CASH Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2630 To make it unlawful for any physical retail establishment to refuse to accept cash as payment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2019 Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VEASEY, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To make it unlawful for any physical retail establishment to refuse to accept cash as payment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited to as the ‘‘CASH Act’’ or the 4 ‘‘Cash Always Should be Honored Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REQUIRED ACCEPTANCE OF LEGAL TENDER. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any phys- 7 ical retail establishment to refuse to accept legal tender 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2630.IH H2630 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2630 IH as payment for any products or services offered for sale 1 by such physical retail establishment. 2 (b) ONLINE TRANSACTIONS.—For any physical retail 3 establishment that also offers products and services for 4 sale through an internet-based platform, subsection (a) 5 shall not apply to a transaction conducted through such 6 platform if the individual making a payment in such trans- 7 action is not physically present in the physical retail estab- 8 lishment at the time of the transaction. 9 (c) TELEPHONE TRANSACTIONS.—For any physical 10 retail establishment that also offers products and services 11 for sale by way of the telephone, subsection (a) shall not 12 apply to a transaction conducted by way of the telephone 13 if the individual making a payment in such transaction 14 is not physically present in the physical retail establish- 15 ment at the time of the transaction. 16 (d) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 17 SION.— 18 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 19 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall be treated 20 as a violation of a regulation under section 21 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 22 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or decep- 23 tive acts or practices. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2630.IH H2630 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2630 IH (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Federal 1 Trade Commission shall enforce subsection (a) in 2 the same manner, by the same means, and with the 3 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 4 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 5 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor- 6 porated into and made a part of this section. Any 7 person who violates this section shall be subject to 8 the penalties and entitled to the privileges and im- 9 munities provided in the Federal Trade Commission 10 Act. 11 (3) RULEMAKING.—The Federal Trade Com- 12 mission may promulgate regulations under section 13 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement this 14 section. 15 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 16 (1) LEGAL TENDER.—The term ‘‘legal tender’’ 17 means any United States coin or currency. 18 (2) PHYSICAL RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT.—The 19 term ‘‘physical retail establishment’’ means any 20 physical establishment where goods or services are 21 offered for sale and sold to individuals who are phys- 22 ically present in such physical establishment. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 May 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2630.IH H2630 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS