TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Legislation that would allow and later require certain public cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel is moving forward at the Oklahoma Capitol.

House Bill 3075, the Oklahoma Common Cents Act, passed out of the House General Government Policy Committee and now heads to the Government Oversight Committee.

The bill authored by Representative Derrick Hildebrant would apply only to public-sector cash payments, or the cash portion of a payment, made to political subdivisions such as counties and municipalities. It would not affect private businesses and would not apply to checks, debit cards, credit cards, or other digital transactions.

“What this bill does is it addresses this problem in the public sector by providing clear statutory authority to all political subdivisions by rounding cash transactions using a standard mathematical rounding to the nearest nickel,” District 23 Representative Derrick Hildebrant said.

Under the bill, totals ending in one or two cents would be rounded down to zero. Totals ending in three or four cents would be rounded up to five cents. Amounts ending in six or seven cents would be rounded down to five cents, while totals ending in eight or nine cents would be rounded up to 10 cents.

Hildebrant said the bill was requested by one of his constituents, Rogers County Treasurer Jason Carini, who raised concerns about a growing shortage of pennies and the difficulty of providing exact change at public payment counters.

Rogers County analyzed the potential impact of rounding, reviewing cash transaction data from 2023, 2024, and 2025. The analysis showed that rounding would have a minimal financial impact overall.

In 2023, the county recorded 1,517 cash transactions, resulting in a net gain of $0.21 if rounding had been applied. In 2024, the county recorded 1,555 cash transactions with a net gain of $0.75. In 2025, 1,542 cash transactions would have resulted in a net gain of $0.86.

“5 percent of those transactions were cash and so in 2023 I think around 15-hundred cash transactions and the overage and underage ended up being a 22 cent overage, so less than a dollar,” Representative Hildebrant said.

Hildebrant emphasized that the bill includes statutory language outlining how political subdivisions may account for overages or shortages resulting from rounding.

“We’ve put in statute that any political subdivision of the state may account for over/underage payments from the funds under its control to determine the governing body of the political subdivision,” he said.

The Oklahoma Common Cents Act mirrors similar legislation being considered at the federal level. The federal Common Cents Act would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to stop minting pennies and require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents nationwide.

Hildebrant said House Bill 3075 does not eliminate the penny in Oklahoma but provides guidance for public entities if pennies move out of circulation.

“What it does is give statutory language to counties, and counties cannot operate without statutory language,” Hildebrant said. “If it’s signed into law by the governor, it would be effective in July.”

Under the bill, political subdivisions could choose to implement rounding from the effective date through July 1, 2027. Beginning July 1, 2027, rounding would become mandatory for applicable public cash transactions unless Congress directs otherwise.

Carini said Rogers County plans to notify residents of any changes through signage at the courthouse and at mobile payment sites in the community. Hildebrant said broader public communication would include press releases, signage at cash registers and coordination with media outlets to ensure consistency statewide.

The Oklahoma Municipal League has endorsed the bill, and Hildebrant said he has worked closely with the organization.

If HB3075 clears the Government Oversight Committee, it will move to the full House for consideration before heading to the Senate. If approved by both chambers, the bill would then be sent to the governor for final approval.