Public Act 093-0945
 		





SB2901 Enrolled
LRB093 20997 RXD 47002 b






    AN ACT concerning business transactions.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 5. The Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property 
Act is amended  by changing Section 10.6 as follows:
 



    (765 ILCS 1025/10.6)



    Sec. 10.6. Gift certificates and gift cards. 

    (a) This Act applies to a gift certificate or gift card 
only if:


        (i) the gift certificate or gift card contains or has 
    language indicating there is an expiration date,
or

    expiration period  or language indicating that there is any 
    type of post-sale charge or fee including but not limited 
    to service charges, dormancy fees, account maintenance 
    fees, cash-out fees, replacement card fees, and activation 
    or reactivation charges; and


        (ii) none of the exceptions in this Section apply.

    (b) This Act does not apply to a gift certificate or gift 
card that
contains or has language indicating that there is an 
expiration date or expiration period, or any type of post-sale 
charge or fee including but not limited to service charges, 
dormancy fees, account maintenance fees, cash-out fees, 
replacement card fees, and activation or reactivation charges

if:


        (i) the gift certificate or gift card was issued before 
    the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
92nd

    General Assembly; and


        (ii) it is the policy and practice of the issuer of the 
    gift
certificate or gift card to honor the gift certificate 
    or gift card after its
expiration date or the end of its 
    expiration period and it is the policy and practice of the 
    issuer of the gift certificate or gift card to eliminate 
    all post-sale charges and fees, and the issuer posts

    written notice of the policy and practice at locations at 
    which the
issuer sells gift certificates or gift cards.  The 
    written notice shall be
an original or a copy of a notice 
    that the State Treasurer shall produce
and provide to 
    issuers free of charge.

    (c) Nothing in this Section applies to a gift certificate 
or gift card if
the value of the gift certificate or gift card 
was reported and remitted under
this Act before the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
92nd General
Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 92-487, eff. 8-23-01.)

 
    Section 10. The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business 
Practices Act is amended  by adding Section 2QQ as follows:
 
    (815 ILCS 505/2QQ  new)
    Sec. 2QQ. Gift certificates.
    (a)  "Gift certificate" means a record evidencing a promise, 
made for consideration, by the seller or issuer of the record 
that goods or services will be provided to the holder of the 
record for the value shown in the record and includes, but is 
not limited to, a record that contains a microprocessor chip, 
magnetic stripe or other means for the storage of information 
that is prefunded and for which the value is decremented upon 
each use, a gift card, an electronic gift card, stored-value 
card or certificate, a store card or a similar record or card.  
For purposes of this Act, the term "gift certificate" does not 
include any of the following:
        (i)  prepaid telecommunications and technology cards 
    including, but not limited
to, prepaid telephone calling 
    cards, prepaid technical support cards, and prepaid 
    Internet disks that are distributed to or purchased by a 
    consumer;
        (ii)  prepaid telecommunications and technology cards 
    including, but not
limited to, prepaid telephone calling 
    cards, prepaid technical support cards, and prepaid 
    Internet disks that are provided to a consumer pursuant to 
    any award, loyalty, or promotion program without any money 
    or other thing of value being given in exchange for the 
    card; or
        (iii)  any gift certificate usable with multiple 
    sellers of goods or services.
    (b)   Any gift certificate subject to a fee must contain a 
statement clearly and conspicuously printed on the gift 
certificate stating whether there is a fee, the amount of the 
fee, how often the fee will occur, that the fee is triggered by 
inactivity of the gift certificate, and at what point the fee 
will be charged. The statement may appear on the front or back 
of the gift certificate in a location where it is visible to 
any purchaser prior to the purchase.
    (c)  Any gift certificate subject to an expiration date must 
contain a statement clearly and conspicuously printed on the 
gift certificate stating the expiration date. The statement may 
appear on the front or back of the gift certificate in a 
location where it is visible to any purchaser prior to the 
purchase.
    (d) Subsection (c) does not apply to any gift certificate 
that contains a toll free phone number and a statement clearly 
and conspicuously printed on the gift certificate stating that 
holders can call the toll free number to find out the balance 
on the gift certificate, if applicable, and the expiration 
date. The toll free number and statement may appear on the 
front or back of the gift certificate in a location where it is 
visible to any purchaser prior to the purchase.
    (e)  This Section does not apply to any of the following 
gift certificates:
        (i)  Gift certificates that are distributed by the 
    issuer to a consumer pursuant to an
awards, loyalty, or 
    promotional program without any money or thing of value 
    being given in exchange for the gift certificate by the 
    consumer.
        (ii)  Gift certificates that are sold below face value 
    at a volume discount to employers or to nonprofit and 
    charitable organizations for fundraising purposes if the 
    expiration date on those gift certificates is not more than 
    30 days after the date of sale.
        (iii) Gift certificates that are issued for a food 
    product.




Effective Date:  1/1/2005