2.12.24 – KTUL -TULSA, Okla.
Representative David Hardin says cash is still legal tender and he does not want to lose that. That’s why he proposed House Bill 3753 so that all retail stores, in the state of Oklahoma, will accept cash starting July 1st of this year. The bill includes an amendment for retailers who still want to remain cashless.
A bill that was passed in a legislative committee on Tuesday could be pulled because of the technicalities of the bill.
The bill would require private businesses to accept cash as payments instead of a cashless-only option.
Newschannel 8 spoke to the author of this bill, Representative David Hardin.
He says after a few companies reached out to him about businesses accepting cash, he feels like this bill could be on hold.
“As we move into a digital age, I think we need to be able to keep track and accept cash at retail organizations,” said District 86 House Representative David Hardin.
Representative David Hardin says cash is still legal tender and he does not want to lose that.
That’s why he proposed House Bill 3753 so that all retail stores, in the state of Oklahoma, will accept cash starting July 1st of this year.
The bill includes an amendment for retailers who still want to remain cashless.
“A retailer that doesn’t want to handle cash. If you go into that business and they have this machine that they have requested; then you can put your cash into the machine, get a prepaid card; there is no limit on it, there is no expiration date on it, said Hardin. So essentially that retailer is still taking cash. You will just use a prepaid card to pay for it.”
This bill was passed earlier in the week and there were only two representatives who voted for it.
One of them is District 40 House Representative, Chad Caldwell.
“Quite simply I think it’s unnecessary. It’s unnecessary regulation that interferes with private business. There are some businesses with maybe some security concerns. Having cash on premises may not make sense,” said District 40 House Representative, Chad Caldwell.
Caldwell said personally, if he were a business owner he wouldn’t go to a cashless system, because he wouldn’t want to lose customers.
But they let businesses make the decisions and he thinks they should keep making those decisions.
One business owner in Brookside, still says cash is king.
“Cash is still the American way. I think it’s going to affect a lot of people. Our bank charges us for cash deposits. And I have heard other banks do as well,” said Brookside business owner, Tana Large.
Hardin says the reason it could be put on hold is the questions that have loomed around the bill.
Such as will this affect venues like the Bok Center which sells goods inside of the arena? Can marijuana companies pay other companies off with cash?
He says he’s considering pulling the bill to make proper adjustments and would bring it back in the next legislative session.