Common Cents Act

Enumerated powers · passes

Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 grants Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof. This bill directly concerns the production, composition, and legal tender status of coins, and the rounding of cash transactions is a regulation of the currency. Therefore, the federal government has explicit constitutional authority to enact this legislation.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not implicate any of the first ten amendments. It does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, fair trial, jury, cruel and unusual punishment, or unenumerated rights. The rounding requirement applies to cash transactions but does not infringe on any enumerated right.

Individual liberty · passes · severity: minor

The rounding requirement imposes a minor restriction on how individuals and businesses conduct cash transactions, but it is a reasonable regulation of currency and does not significantly restrict personal autonomy. The government has a compelling interest in maintaining an efficient currency system, and the burden is minimal. The bill does not restrict speech, labor, belief, or property in a way that requires heightened scrutiny.

Decentralization · passes

The four-question test: (1) Individuals cannot handle the production of coins themselves; this is a national function. (2) Local communities cannot regulate the national currency. (3) States cannot coin money or regulate the value thereof; this is a federal power. (4) The bill does not consolidate decision-making upward beyond the minimum necessary, as the Constitution assigns coinage to the federal government. Therefore, the bill passes all four questions.

Due process and takings · passes

The rounding requirement does not take property without just compensation; it is a regulation of the medium of exchange, not a taking of specific property. The bill provides procedural requirements for Treasury to discontinue coin production, including notice and briefing to Congress, which satisfies procedural due process. The rounding rule is not arbitrary and applies uniformly to cash transactions.