor Representative McFarland (with co-sponsor Overdorf) told the committee the cost to produce a penny exceeds its face value and the bill simply standardizes how retailers and consumers handle cash totals when pennies are impractical.
Under the bill, if a final cash transaction ends in 1 or 2 cents the amount is rounded down to the nearest 0; amounts ending in 3 or 4 (and 6 or 7) would round to 5 cents; amounts ending in 8 or 9 would round up to the next 0. The sponsor emphasized that pennies remain legal tender and a person who has pennies may still use them; the rule addresses retail cash transactions where pennies are unavailable and both retailer and customer must follow the rounding convention. The committee adopted an amendment clarifying that money orders and gift cards are treated like credit-card transactions, and it links the definition of a cash transaction to a federal definition.
Retail and industry groups (Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, Florida Retail Federation) waived their support; no members pressed for additional debate. The committee voted to report the bill favorably with a committee substitute.
