Planet Laundry Nov 2020

INDUSTRY ADVOCACY Bob Nieman

CLA Survey: Coin Shortage Continues to Plague Laundromats The Coin Laundry Association recently solicited store- owner input on the current coin shortage, in an effort to gauge the size and scope of its impact on the industry. Among those who responded to the association’s survey, 65 percent of the laundry operators admitted to observing a disruption in the supply of either quarters or dollar coins at their stores during the summer, “as evidenced by either a reduction in the normal supply of coins in the store and/or trouble accessing the desired supply of coins from their local bank.” And the situation doesn’t seem to be abating very quickly. In fact, 50 percent of respondents reported observing no improvement in the supply of coins at their laundromats in recent weeks, while 45 percent of owners said they’re still finding it difficult to access coins at their local banks. The CLA has been addressing the coin shortage in three ways. “We’re trying to educate our members as to the status of this disruption in the coin supply, including having just conducted our store-owner survey to elicit feedback from the field,”explained CLA President and CEO BrianWallace. “We’re also in direct and constant contact with the U.S. Coin Task Force, which was established by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Mint to identify, implement and promote actions to reduce the consequence and duration of COVID-19-related disruptions to normal coin circulation. We’re advocating on the industry’s behalf and providing feedback to the task force on the impact the shortage has had on the laundromat business.” Moreover, the CLA has conducted an all-out media relations blitz to help educate the public in regard to this unique situation and its impact on the industry. In fact, Wallace has been interviewed by dozens of various media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, theWashington Post, Slate, NBC San Diego, Fox Business, Newsday, Connecticut Public Radio and several others. Although coins remain scarce, there is a bit of good news. According to the recent CLA survey, 26 percent of those responding said they have seen an improvement in the supply of coins at their laundromats in recent weeks.

Lawmakers Introduce Coin Composition Legislation

U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) have introduced bipartisan legislation to allow the U.S. Mint to adjust the metal content of circulating coins in an effort to save taxpayer dollars. The Mint estimates that, by adjusting the metal content of coins, the federal government could save between $10 million and $17 million a year. “By tweaking the metal composition of our coins, the U.S. Mint could, in the short term, create more coins amid a temporary shortage and, in the long term, save millions of dollars every year without any significant changes to the coins’weight or appearance,”Sen. Hassan said. The bipartisan Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act of 2020 authorizes the U.S. Mint tomodify the metallic composition of circulating coins if that modification would reduce costs incurred by taxpayers and have minimal impact on the public. Congress and the Mint have reviewed coin composition a number of times over the years, based on the fact that the production cost of some coins – including the cost of the raw materials – exceeds the face value of the particular denominations of those coins. “There have been various legislative efforts to fix that issue,” explained Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace. “Of course, whenever the topic of coin composition arises, our concern zeroes in on the quarter.What if there were changes made to the quarter that made it difficult to accept the new coins in current coin drops and coin slides? Or what if there were potentially two versions of quarters in circulation simultaneously with varying weight, diameter and/or electromagnetic signatures? This would be a big problem.” In the past, the CLA has submitted comments opposing such legislation through the Federal Register, with regard to the prohibitive cost of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars that it would require to replace every coin drop and coin slide in the laundromat industry. In addition, the fact that the quarter’s production cost remains at about 9 cents per coin, versus its 25-cent face value, emphasizes that the quarter is not the problem. However, with renewed interest in this issue on Capitol Hill, Wallace has been in contact with the legislative staffs for both Sen. Hassan and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who has

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