Senate presses for clarity on HB191 cash-pay protections for essential goods

Senators on the floor probed House Bill 191, which would require merchants to accept cash for essential consumer goods between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., with a limited exempt period overnight. The bill defines essential goods to include food, water, fuel, personal hygiene and health products and caps applicability to purchases up to $300 in some examples discussed.

Floor leader Younts explained the bill's goal is to ensure access for consumers without credit or debit cards and that the Attorney General's office would issue warnings before fines would apply. "There are warnings before the fine becomes applicable," he said, noting a penalty process and enforcement steps.

Senators pressed on practical issues. A senator cited truck drivers who refill large amounts of fuel and questioned whether truck stops without cashiers would be exempt; the floor leader said membership fuel (e.g., Costco) is an explicit exemption and purchases over $300 are likely outside the bill’s usual application. Another senator worried small retailers would be overburdened by compliance requirements and machine-to-card rules, and asked how merchants would learn the new obligations.

Because several questions remained about definitions, exemptions for stadiums and unattended fuel stations, and compliance mechanics, the Senate laid the bill and its amendments over under the rule to allow further study.