AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 4, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

URGENCY STATUTE

Introduced by Senator Caballero

(Coauthor: Senator Arreguín)

February 9, 2026

An act to add Section 6158 to the Government Code, relating to local government, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law requires a public agency to accept specified methods of payment for designated obligations.

This bill would authorize a local agency to round the amount of any payment made wholly or partly in cash to the local agency, or any refund or other amount tendered wholly or partly in cash by the local agency, to the nearest $0.05. The bill would apply to a local agency only if the governing body of the local agency adopts, by majority vote, a resolution to make its provisions applicable to the local agency. The bill would define terms for its purposes.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 6158 is added to the Government Code, to read:

6158.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Local agency” has the same meaning as defined in Section 54951.

(2) “Payment” means any tax, fee, or charge paid to the local agency, or other funds tendered to the local agency for any license, permit, or public service, or in payment of any trust deposit, and includes any payment set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 6159.

(b) A local agency may round the amount of any payment made wholly or partly in cash to the local agency, or any refund or other amount tendered wholly or partly in cash by the local agency, to the nearest five cents ($0.05).

(c) This section shall apply to a local agency only if the governing body of the local agency adopts, by majority vote, a resolution to make this section applicable to the local agency.

(d) The Legislature finds and declares that authorizing local agencies to round transactions made wholly or partly in cash to the nearest five cents ($0.05) serves a public purpose, and is of benefit to the state and local agencies, by facilitating the conduct of public business if the United States Mint ceases to produce pennies, notwithstanding the potential reduction or elimination of the production of pennies by the United States Mint.

SEC. 2.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

The shortage of United States pennies has reached unprecedented levels, creating immediate operational challenges for tax collection offices and other local government agencies across California. Without the ability to provide accurate change for cash transactions, public-facing agencies are increasingly unable to process routine payments efficiently, generating public frustration, slowing service delivery, and eroding confidence in cash-based government transactions. Counties are encountering these challenges now, well in advance of the timelines initially anticipated, requiring an urgent legislative action before the disruption becomes more widespread.