Leawood, Kan. – September 6, 2024: In a surprising and last minute turn of events, the California House completely struck the entirety of Senate Bill 1272 (“SB 1272”) and replaced it with a bill concerning renewable energy projects under the California Environmental Quality Act. Thus, any amendments to the cash back requirement for gift cards has died for this legislative session.
You may recall that under the originally proposed SB1272, the mandatory cash redemption amount for certain types of gift certificates would have increased from $9.99 to $25.00. 2024 CA SB 1272 §2(b)(2). The bill was further amended to explicitly add “electronic gift cards” to the definition of “gift certificate.” 2024 CA SB 1272 §1(a). Therefore, the proposed mandatory cash redemption requirement would likely have applied to physical and electronic closed loop gift card programs. If enacted, it would have been effective January 1, 2025.
On August 27, 2024, a newly revised SB 1272 was introduced and struck the original Consumer Protection language in its entirety and replaced it with new legislation to support renewable energy projects. None of the original content of the bill survived the revision. Therefore, SB 1272, as it applied to gift cards has died and will not become law this legislative session. California Legislature adjourned its legislative session on August 31, 2024. Card Compliant will continue to monitor California to see if similar legislation is proposed next year during the legislative session.
To read the prior Card Alert on Senate Bill 1272 click here: Card Alert SB 1272.
To read California Senate Bill 1272 as amended to date click here: California SB 1272.
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