SF 200

2nd Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to commerce; prohibiting expiration dates and
service fees on gift certificates and gift cards;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 325G.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [325G.53] GIFT CERTIFICATES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definition. new text end

new text begin For purposes of this section,
"gift certificate" means a tangible record evidencing a promise,
made for consideration, by the seller or issuer of the record
that goods or services will be provided to the owner of the
record to the value shown in the record and includes, but is not
limited to, a gift card, stored-value card, store card, or a
similar record or card that contains a microprocessor chip,
magnetic stripe, or other means for the storage of information,
and for which the value is decreased upon each use.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Prohibitions. new text end

new text begin It is unlawful for any person or
entity to sell a gift certificate that is subject to an
expiration date or a service fee of any kind, including, but not
limited to, a service fee for dormancy.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Nonapplication. new text end

new text begin The provisions of this section
shall not apply to gift certificates:
new text end

new text begin (1) distributed to a consumer for loyalty, promotional,
award, incentive, rebate, or other similar purposes without any
money or other tangible thing of value being given by the
consumer in exchange for the gift certificate or gift card;
new text end

new text begin (2) that are sold below face value or at a volume discount
to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for
fund-raising purposes;
new text end

new text begin (3) that are debit cards or other legal access devices used
to access a deposit account and that are subject to the federal
disclosure rules in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, United
States Code, title 15, section 1693, et seq., and its
implementing Regulation E, as amended from time to time;
new text end

new text begin (4) that are stored-value cards sold and issued by a
financial institution on the premises of the financial
institution and that can be used at multiple sellers of goods or
services, provided the expiration date, if any, is printed on
the card and the issuer has disclosed any applicable fees. For
purposes of this clause, "financial institution" means a bank,
savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union; or
new text end

new text begin (5) used solely for telephone or wireless services,
including, but not limited to, prepaid calling cards.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Balance in cash. new text end

new text begin The holder of a gift
certificate is entitled to receive the balance in cash from the
issuer if the remaining value of the gift certificate is $5 or
less.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Payment of debt. new text end

new text begin The value of a gift
certificate can be used at any time to pay debt the holder of
the gift certificate owes to the issuer of the gift certificate.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Remedies. new text end

new text begin The remedies of section 8.31 apply to
violations of this section.
new text end