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Committee reviews cash-transaction rounding language in S327; counsel limits provision to cash and clarifies notice requirements
Summary
Legislative counsel proposed edits to a cash-transaction rounding section in S327 that limit the provision to cash transactions, replace 'person or business' with 'person' (1 V.S.A. §128 covers entities including the state), and restore a model-notice and clear point-of-sale notice requirement; members debated notice location and future flexibility.
Ways & Means reviewed amendments to S327 concerning a cash-transaction rounding provision (nicknamed the 'penny' or 'nickel' rounding amendment). Office of Legislative Counsel staff explained the edits remove redundant language, rely on the statutory definition of "person" in 1 V.S.A. §128 (which includes natural persons, corporations and the state), and confine the rounding rule to cash transactions only — consistent with National Conference of State Legislatures guidance and other states’ practice.
Counsel (Cameron Wood) said the amendment also restores a model-notice requirement and clarifies that notice must be displayed in a "clear and conspicuous manner at the point of sale or entrance to the business." Committee members debated whether that statutory phrasing could become outdated if cash use declines and whether the notice requirement should be placed in statute or delegated to administrative guidance.
Why it matters: the amendment affects consumer-facing businesses and state agencies that accept cash. Staff said limiting the provision to cash preserves legal clarity and mirrors other state models; the agency that enforces weights and measures (Agency of Agriculture) and other cash-heavy agencies (liquor, lottery) were noted as operational partners for model notice development.
Next steps: counsel will finalize drafting; the committee scheduled a vote for the next morning.
