SB 985 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.

Summary

Establishes a new gift card fraud law, under the scope of unfair and deceptive practices law, which requires merchants and third-party gift card resellers to take certain steps to prevent gift card scams. Requires the conspicuous provision of information regarding terms and conditions of gift certificates, regardless of whether the cards are sold in person, electronically, or telephonically. Extends the minimum redemption period for paper gift certificates to four years. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Feb 14, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB985 → SB985_SD1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill strengthens Hawaii's consumer protection laws by establishing new requirements to prevent gift card fraud. It adds definitions for different types of gift cards, requires merchants to secure gift card packaging and display warnings, mandates employee training on fraud prevention, and requires third-party resellers to maintain detailed transaction records for three years. The bill also extends the minimum redemption period for paper gift certificates from two to four years.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope to cover both closed-loop and open-loop gift cards, applies requirements to third-party gift card resellers, and extends the redemption period specifically for paper gift certificates.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'closed-loop gift card', 'open-loop gift card', and 'third-party gift card reseller' to clarify which entities and products are covered.

REQUIREMENT

Requires merchants to lock gift cards in enclosed display cases or secure packaging that conceals activation codes and includes tampering warnings.

Mandates that merchants provide employee training on identifying and responding to gift card fraud.

Requires third-party gift card resellers to record and maintain detailed transaction information including names, addresses, license numbers, and card details for at least three years.

TIMELINE

Extended the minimum redemption period for paper gift certificates from two years to four years.

ENFORCEMENT

Allows law enforcement to inspect reseller records and request evidence preservation when theft allegations exceed $500 in value.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from CPN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 667) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to JDC.

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in CPN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Keohokalole, Fukunaga, Richards; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 1 No(es): Senator(s) Awa; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) McKelvey.

upper

Feb 7, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on CPN has scheduled a public hearing on 02-12-25 9:32AM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to CPN, JDC.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors