An Act relative to consumer protections for low valued legal tender scarcity
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 5/26/2026 | House | Accompanied a new draft, see H5450↗ |
| 4/15/2026 | Joint | Hearing rescheduled to 04/15/2026 from 01:00 PM-01:35 PM in A-1 and Virtual — Hearing updated to New End Time |
| 4/2/2026 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 04/15/2026 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1 |
| 2/19/2026 | Senate | Senate concurred |
| 2/17/2026 | House | Reported, referred to the committee on Joint Rules, reported, rules suspended and referred to the committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure |
| 1/27/2026 | House | Referred to the committee on House Rules |
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| H33 | Suspend Rules | — |
| J17 | Accompanied | — |
Section 10A of chapter 255D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by added at the end thereof of the following 2 paragraphs:- In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, ends with 1 cent, 2 cents, 6 cents, or 7 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded down to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any buyer seeking to make a payment or portion thereof with legal tender. In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, ends with 3 cents, 4 cents, 8 cents, or 9 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any buyer seeking to make a payment or portion thereof with legal tender; provided, however, where the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, totals $0.01 or $0.02, such transaction may be rounded up to $0.05 for any buyer seeking to make a payment with legal tender. The foregoing paragraph shall not apply to goods or services where a buyer offers to use as total payment: electronic fund transfer, check, gift card, money order, credit card, or other similar instrument or method not legal tender.
The office of consumer affairs and business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to ensure that establishments provide adequate notice to buyers and maintain the necessary systems and protocols in place relative to the use of legal tender or other forms of payment for goods and services.
SECTION 1. Section 10A of chapter 255D of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by added at the end thereof of the following 2 paragraphs:- In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, ends with 1 cent, 2 cents, 6 cents, or 7 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded down to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any buyer seeking to make a payment or portion thereof with legal tender. In any case in which the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, ends with 3 cents, 4 cents, 8 cents, or 9 cents as the final digit, the amount of cents in the sum shall be rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by 5 for any buyer seeking to make a payment or portion thereof with legal tender; provided, however, where the total transaction amount, including any taxes or fees, totals $0.01 or $0.02, such transaction may be rounded up to $0.05 for any buyer seeking to make a payment with legal tender. The foregoing paragraph shall not apply to goods or services where a buyer offers to use as total payment: electronic fund transfer, check, gift card, money order, credit card, or other similar instrument or method not legal tender. SECTION 2. The office of consumer affairs and business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to ensure that establishments provide adequate notice to buyers and maintain the necessary systems and protocols in place relative to the use of legal tender or other forms of payment for goods and services.