1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to commerce; prohibiting expiration dates and
1.3 	service fees on gift certificates and gift cards;
1.4 	proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
1.5 	chapter 325G.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [325G.53] GIFT CERTIFICATES.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definition. For purposes of this section,
1.9 	"gift certificate" means a tangible record evidencing a promise,
1.10 	made for consideration, by the seller or issuer of the record
1.11 	that goods or services will be provided to the owner of the
1.12 	record to the value shown in the record and includes, but is not
1.13 	limited to, a gift card, stored-value card, store card, or a
1.14 	similar record or card that contains a microprocessor chip,
1.15 	magnetic stripe, or other means for the storage of information,
1.16 	and for which the value is decreased upon each use.
1.17 		Subd. 2.Prohibitions. It is unlawful for any person or
1.18 	entity to sell a gift certificate that is subject to an
1.19 	expiration date or a service fee of any kind, including, but not
1.20 	limited to, a service fee for dormancy.
1.21 		Subd. 3.Nonapplication. The provisions of this section
1.22 	shall not apply to gift certificates:
1.23 	(1) distributed to a consumer for loyalty, promotional,
1.24 	award, incentive, rebate, or other similar purposes without any
1.25 	money or other tangible thing of value being given by the
2.1 	consumer in exchange for the gift certificate or gift card;
2.2 	(2) that are sold below face value or at a volume discount
2.3 	to employers or to nonprofit and charitable organizations for
2.4 	fund-raising purposes;
2.5 	(3) that are debit cards or other legal access devices used
2.6 	to access a deposit account and that are subject to the federal
2.7 	disclosure rules in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, United
2.8 	States Code, title 15, section 1693, et seq., and its
2.9 	implementing Regulation E, as amended from time to time;
2.10 	(4) that are stored-value cards sold and issued by a
2.11 	financial institution on the premises of the financial
2.12 	institution and that can be used at multiple sellers of goods or
2.13 	services, provided the expiration date, if any, is printed on
2.14 	the card and the issuer has disclosed any applicable fees.  For
2.15 	purposes of this clause, "financial institution" means a bank,
2.16 	savings bank, savings and loan association, or credit union; or 
2.17 	(5) used solely for telephone or wireless services,
2.18 	including, but not limited to, prepaid calling cards.
2.19 		Subd. 4.Balance in cash. The holder of a gift
2.20 	certificate is entitled to receive the balance in cash from the
2.21 	issuer if the remaining value of the gift certificate is $5 or
2.22 	less.
2.23 		Subd. 5.Payment of debt. The value of a gift
2.24 	certificate can be used at any time to pay debt the holder of
2.25 	the gift certificate owes to the issuer of the gift certificate.
2.26 		Subd. 6.Remedies. The remedies of section 8.31 apply to
2.27 	violations of this section.