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Rhode Island House Bill H5732

Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5732 Compare Versions

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99 S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
1010 IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1111 JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
1212 ____________
1313
1414 A N A C T
1515 RELATING TO COMMERCI AL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISION S -- GIFT
1616 CARD FRAUD
1717 Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, Noret, and Morales
1818 Date Introduced: February 21, 2023
1919 Referred To: House Corporations
2020
2121
2222 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
2323 SECTION 1. Title 6 of the General Laws entitled "COMMERCIAL LAW — GENERAL 1
2424 REGULATORY PROVISIONS" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 2
2525 CHAPTER 59 3
2626 GIFT CARD FRAUD 4
2727 6-59-1. Definitions. 5
28-As used in this chapter, "gift card" means a written promise or electronic payment device 6
29-that: 7
30-(1) Is usable at a single merchant or an affiliated group of merchants that share the same 8
31-name, mark, or logo, or is usable at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or service providers; 9
32-(2) Is issued in a specific amount; 10
33-(3) May or may not be increased in value or reloaded; 11
34-(4) Is purchased and/or loaded on a prepaid basis for the future purchase or delivery of any 12
35-goods or services; and 13
36-(5) Is honored upon presentation. 14
37-6-59-2. Posting of notice of gift card fraud at retail establishments. 15
38-No person, firm, partnership, association, retailer or corporation shall sell a gift card to a 16
39-purchaser unless the seller displays a conspicuous notice, in a form prescribed by the department 17
40-of business regulation, at or near where the gift card is displayed and at or near the physical location 18
28+As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings: 6
29+(1) "Gift card" means a tangible device, whereon is embedded or encoded in an electronic 7
30+or other format, a value issued in exchange for payment, which promises to provide to the bearer 8
31+merchandise of equal value to the remaining balance of the device. 9
32+(2) "Merchandise" means any objects, wares, goods, commodities, services, or anything 10
33+offered, directly or indirectly, to the public for sale. 11
34+(3) "Retail mercantile establishment" means any place of business where merchandise is 12
35+exposed or offered for sale at retail to members of the consuming public. 13
36+6-59-2. Posting of notice of gift card fraud at retail establishments. 14
37+No person, firm, partnership, association, retail mercantile establishment or corporation 15
38+shall sell a gift card to a purchaser unless the seller displays a conspicuous notice at or near where 16
39+the gift card is displayed or at or near the physical location where the sale occurs, that: 17
40+(1) Cautions the purchaser about prepaid card scams; and 18
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44-where the sale occurs, that: 1
45-(1) Cautions the purchaser about prepaid card scams; and 2
46-(2) Instructs the purchaser on what to do if they suspect they might be a potential victim of 3
47-such a scam. 4
48-6-59-3. Penalty for violation. 5
49-Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or retail mercantile establishment 6
50-that violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to two hundred 7
51-fifty dollars ($250). 8
52-SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 9
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44+(2) Instructs the purchaser on what to do if they suspect they might be a potential victim of 1
45+such a scam. 2
46+6-59-3. Employee training. 3
47+Every retail mercantile establishment in this state that displays gift cards for sale shall train 4
48+employees on how to identify and respond to gift card fraud. The attorney general's office will 5
49+disseminate suggested training materials. 6
50+6-59-4. Penalty for violation. 7
51+Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or retail mercantile establishment 8
52+that violates the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars 9
53+($500), which may be collected and enforced by the Rhode Island department of attorney general, 10
54+consumer protection division. The superior court shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for the 11
55+enforcement of the penalty provided by this chapter. 12
56+SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 13
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5963 EXPLANATION
6064 BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
6165 OF
6266 A N A C T
6367 RELATING TO COMMERCI AL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY P ROVISIONS -- GIFT
6468 CARD FRAUD
6569 ***
66-This act would require retailers in the state that display gift cards for sale to post a notice 1
67-warning of gift card fraud and instructions on what to do if a customer suspects being a victim of 2
68-fraud. Any violations of this act would be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of up to two 3
69-hundred fifty dollars ($250). 4
70-This act would take effect upon passage. 5
70+This act would require retail mercantile establishments in the state that display gift cards 1
71+for sale to post a notice warning of gift card fraud and instructions on what to do if a customer 2
72+suspects being a victim of fraud. The act would also require employees to be trained on how to 3
73+identify and respond to gift card fraud. The attorney general's office would be required to 4
74+disseminate suggested training materials. 5
75+Any violations of this act would be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred 6
76+dollars ($500). 7
77+This act would take effect upon passage. 8
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