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No card, no problem: Ohio bill would require retailers to accept cash

No card, no problem: Ohio bill would require retailers to accept cash

Yahoo31-01-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recently introduced bill would require Ohio retailers to accept cash as a form of payment.
Sens. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) introduced Senate Bill 30 last week. The legislation would ban cashless businesses, requiring physical money to be accepted during any retail transaction conducted in person. The bill excludes transactions that occur over the phone, through the mail or online.
'We tend to be moving more towards a cashless society now and there are privacy concerns with that,' Blessing said. 'Beyond that, there's a number of people who are unbanked. Think immigrants and low-income people. So a cashless society becomes more problematic for them, and of course, seniors.'
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In Ohio, 4.2% of households did not use banking services as of 2023, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Since there is no federal law in the United States that requires businesses to accept cash, a business can legally reject it unless a state or local law specifically prohibits it.
The bill would allow the Ohio attorney general to sue businesses that reject cash for damages between $5,000 to $25,000 under the Consumer Sales Practices Act. Customers would also be able to sue for the amount of their transaction, plus up to $5,000.
The bill does have exemptions for the following circumstances:
Airport vendors in terminals where at least two other establishments sell food and accept cash
Parking facilities owned by a city
Parking facilities that only accept mobile payments
Rental car companies that accept a cashier's check or certified check as payment
Venues with a seating capacity of 10,000 or more
Businesses that offer a device to convert a customer's cash into a prepaid card, as long as there is no conversion fee
In recent years, multiple groups have come out against cashless establishments. The American Civil Liberties Union has condemned cashless stores, citing how low-income and undocumented people often lack access to banking services. MarketWatch, a financial news company, said cyberattacks and data leaks are more likely to affect those who pay digitally.
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However, not everyone is on board with SB 30. The Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, an association representing over 7,700 businesses in the state, said the bill is unnecessary governmental oversight on businesses.
'This should be something that's between a business and its customers,' said Lora Miller, director of governmental relations and public affairs. 'Businesses know what their customers want and respond accordingly.'
Miller said she is not aware of any businesses in the organization's thousands of members that do not accept cash.
'Maybe one of our over 7,000 members doesn't accept cash,' Miller said. 'It's just very unusual because in the business of retail, you want to take whatever the customer is going to give. … To tie their hands, so to speak, for the future by a state law seems overly burdensome and unnecessary.'
Miller said she is perplexed by why the establishments that are frequently going cashless, such as sports or entertainment arenas, are the ones that are exempt from the bill.
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Blessing said he modeled the bill off of similar legislation that was signed into law in New Jersey. The exemptions in that law are the ones included in SB 30.
'As you can probably surmise, these things always turn out to be compromises; that's how it worked out in New Jersey,' Blessing said. 'Not having any options for cash at a sports facility – it's not something that most people go to on a daily basis. It's not the end of the world, and it's not really vital like going to the grocery would be.'
The new legislation marks the third time Blessing has introduced a bill requiring retailers to accept cash. If SB 30 fails to pass, he said he plans to continue introducing the measure until it becomes law.
The legislation was assigned to the Small Business and Economic Opportunity committee and awaits its first public hearing.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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'Unacceptable and inhumane': Latinas for Trump founder blasts immigration arrests
'Unacceptable and inhumane': Latinas for Trump founder blasts immigration arrests

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time6 hours ago

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'Unacceptable and inhumane': Latinas for Trump founder blasts immigration arrests

WASHINGTON – Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized President Donald Trump's recent immigration enforcement actions as 'unacceptable and inhumane' in a social media post. Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the United States, including in Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. Family members and pro-immigration advocates have said that in some of the arrests, immigration judges dropped active cases against migrants, potentially expediting the deportation process. The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration enforcement spurred protests in Los Angeles, in which some demonstrators hurled large chunks of broken concrete at officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On June 7, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to the region over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens," Garcia, who served as the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, wrote in a tweet on June 7. "But what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings – in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims – all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she said, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. "This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value." She added that she stood with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who also denounced Trump's actions. 'I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' Salazar wrote in a statement on June 6. Salazar said she would meet with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, along with Florida Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, to "personally explain the dire situation unfolding in South Florida." Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Latinas for Trump founder blasts 'inhumane' immigration arrests

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