Retailers saved from penny turmoil as DeSantis signs rounding bill

As pennies begin to fade into memory, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday that allows retailers in certain cases to round transactions to a nickel.

The legislation — Senate Bill 1074 — came in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s decision last year to cease producing the one-cent coin given the cost.

In an FAQ on its website, the Treasury Department says the cost to produce a penny had risen to 3.69 cents per coin and ridding itself of the penny will produce an annual savings of $56 million to the U.S. Mint.

SB 1074 passed in in the Florida House of Representatives 111-1 with five members not voting. It passed unanimously in the Florida Senate with three members not voting.

The sole legislator to vote against it was Rep. Angie Dixon, D-Jacksonville.

According to the Senate’s Bill Analysis and Fiscal Impact Statement, here is how it now works for merchants:

• If the final digit of a cash transaction ends in 1 cent or 2 cents, it must be rounded down to zero.
• If the final digit of a cash transaction ends in 3 cents or 4 cents, it must be rounded up to 5 cents.
• If the final digit of a cash transaction ends in 6 cents or 7 cents, it must be rounded down to 5 cents.
• If the final digit of a cash transaction ends in 8 cents or 9 cents, it must be rounded up to 10 cents.
• Cash transactions ending in 0 or 5 cents are not rounded.

Credit and electronic payments aren’t affected, and the state says the bill has no impact on revenues or expenditures.

Unable to resist a low-hanging pun, the Florida Retail Federation says in a statement that DeSantis’ “signature ensures Florida's retailers and consumers won't be left without two cents to rub together.”

State Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, sponsored SB 1074. State Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, sponsored a companion bill in the House.