NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1009
SPONSOR: Paulin
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to providing
notice of potential scams when selling gift cards
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to effectuate an amendment to Chapter 725 of
the Laws of 2022 (Approval message 46) related to providing notice of
potential scams when selling gift cards.
 
SUMMARY:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 2-b of section 396-i of the
General Business Law making the notice requirement paragraph (a), and
adding a paragraph (b) which directs the Department of State to create
and make accessible on its website, a model notice which sellers may use
to comply with this law.
Section two of the bill provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In response to a growing number of scammers using gift cards to steal
money Chapter 725 of the Laws of 2022 was enacted adding subdivision 2-b
to section 396-i of the General Business Law requiring sellers of gift
cards to display the notice of potential scams with prepaid gift cards.
This bill makes an addition to the underlying chapter and subdivision
2-b making the notice requirement paragraph (a) and adding a paragraph
(b) directing the Department of State to create and make accessible on
its website a model notice which sellers may use to comply with this
law.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This bill is a chapter amendment to Chapter 725 of the Laws of 2022.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the Laws of 2022 requiring sellers to provide notice of
potential prepaid gift card scams, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S.145-B and A.266-A, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1009
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to providing
notice of potential scams when selling gift cards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2-b of section 396-i of the general business
2 law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the general
3 business law relating to providing notice of potential scams when sell-
4 ing gift cards, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 145-B and A.
5 266-A, is amended to read as follows:
6 2-b. (a) No person, firm, partnership, association or corporation
7 shall sell a gift certificate to a purchaser unless the seller displays
8 a conspicuous notice at or near where the gift certificate is displayed
9 or at or near the physical location where the sale occurs, that (i)
10 cautions the purchaser about prepaid card scams, and (ii) instructs the
11 purchaser on what to do if they suspect they might be a potential victim
12 of such a scam.
13 (b) The consumer protection division, as established in section nine-
14 ty-four-a of the executive law, shall create a model notice which sell-
15 ers may use to comply with the requirements of this section and shall
16 make such notice accessible to sellers including, but not limited to,
17 posting such notice on the consumer protection division's website in a
18 format available for sellers to print and display.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
20 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the general business
21 law relating to providing notice of potential scams when selling gift
22 cards, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 145-B and A. 266-A,
23 takes effect.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04305-01-3