SB 30: Require retail merchants to give customers the option to pay cash
The bill requires retail merchants to give customers the option to pay by cash. This includes any retail transaction conducted in person and excludes telephone, mail, or internet-based transactions. Merchants must accept cash when offered by the buyer as payment. A violation of this requirement is considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and customers injured by a violation have a cause of action. The bill also specifies exceptions, including transactions at airports with at least two merchants accepting cash, municipal corporation-owned parking facilities, and certain businesses with specific payment options. These exceptions do not apply to the requirement that merchants accept cash.
| Jan. 29, 2025 | Referred to committee: Small Business and Economic Opportunity |
| Jan. 22, 2025 | Introduced |
As Introduced
136th General Assembly Regular Session 2025-2026
S. B. No. 30
Senators Blessing, Ingram
Cosponsors: Senators Chavez, Craig, Smith, Wilkin, Cutrona
A B I L L
To enact section 1333.97 of the Revised Code to 1
require retail merchants to give customers the 2
option to pay by cash. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 1333.97 of the Revised Code be 4
enacted to read as follows: 5
Sec. 1333.97. (A) As used in this section, "at retail" 6
includes any retail transaction conducted in person and excludes 7
any telephone, mail, or internet-based transaction. 8
(B) A person selling or offering for sale goods or 9
services at retail shall not require a buyer to pay using credit 10
or prohibit cash as payment. A person selling or offering for 11
sale goods or services at retail shall accept cash when offered 12
by the buyer as payment. 13
(C) A violation of division (B) of this section is an 14
unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of section 15
1345.02 of the Revised Code. A person injured by a violation of 16
division (B) of this section has a cause of action and is 17
entitled to the same relief available to a consumer under 18
S. B. No. 30 As Introduced
section 1345.09 of the Revised Code. All powers and remedies 19
available to the attorney general to enforce sections 1345.01 to 20
1345.13 of the Revised Code are available to the attorney 21
general to enforce division (B) of this section. 22
(D) This section does not apply to any of the following: 23
(1) A person selling goods or services at an airport, if 24
at least two persons selling food in the same terminal accept 25
cash as payment; 26
(2) A parking facility owned by a municipal corporation, 27
regardless of whether the facility is operated by the municipal 28
corporation or another entity; 29
(3) A parking facility that accepts mobile payment, if the 30
facility does not accept payment by any means other than mobile 31
payment; 32
(4) A company in the business of renting motor vehicles, 33
if the company accepts a cashier's check or a certified check 34
when offered by a buyer as payment; 35
(5) A sports or entertainment venue with a seating 36
capacity of ten thousand or more irrespective of the event held 37
at the venue; 38
(6) A retail establishment that possesses and allows 39
customers to use a device that converts cash into a prepaid card 40
that a customer can use to complete a transaction at the retail 41
establishment if all of the following apply: 42
(a) There is no fee for converting cash into the prepaid 43
card. 44
(b) There is no fee for using the prepaid card. 45
S. B. No. 30 As Introduced
Page 3
(c) A minimum deposit greater than five dollars is not 46
required to obtain the prepaid card. 47
(d) The customer is given the option of obtaining a 48
receipt indicating the amount of cash the customer deposited 49
onto the prepaid card. 50
(e) The prepaid card is not subject to an expiration date 51
or a limit on the number of transactions for which it may be 52
used. 53