Governor Hobbs Signs HB 2938 Officially Ending the Penny in Arizona

Penny for your thoughts? Too soon? The penny has gone the way of the dodo, it seems. It’s become too expensive to continue minting pennies, so its extinction is on the horizon.

According to the US Treasury, “[o]ver the past 10 years, the total production cost of the penny has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents per penny.” By stopping production, the US Mint estimates they’ll save about $56 million annually in reduced material costs.

You’ve probably already seen many businesses letting you know they’ll round your purchase to the nearest nickel; Arizona has made the requirement official.

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Governor Hobbs Makes the End of the Penny in Arizona Official

Arizona has officially joined the “no‑penny” era. Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2938 last week. The new law requires businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. This process is often called “Swedish rounding.”

Hobbs signed the bill to formalize something that Arizona businesses had already been doing since the federal government stopped minting pennies.

READ ALSO: How Will The End Of Pennies Affect Arizona Shoppers?

Why Make This Change Now?

If we're being honest, pennies have been more of a nuisance than a necessity for years. Take a minute and go through your couch cushions and junk drawers. How many do you think you’ll find partying with the dust bunnies?

Many of us already use cashless alternatives, such as debit cards and mobile payment methods.

When the U.S. Treasury halted production, however, Arizona needed a clear, statewide rule for handling those odd‑cent totals. HB 2938 gives everyone, shoppers, small businesses, and cash‑only holdouts, a simple, predictable system.

Under the new Arizona law, totals ending in 1 or 2 cents round down, 3 or 4 cents round up, and anything ending in 0 or 5 stays the same.

READ ALSO: What is Arizona's "Tamale Law"?

Who Does Dropping the Penny Help Most?

This change is a quiet win for small businesses. Now they no longer need to scramble for rolls of pennies or explain inconsistent rounding practices.

The new rule also helps cash‑paying customers, especially in rural areas where card readers don’t always connect well.

What Does the End of the Penny Mean for Arizona’s Future?

I’m gonna miss the penny for nostalgia reasons, but I can see the practical side of this. HB 2938 is the literal end of a tiny but familiar piece of Americana, but I’m looking forward to clearer, more honest pricing.

Will stores finally end the dollar-and-.99-cent mind game they play with pricing? Time will tell.

For now, will we start asking, “nickel for your thoughts”? Or like other things, will the phrase become an ancient relic of a bygone era?