File No. 36

Senate, March 11, 2010

The Committee on General Law reported through SEN. COLAPIETRO of the 31st Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the joint resolution ought to be adopted.

RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING CONGRESS TO BAN GIFT CARD FEES.

Resolved by this Assembly:

WHEREAS, Connecticut has adopted strong consumer protections regarding gift cards, including prohibiting gift card expiration dates and prohibiting the issuers of such cards from charging consumers inactivity fees or any other deduction from the value of a gift card; and

WHEREAS, if a gift card is issued by a national bank, federal law preempts Connecticut state consumer gift card protections; and

WHEREAS, the Attorney General of Connecticut has fought unsuccessfully to apply Connecticut state gift card law to gift cards issued by national banks; and

WHEREAS, major gift card issuers are issuing gift cards through and by national banks, thereby denying consumers the protections provided to them under Connecticut's law.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly calls upon the Congress of the United States to pass appropriate legislation to specifically authorize states to prohibit gift card expiration dates, inactivity fees or any other deductions from the value of a gift card; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerks of the House and the Senate cause copies of this resolution to be sent to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of the Connecticut congressional delegation.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

There would be costs of approximately $10 for the Office of Legislative Management (OLM) to mail copies of this resolution to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of the Connecticut congressional delegation.

The Out Years

None

OLR Bill Analysis

SJ 4

RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING CONGRESS TO BAN GIFT CARD FEES.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Legislative Research does not analyze Resolutions.

COMMITTEE ACTION

General Law Committee

Joint Favorable