This bill prohibits a retailer from selling or adding monetary value to, or offering to sell or add monetary value to, a gift card to a consumer other than through a person-to-person transaction by which the retailer, or an employee or agent of the retailer, physically accepts payment from the customer.
This bill authorizes the division of consumer affairs in the department of commerce and insurance, acting upon its own initiative or upon a report submitted to the division, to investigate any suspected violation of this bill. If the division determines that any retailer has not complied with the above provisions, the division must:
(1) Provide reasonable notice to the retailer of the determination of noncompliance;
(2) Provide a reasonable opportunity for the retailer to demonstrate compliance; and
(3) Upon satisfaction of (1) and (2) above, notify any county clerk or city official that has issued the retailer a business license that the retailer is ineligible for renewal of that license and that no new business license may be issued to that retailer for a one-year period immediately following the expiration date of the retailer's license that was in effect on the date that the division issued the notice of its determination of noncompliance to the county clerk or city official.
This bill additionally prohibits any issuing official who receives notice of a determination of noncompliance, as described in (3) above, from:
(1) Renewing that retailer's business license; or
(2) Issuing that retailer a new business license for a one-year period immediately following the expiration date of the retailer's license that was in effect on the date that the division issued the notice of its determination of noncompliance to the issuing official.
This bill defines a "gift card" as a restricted monetary equivalent that is issued by a retailer or bank to be use as an alternative to a monetary gift.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 8-50-107(d)(2)(A), 8-50-107