Passed on June 25, 2012 and signed into law on June 29, 2012,
Senate Bill 1928 (SB1928) amended New Jersey's unclaimed
property law. The law, closely watched by issuers of gift cards,
provides a five-year abandonment period, a new
"cash-back" provision, prohibition of post-purchase fees
and expiration dates, disclosure requirements and the collection of
ZIP codes from purchasers. Although the new law was intended to fix
some of the infirmities of the old law, the data collection
provision appears to have the gift card community gearing up for
another challenge.
This alert summarizes SB1928, parts of which will be effective as
early as September 1, 2012.
Background
In 2010, Assembly Bill 3002 (AB3002) amended New Jersey's
unclaimed property law to provide that unused stored value and gift
card balances would escheat after two years' inactivity and to
require issuers to collect, at minimum, ZIP code information from
purchasers. (To read Venable's January 2011
