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SB 893MARYLANDSession 2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Maryland authorizes businesses to round cash transaction prices and employee cash wages to the nearest five cents

Original title: Business Regulation - Rounding Cash Transactions - Authorization

Last action · May 12, 2026: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 516Sponsor: Dawn Gile

Companion · HB 1026same policy, House version
Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Does

Maryland law now permits merchants and employers to round cash transaction totals, customer change, and cash wage payments to the nearest five cents. Under the new rules, totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents are rounded down, while totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents are rounded up, and transactions totaling less than five cents round up to five cents. The legislation takes effect immediately as an emergency measure enacted on May 12, 2026.

Why it matters

Changes checkout cash handling and wage payment practices for state merchants and employers by allowing cash totals to be adjusted to the nearest nickel, while excluding up to two cents of rounding adjustments from state sales tax calculations.

Background
  • Senate Bill 893 was enacted in Maryland during the 2026 legislative session as an emergency measure. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Merchants

Merchants are authorized to round cash transaction totals and customer change to the nearest five cents.

Directly affected

Employers

Employers may round employee cash wages in accordance with the new rounding provisions.

Directly affected

Customers

Customers paying with cash will experience rounded transaction totals or change amounts.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should merchants round cash transaction totals under the new law?
Merchants may round totals ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents down to the nearest nickel, and totals ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents up to the nearest nickel. Totals under five cents round up to five cents.
Does this rounding rule apply to exact change payments?
No. The subtitle does not apply to cash transactions made with exact change.
How does rounding affect state sales tax calculations?
The for state sales and use tax excludes an amount not exceeding two cents collected due to price rounding under this act.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

22 actions
  1. May 12, 2026Governor of MarylandEnrolled
    Approved by the Governor - Chapter 516
  2. Apr 13, 2026SenateFloor
    Passed Enrolled
  3. Apr 13, 2026SenateFloor
    Third Reading Passed (36-11)
  4. Apr 13, 2026SenateFloor
    Senate Concurs House Amendments
  5. Apr 13, 2026HouseFloor
    Third Reading Passed (124-12)
  6. Apr 9, 2026HouseFloor
    Second Reading Passed with Amendments
Show 16 earlier actions
  1. Apr 9, 2026House
    Favorable with Amendments { 283229/1 Adopted
  2. Apr 9, 2026HouseCommittee
    Favorable with Amendments Report by Economic Matters
  3. Mar 24, 2026House
    Hearing 4/01 at 1:00 p.m.
  4. Mar 18, 2026HouseCommittee
    Referred Economic Matters
  5. Mar 18, 2026SenateFloor
    Third Reading Passed (37-9)
  6. Mar 12, 2026SenateFloor
    Second Reading Passed with Amendments
  7. Mar 12, 2026Senate
    Floor Amendment { 213026/1 (Senator Hershey) Adopted
  8. Mar 12, 2026Senate
    Floor Amendment { 983326/1 (Senator Hershey) Withdrawn
  9. Mar 11, 2026SenateFloor
    Motion Laid Over (Senator Hershey) Adopted
  10. Mar 11, 2026Senate
    Floor Amendment { 983326/1 (Senator Hershey)
  11. Mar 11, 2026Senate
    Favorable with Amendments { 373726/1 Adopted
  12. Mar 10, 2026SenateFloor
    Motion Special Order until 3/11 (Senator Hershey) Adopted
  13. Mar 10, 2026Senate
    Favorable with Amendments { 373726/1
  14. Mar 9, 2026SenateCommittee
    Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance
  15. Feb 12, 2026Senate
    Hearing 2/27 at 1:00 p.m.
  16. Feb 6, 2026SenateIntroduced
    First Reading Finance

Version history

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Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Dawn GileSenate · District 33DemocraticSponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Establishment of Statewide Cash Rounding Standards

Maryland created a uniform statutory framework for rounding cash transactions and wages while adjusting state sales tax definitions.

Maryland

Connected Entities

Maryland, WES MOORE
locationMaryland“Jurisdiction where the act applies”Map →
PersonWES MOORE“Governor who approved the act”Map →

Sources

Open source document

mgaleg.maryland.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy15
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz25
    Current news / social attention level

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