A BILL to amend and reenact § 59.1-531 of the Code of Virginia, relating to gift certificates; redeemable cash value; Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
HB1431 amends Virginia’s gift certificate law under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. The bill keeps the existing disclosure rules for gift certificates with expiration dates or diminishing value, and it continues to prohibit dormancy, inactivity, and service fees on gift certificates, except for certificates issued through award, loyalty, or promotional programs where no money or value was exchanged.
The bill also preserves the requirement that gift certificates with a cash value of less than $10 be redeemable for cash by the holder from the issuing merchant. In addition, it requires the expiration-date or value-diminution information to be clearly and permanently imprinted on the certificate, reinforcing consumer notice requirements for gift cards and similar instruments.
If enacted, HB1431 would amend § 59.1-531 of the Code of Virginia, affecting merchants that issue gift certificates in the Commonwealth and the consumers who receive them. The practical effect is to maintain and clarify consumer protections around expiration disclosures, value reduction disclosures, fee restrictions, and cash redemption for low-value certificates, while leaving the existing exception for certain promotional or loyalty-program certificates in place.
There is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials, and the bill was left in the Labor and Commerce Committee. Based on the text alone, the measure appears consumer-protective and relatively straightforward, with no visible opposition or controversy documented in the available record.
The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the balance between consumer protection and merchant flexibility. The fee ban applies broadly, but the exception for award, loyalty, or promotional certificates suggests a carve-out for non-purchased certificates, which could be a point of interest for retailers and consumer advocates. The cash-redemption requirement for certificates under $10 may also be a practical concern for merchants, though no specific objections are documented in the available history.