MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A bill moving through the Alabama Legislature would dictate how business owners should round totals in today’s post-penny landscape.
House Bill 545, sponsored by Rep. Norman Crow, R-Tuscaloosa, specifies how merchants should deal with cash transactions now that the U.S. Mint has stopped producing pennies.
Totals ending in one, two, six and seven would round down to the nearest nickel. Totals ending in three, four, eight and nine would round up.
Crow said the legislation is designed to provide a clear and uniform standard for rounding to protect consumers and merchants. The bill does not apply to any payments made to state or local agencies.
Production of the penny was halted by the U.S. Mint in November 2025.
“As banks have received fewer pennies, retailers are facing growing challenges in providing exact change to their customers,” Crow said when introducing his bill on the House floor last week.
The bill would not impact the sales tax collected on a purchase or any credit card transactions. He also said the bill does not conflict with or contradict legislation pending in Congress.
Crow took office after winning a January special election. House Bill 545 is his first bill, so much of the floor discussion on the bill was lawmakers grilling him with somewhat frivolous questions, a tradition for members’ first legislation.
House Majority Whip James Lomax, R-Huntsville, made two penny puns while offering his two cents on the issue, which lawmakers in the chamber received with a mix of laughter and groans.
Crow’s bill also came at the end of a long day in the House, so debate was peppered with shouts encouraging a vote.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 100-1.
Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, is carrying a similar bill in the Senate, which passed out of committee on Thursday.
There are five days remaining in the 2026 legislative session. Lawmakers are off this week for spring break and will return to Montgomery on March 31.