HB2938 creates a new Arizona law requiring “Swedish rounding” for cash transactions when one-cent coins are not available or not used at the point of sale. Under the bill, the final cash total after taxes, fees, and other charges must be rounded to the nearest five-cent increment: amounts ending in 1 or 2 cents round down, 3 or 4 cents round up, 6 or 7 cents round down, and 8 or 9 cents round up. The bill expressly limits the rule to cash payments and excludes credit cards, debit cards, electronic funds transfers, mobile payment apps, and other non-cash methods.
Impact
The bill adds section 44-7952 to Title 44, Chapter 38 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and also changes the chapter heading from “Businesses Exempt From Mask Mandate” to “Businesses Generally.” It requires affected sellers to post a notice at the point of sale, bars them from using any rounding method other than Swedish rounding, and requires taxes and fees to be calculated on the pre-rounded sales price. Enforcement is assigned to the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s weights and measures services division, which may issue warnings, orders, and civil penalties. The law also states that compliance with the section does not violate other state or municipal requirements and is intended to operate consistently with federal coinage and legal tender law.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition in the legislative record. It passed House committee review unanimously or near-unanimously, cleared House third reading by a wide margin, and then passed the Senate with only one dissenting vote before being signed by the governor. The inclusion of an emergency clause suggests lawmakers viewed the measure as needing immediate effect.
Contention
The main policy issue is the mandatory nature of the rounding rule and whether businesses should be required to round all cash totals in a specific way rather than use another method or leave totals unchanged. The bill also addresses potential legal concerns about federal coinage and legal tender, making clear that it does not invalidate any currency or require acceptance of any particular denomination. Another point of interest is the enforcement mechanism, which places oversight with the Department of Agriculture’s weights and measures division rather than a tax agency or consumer protection office.