STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6572 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 12, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, ARROYO, WRIGHT, EPSTEIN, TAYLOR, EICHEN- STEIN, DeSTEFANO, SCHMITT, B. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to gift certif- icates and gift cards; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 396-i of the general business law is REPEALED and a 2 new section 396-i is added to read as follows: 3 § 396-i. Gift certificates and gift cards. 1. For the purposes of this 4 section: 5 (a) the term "gift certificate" shall mean a written promise in a 6 specified amount which cannot be increased in value on the face thereof 7 and purchased by a consumer in exchange for payment to provide merchan- 8 dise or service in a specified amount or of equal value to the bearer of 9 the certificate. 10 (b) "gift cards" shall mean a card which may be purchased by a consum- 11 er in exchange for payment to provide merchandise or service in a speci- 12 fied amount of equal value to the bearer of the card. 13 2. It is unlawful for any person or entity to sell a gift certificate 14 or gift card to a purchaser that contains any of the following: 15 (a) An expiration date; or 16 (b) A service fee, including, but not limited to, a service fee for 17 dormancy, except as provided in subdivision six of this section. 18 3. (a) Any gift certificate sold after January first, nineteen nine- 19 ty-seven, is redeemable in cash for its cash value, or subject to 20 replacement with a new gift certificate at no cost to the purchaser or 21 holder. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10118-01-9A. 6572 2 1 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, any gift 2 certificate with a cash value of less than ten dollars is redeemable in 3 cash for its cash value. 4 4. A gift certificate sold without an expiration date is valid until 5 redeemed or replaced. 6 5. This section does not apply to any of the following gift certif- 7 icates issued on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, 8 provided the expiration date appears in capital letters in at least 9 ten-point font on the front of the gift certificate: 10 (a) Gift certificates that are distributed by the issuer to a consumer 11 pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program without any money 12 or other thing of value being given in exchange for the gift certificate 13 by the consumer; 14 (b) Gift certificates that are donated or sold below face value at a 15 volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organiza- 16 tions for fundraising purposes if the expiration date on those gift 17 certificates is not more than thirty days after the date of sale; or 18 (c) Gift certificates that are issued for perishable food products. 19 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section does not apply 20 to a dormancy fee on a gift card that meets all of the following crite- 21 ria: 22 (a) The remaining value of the gift card is five dollars or less each 23 time the fee is assessed; 24 (b) The fee does not exceed one dollar per month; 25 (c) There has been no activity on the gift card for twenty-four 26 consecutive months, including, but not limited to, purchases, the adding 27 of value, or balance inquiries; and 28 (d) The holder may reload or add value to the gift card. 29 7. A statement is printed on the gift card in at least ten-point font 30 stating the amount of the fee, how often the fee will occur, that the 31 fee is triggered by inactivity of the gift card, and at what point the 32 fee will be charged. The statement may appear on the front or back of 33 the gift card, but shall appear in a location where it is visible to any 34 purchaser prior to the purchase thereof. 35 8. An issuer of gift certificates may accept funds from one or more 36 contributors toward the purchase of a gift certificate intended to be a 37 gift for a recipient, provided that each contributor is provided with a 38 full refund of the amount that he or she paid toward the purchase of the 39 gift certificate upon the occurrence of all of the following: 40 (a) The funds are contributed for the purpose of being redeemed by the 41 recipient by purchasing a gift certificate. 42 (b) The time in which the recipient may redeem the funds by purchasing 43 a gift certificate is clearly disclosed in writing to the contributors 44 and the recipient. 45 (c) The recipient does not redeem the funds within the time described 46 in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 47 9. For purposes of this section, "cash" includes, but is not limited 48 to, currency or check. If accepted by both parties, an electronic funds 49 transfer or an application of the balance to a subscriber's wireless 50 telecommunications account is permissible. 51 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 52 have become a law and shall apply to gift certificates and gift cards 53 issued on or after such date.