SENATE BILL: Eliminating small Dollar denominations Act (Passed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A BILL
To get rid of small denominations in Atlasian currency

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Eliminating small Dollar denominations Act.

Section 2. Eliminating small dollar denominations

1. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; the Atlasian Mint shall not produce any more Pennies or coins that are worth 1 Atlasian cent (1% of one Atlasian Dollar); or any other sort of coin worth less than a Nickel (5 Atlasian cents, or 5% of an Atlasian Dollar).

2. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; the Bureau of Engraving and Printing may not print any bill that is worth less than 5 Atlasian dollars (500% of one Atlasian Dollar); including but not limited to 1 and 2$ bills.

3. Prices may still be displayed by stores and other sellers though 2 full decimal places.

4. If a consumer is paying with a credit card, cheque or other form of payment where the exact amount can be paid; the seller must deduct the exact amount the buyer owes. If the consumer is paying with cash, the transaction's final price shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.

Section 3. Amending old legislation

1. Section II.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows:

  a. Penny - shall be worth 1¢ (or equivalent 1% of the $1 dollar bill).
        a. Nickel - shall be worth 5¢ (or equivalent 5% of $1 dollar).
        b. Dime - shall be worth 10¢ (or equivalent 10% of $1 dollar).
        c. Quarter - shall be worth 25¢ (or equivalent 25% of $1 dollar).
        d. Dollar - shall be worth 1$ (or equivalent 100% of 1$ dollar)
        e. Two Dollar - shall be worth 2$ (or equivalent 200% of 1$ dollar)

2. Section III.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows

a. $1 bill
        a. $5 bill
        b. $10 bill
        c. $20 bill
        d. $50 bill
        e. $100 bill
        f. $200 bill

Section 4. Enactment

1. This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage
2. Old coins and bill shall remain legal tender until December 31st, 2023
3. After December 31st, 2023; all legal tender minted before said date shall be able to be exchanged for its equivalent legal tender minted after said date at bureaux de change. However, 1 cent coins must be exchanged in full multiples of 5 with no rounding.

People's Regional Senate

Sponsor: Tack50
Senate Designation: SB23:09

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Sponsor, speak!!!

[Former President tack50]

Basically, the Atlasian government wastes millions of dollars of taxpayer money each year by minting pennies, which are actually worth more than one penny when melted down!

This bill seeks to end that insanity and eliminate the penny from currency. I am sure this will not please Big Zinc (which is a real thing!) but who cares, it's not like lobbyists are paying us

This bill also seeks to replace dollar bills with dollar coins. While bills are cheaper to produce, they are also less durable, so for high turnover bills like 1$ bills, it is better to just have coins instead.

Section 4 includes some provisions regarding how exactly the transition would work, mostly carried over from the "Currency of Atlasia Act from 2017.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I fully oppose this bill.

The penny is still useful and the one dollar bill is one of the most convenient bill to use for small purchases like vending machines ect.

[Peanut]

I don't mind getting rid of the penny, but yeah, getting rid of the $1 is more trouble than it's worth.

[Former President tack50]

Well, as someone who does deal with having 1 and 2€ coins daily, I can assure you they are just every bit as convenient as bills (or maybe it is because I am already used to them so I don't notice).

Our neighbours to the north (Canada) also abolished the 1$ Canadian bills in favour of 1 and 2$ coins for what is worth.

Also introducing the following amendment as I have realized that the nickel is also more expensive to manufacture than 0.05$:

A BILL
To get rid of small denominations in Atlasian currency

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Eliminating small Dollar denominations Act.

Section 2. Eliminating small dollar denominations

1. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; The Atlasian Mint shall not produce any more Pennies or coins that are worth 1 Atlasian cent (1% of one Atlasian Dollar); or any other sort of coin worth less than a Nickel (5 Atlasian cents, or 5% of an Atlasian Dollar).

2. Beginning on January 1st, 2021; the Bureau of Engraving and Printing may not print any bill that is worth less than 5 Atlasian dollars (500% of one Atlasian Dollar); including but not limited to 1 and 2$ bills.

3. The Atlasian Mint shall revise the composition of the nickel (0.05$ coin) and change its manufacturing process and composition in such a way that the manufacturing cost of the coin falls below its nominal value. This shall be done before July 31st, 2021. If this is not possible, the Atlasian Mint shall cease the coinage of the nickel (0.05$ coin) by July 31st, 2021.

4. Prices may still be displayed by stores and other sellers though 2 full decimal places.

5. If a consumer is paying with a credit card, cheque or other form of payment where the exact amount can be paid; the seller must deduct the exact amount the buyer owes. If the consumer is paying with cash, the transaction's final price shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents.

Section 3. Amending old legislation

1. Section II.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows:

  a. Penny - shall be worth 1¢ (or equivalent 1% of the $1 dollar bill).
        a. Nickel - shall be worth 5¢ (or equivalent 5% of $1 dollar).
        b. Dime - shall be worth 10¢ (or equivalent 10% of $1 dollar).
        c. Quarter - shall be worth 25¢ (or equivalent 25% of $1 dollar).
        d. Dollar - shall be worth 1$ (or equivalent 100% of 1$ dollar)
        e. Two Dollar - shall be worth 2$ (or equivalent 200% of 1$ dollar)

2. Section III.1 of the "The Currency of Atlasia Act" shall be amended as follows

a. $1 bill
        a. $5 bill
        b. $10 bill
        c. $20 bill
        d. $50 bill
        e. $100 bill
        f. $200 bill

3. Section 2.1 shall be implemented in a way compatible with the Au Revoir to Useless Coins Act

Section 4. Enactment

1. This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage
2. Old coins and bill shall remain legal tender until December 31st, 2023
3. After December 31st, 2023; all legal tender minted before said date shall be able to be exchanged for its equivalent legal tender minted after said date at bureaux de change. However, 1 cent coins must be exchanged in full multiples of 5 with no rounding.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

New bill idea for an amendment.

A BILL
To ensure coins are not costing more to produce than face value of such coins

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the "Coin Composition Revision Act".

Section 2. Coin composition revision

The Atlasian Mint shall revise the composition of the penny (0.01$ coin) and the nickel (0.05$ coin) and change its manufacturing process and composition in such a way that the manufacturing cost of the coin falls below such coins nominal value. This shall be done before July 31st, 2021.

Section 3. Enactment

This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage.

[Former President tack50]

Don't think the general public can formally propose amendments, but if a Senator sponsors it I am declaring it not friendly.

[Former President tack50]

Also, I just realized Congress already dealt with the issue of the penny in the Au Revoir to Useless Coins Act.

In any case, that bill seems to not have really thought much about the consequences of the elimination of the penny, so I have edited my previous amendment (given that Yankee hasn't proposed an objections period to it yet) in order to account for the fact that the penny is already gone

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Don't think the general public can formally propose amendments, but if a Senator sponsors it I am declaring it not friendly.

Its like the video clip of Gore counting the electoral votes and dismissing objection after objecting from the CBC relating to Florida and all of which desired to make him President.

Is the objection amendment signed by a Senator?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So with no in house sponsor, I take it no vote on the Jimmy idea?


Senators have 24 hours to object to Tack's revised amendment, S23:14.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment is adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So follow up?

[Sestak]

The penny being already gone kind of undermines the point of this - I don’t really see a gain with switching to $1 and $2 coins - a lot of infrastucture will have to be modified and there aren’t any clear benefits to doing that.

[Former President tack50]

The penny being already gone kind of undermines the point of this - I don’t really see a gain with switching to $1 and $2 coins - a lot of infrastucture will have to be modified and there aren’t any clear benefits to doing that.

Fron what I can tell this would save the government money because coins last longer than a bill and therefore there is less need to produce currency

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The penny being already gone kind of undermines the point of this - I don’t really see a gain with switching to $1 and $2 coins - a lot of infrastucture will have to be modified and there aren’t any clear benefits to doing that.

Fron what I can tell this would save the government money because coins last longer than a bill and therefore there is less need to produce currency

What is the estimated difference in time durability? And then the follow up to that is does the savings of that outweigh the up front costs that Sestak discussed?

[Former President tack50]

The penny being already gone kind of undermines the point of this - I don’t really see a gain with switching to $1 and $2 coins - a lot of infrastucture will have to be modified and there aren’t any clear benefits to doing that.

Fron what I can tell this would save the government money because coins last longer than a bill and therefore there is less need to produce currency

What is the estimated difference in time durability? And then the follow up to that is does the savings of that outweigh the up front costs that Sestak discussed?

From what I can tell the average dollar note tends to last somewhere between 5 and 6 years on average. Meanwhile the average coin stays in circulation for 6 times longer, for 30 years.

After a quick research, in real life proponents of abolishing the dollar bills in favour of coins claim the measure would save anywhere from 4 to 6 billion $. Opponents argue that because bills now last longer because they are built of better quality and used less thanks to the rise in credit cards and what not, it would actually lose mone to make a switch, somewhere between 500 million and 1.5 billion $.

Taking the average of these values I suppose it will save Atlasia around 3 billion dollars overall?

For what's worth it would also bring Atlasia in-line with the rest of the world as it is one of the last developed countries remaining that still uses low denomination bills instead of coins.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So where are we at then?

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Amendment idea.

A BILL
To ensure coins are not costing more to produce than face value of such coins

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the "Coin Composition Revision Act".

Section 2. Coin composition revision

(a) In general. —

The "Au Revoir To Useless Coins Act" shall be repealed.

(b) Composition. —

The Atlasian Mint shall revise the composition of the penny (0.01$ coin) and the nickel (0.05$ coin) and change its manufacturing process and composition in such a way that the manufacturing cost of the coin falls below such coins nominal value. This shall be done before July 31st, 2021.

Section 3. Enactment

This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage.

[At-Large Senator LouisvilleThunder]

Amendment idea.

A BILL
To ensure coins are not costing more to produce than face value of such coins

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives, in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the "Coin Composition Revision Act".

Section 2. Coin composition revision

(a) In general. —

The "Au Revoir To Useless Coins Act" shall be repealed.

(b) Composition. —

The Atlasian Mint shall revise the composition of the penny (0.01$ coin) and the nickel (0.05$ coin) and change its manufacturing process and composition in such a way that the manufacturing cost of the coin falls below such coins nominal value. This shall be done before July 31st, 2021.

Section 3. Enactment

This bill shall go into effect immediately after passage.

I'll sponsor this amendment.

[Former President tack50]

I object to the amendment.

While I disagree I get why people would want to keep the dollar bills. I most certainly do not see why anyone would want to keep the penny

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Oh, God, are we doing this again? Pennies are pointless, cost double their cash value to mint, and most importantly do not facilitate the exchange of goods and services. When was the last time anyone here paid a bill with pennies? I don't usually describe myself as a fiscal conservative, but reviving a denomination for what amount to sentimental reasons is the epitome of corporate welfare. Very disappointing to see this idea gaining traction in the Senate!

(The U.S. used to mint a coin worth 0.005% of a dollar until it was discontinued for the same reasons we got rid of the penny —should we bring back the half penny, too?)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A vote is now open on S23:20 by LT, Senators please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Oh, God, are we doing this again? Pennies are pointless, cost double their cash value to mint, and most importantly do not facilitate the exchange of goods and services. When was the last time anyone here paid a bill with pennies? I don't usually describe myself as a fiscal conservative, but reviving a denomination for what amount to sentimental reasons is the epitome of corporate welfare. Very disappointing to see this idea gaining traction in the Senate!

(The U.S. used to mint a coin worth 0.005% of a dollar until it was discontinued for the same reasons we got rid of the penny —should we bring back the half penny, too?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_cent_(United_States_coin)

[Former President tack50]

Nay