[111th Congress Public Law 302]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[[Page 3271]]
COIN MODERNIZATION, OVERSIGHT, AND CONTINUITY ACT OF 2010
[[Page 124 STAT. 3272]]
Public Law 111-302
111th Congress
An Act
To provide research and development authority for alternative coinage
materials to the Secretary of the Treasury, increase congressional
oversight over coin production, and ensure the continuity of certain
numismatic items. <<NOTE: Dec. 14, 2010 - [H.R. 6162]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Coin
Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 31 USC 5101 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Coin Modernization, Oversight, and
Continuity Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 31 USC 5112 note.>> AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT ON ALL CIRCULATING COINS.
(a) In General.--To accomplish the goals of this Act and the
requirements of subchapter II of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code, the Secretary of the Treasury may--
(1) conduct any appropriate testing of appropriate coinage
metallic materials within or outside of the Department of the
Treasury; and
(2) solicit input from or otherwise work in conjunction with
entities within or outside of the Federal Government including
independent research facilities or current or potential
suppliers of the metallic material used in volume production of
circulating coins,
to complete the report referred to in this Act and to develop and
evaluate the use of new metallic materials.
(b) Factors to Be Considered.--In the conduct of research,
development, and the solicitation of input or work in conjunction with
entities within and outside the Federal Government, and in reporting to
the Congress with recommendations, as required by this Act, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall consider the following:
(1) Factors relevant to the potential impact of any
revisions to the composition of the material used in coin
production on the current coinage material suppliers.
(2) Factors relevant to the ease of use and ability to co-
circulate of new coinage materials, including the effect on
vending machines and commercial coin processing equipment and
making certain, to the greatest extent practicable, that any new
coins work without interruption in existing coin acceptance
equipment without modification.
(3) Such other factors that the Secretary of the Treasury,
in consultation with merchants who would be affected by any
change in the composition of circulating coins, vending machine
and other coin acceptor manufacturers, vending machine
[[Page 124 STAT. 3273]]
owners and operators, transit officials, municipal parking
officials, depository institutions, coin and currency handlers,
armored-car operators, car wash operators, and American-owned
manufacturers of commercial coin processing equipment, considers
to be appropriate and in the public interest, after notice and
opportunity for comment.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 31 USC 5112 note.>> BIENNIAL REPORT TO THE
CONGRESS ON THE CURRENT STATUS OF COIN
PRODUCTION COSTS AND ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE
CONTENT.
(a) Report Required.--Before the end of the 2-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act, and at 2-year intervals
following the end of such period, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
submit a report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
of the Senate analyzing production costs for each circulating coin, cost
trends for such production, and possible new metallic materials or
technologies for the production of circulating coins.
(b) Detailed Recommendations.--In preparing and submitting the
reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
shall include detailed recommendations for any appropriate changes to
the metallic content of circulating coins in such a form that the
recommendations could be enacted into law as appropriate.
(c) Improved Production Efficiency.--In preparing and submitting
the reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
shall include recommendations for changes in the methods of producing
coins that would further reduce the costs to produce circulating coins,
and include notes on the legislative changes that are necessary to
achieve such goals.
(d) Minimizing Conversion Costs.--In preparing and submitting the
reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury, to
the greatest extent possible, may not include any recommendation for new
specifications for producing a circulating coin that would require any
significant change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to
accommodate changes to all circulating coins simultaneously.
(e) Fraud Prevention.--The reports required under this section shall
make no recommendation for a specification change that would facilitate
or allow the use of a coin with a lesser value produced, minted, or
issued by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or
regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a
circulating coin produced by the Secretary.
(f) Rule of Construction.--No provision of this Act shall be
construed as requiring that additional research and development be
conducted for any report under this Act but any such report shall
include information on any such research and development during the
period covered by the report.
SEC. 4. MEETING DEMAND FOR SILVER AND GOLD NUMISMATIC ITEMS.
Subsections (e) and (i) of section 5112 of title 31, United States
Code are each amended by striking ``quantities'' and inserting
``qualities and quantities that the Secretary determines are''.
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
Section 5112(u)(1) of title 31, United States Code is amended--
[[Page 124 STAT. 3274]]
(1) by striking ``exact duplicates'' and inserting
``likenesses'';
(2) by striking subparagraph (C);
(3) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(4) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``of 3.0 inches'' and
inserting ``determined by the Secretary that is no less than 2.5
inches and no greater than 3.0 inches''.
SEC. 6. BUDGETARY EFFECT.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with
the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Approved December 14, 2010.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 6162:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010):
Sept. 29, considered and passed House.
Nov. 30, considered and passed Senate.
<all>