HB 4990 creates a new article in the West Virginia Code establishing specific criminal offenses involving gift cards. The bill defines key terms such as gift card, open-loop gift card, closed-loop gift card, cardholder, card issuer, gift card seller, and gift card redemption information, and it applies to both physical and digital gift cards that are activated or not yet activated.
The bill makes it a crime to unlawfully acquire or retain a gift card or its redemption information, tamper with a gift card or its packaging, or obtain a gift card through false pretenses, representations, or promises. Each offense is divided into misdemeanor and felony levels based on the value involved: under $1,000 is a misdemeanor, while over $1,000 is a felony. The bill also allows the value of multiple gift cards to be combined when they are part of a common scheme or plan, and it sets penalties including jail time, prison terms, and fines.
In practical terms, the bill expands West Virginia’s criminal law to address gift card theft, fraud, and tampering as distinct offenses rather than relying only on broader theft or fraud statutes. It gives law enforcement and prosecutors a more specific framework for cases involving stolen, altered, or fraudulently obtained gift cards and gift card access information, and it applies to both consumer gift cards and payment-network gift cards.
The general sentiment around the bill appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial. It passed the House 92-0, the Senate 32-0, and the House again 93-0 after the Senate amended the title, indicating broad bipartisan agreement that gift card fraud should be specifically addressed in statute.
There is little visible contention in the available record. No committee transcript is provided, and the unanimous votes suggest no major disagreement over the policy. The main substantive issue reflected in the bill is how to classify and punish gift-card-related conduct, including whether to treat lower-value conduct as a misdemeanor and higher-value conduct as a felony, but no opposing viewpoints are documented in the materials provided.
HB 4990 adds a new Article 4A to Chapter 61 of the West Virginia Code, creating standalone crimes for larceny, tampering, and false pretenses involving gift cards. It establishes definitions and penalty thresholds that distinguish misdemeanor from felony conduct based on the value of the gift card or cards involved, and it authorizes aggregation of multiple gift cards when part of a common scheme or plan. The bill broadens the state’s criminal code to specifically cover physical and digital gift cards, including redemption information, and it takes effect 90 days after passage.
The bill appears to have enjoyed unanimous, bipartisan support throughout the legislative process. It passed the House 92-0, the Senate 32-0, and the House concurred in the Senate amendment 93-0. That voting record suggests legislators viewed the measure as a practical anti-fraud and consumer-protection update rather than a controversial policy change.
No significant contention is evident in the available record. The bill’s only notable policy choices are the creation of separate misdemeanor and felony offenses, the $1,000 threshold for escalation, and the ability to aggregate multiple gift cards in a common scheme. However, there are no recorded objections, amendments of substance, or committee debate excerpts indicating disagreement over those provisions.