The penny may finally be on its way out, and Long Beach has a front-row seat. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Common Cents Act, a measure that would stop minting new one cent coins and allow cash totals to be rounded to the nearest nickel. The bill is co-sponsored by Long Beach Rep. Robert Garcia, who argues the shift would save taxpayers money and make life easier for businesses that still handle a lot of cash.
H.R. 3074, also known as the Common Cents Act, passed the House under suspension of the rules and now heads to the Senate, according to the House Financial Services Committee. The bill was introduced in April 2025 by Rep. Lisa McClain (R Mich.) with Rep. Garcia listed as an original cosponsor. Supporters say the measure locks in an earlier Treasury decision to wind down penny production and sets a uniform national standard for rounding cash transactions.
“We should stop making a coin that costs nearly four times more than it’s worth to produce,” Rep. Robert Garcia said in a statement, framing the bill as a bipartisan fix for wasteful spending, according to Rep. Robert Garcia's office. Co sponsor Rep. Lisa McClain echoed the point, saying that if the government spends more to make a penny than the coin is worth, “something is broken,” per her release. Backers stress that existing pennies would stay in circulation as legal tender even if the Mint stops making new ones.
What the bill would do
As described in the House committee report, the legislation instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to halt penny production for general circulation within one year of the law taking effect, while still allowing the Mint to produce collector versions. The bill also gives the Treasury authority to test a cheaper, zinc based nickel that would still work in existing coin machines. On top of that, it sets out a framework that would let merchants round cash totals to the nearest five cents when exact change is not available.
Why businesses backed it
Retailers and restaurants have been pushing for a clear federal rule as penny supplies have become inconsistent at Federal Reserve coin distribution points and some banks, creating everyday breakdowns at the checkout counter. The National Restaurant Association called the House vote “a win for restaurant operators,” while the National Grocers Association said the bill gives retailers legal clarity when they round at the register. Trade groups argue those protections help head off lawsuits that began popping up after merchants started rounding on their own once penny production slowed.
What shoppers might notice
For customers, the change would mostly show up in tiny bits of pocket change. A cash purchase that totals $10.02 would round down to $10.00, while $10.04 would round up to $10.05. Card and mobile payments would still be charged to the exact cent. The Richmond Fed has estimated that symmetrical rounding to the nearest nickel would nudge aggregate spending by a relatively small amount, on the order of millions of dollars annually, and national coverage has noted that the overall impact depends on how often purchases land in “round down” versus “round up” territory, as reported by the Richmond Fed and CBS News. Consumer advocates say clear signs at the register and a straightforward, opt in rounding policy will be key to avoiding confusion.
Local angle
There is a distinctly Long Beach twist to the story. Garcia, a former mayor who helped bring the city’s giant penny statue downtown, is now one of the key champions of the bill, a detail highlighted by the Long Beach Post. Local reporting notes that the bill’s provisions would kick in one year after enactment to give banks, point of sale vendors and small businesses time to adapt. That hometown connection has turned what might sound like dry Washington talk about seigniorage and coin composition into something much closer to a neighborhood debate about what happens when you hand over a ten at the corner store.
The measure now moves to the U.S. Senate, where it will go through committee review and potentially face amendments, according to its history on Congress.gov. If both chambers settle on a final version, it would then go to the president to be signed or vetoed. Supporters say the one year rollout period is meant to keep the transition as smooth as possible. The U.S. Mint, which struck its last circulating penny in November 2025, will continue making limited numismatic pennies but has ended routine circulation strikes, according to the U.S. Mint.
