Common Cents Act

This bill proposes to discontinue the general production of the one-cent coin and implement a new system for cash transactions. Within one year of enactment, the Secretary of the Treasury would be directed to cease minting and issuing new one-cent coins for general circulation, though production would continue for numismatic collectors at a cost covering production. All existing one-cent coins would, however, retain their status as legal tender. A key provision establishes a mandatory rounding system for all cash transactions , effective one year after enactment. Under this system, transaction totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents would be rounded down to the nearest multiple of five cents, while totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents would be rounded up . This rounding rule would not apply to payments made via electronic transfers, credit cards, or other non-cash methods, and transactions totaling $0.01 or $0.02 would always be rounded up to $0.05.