N.J. Senate may scrap troubled gift card law

The Senate Budget Committee will take a vote Thursday on reversing a 2-year-old law that allows the state to claim the value of dormant gift cards.

The measure was delayed last month so consumer protections could be added.
Sen. Paul Sarlo, the Senate sponsor, says the law needs to be revised before the Christie administration can begin to claim gift card balances as revenue.

The Assembly has approved a similar bill.

The state saw idle gift cards as an untapped revenue source to help balance the budget.

But retailers sued, and several, like American Express, stopped selling gift cards in New Jersey.

The Treasury Department says they’ll be no financial impact immediately, but the state will eventually forfeit up to $30 million a year by not claiming gift card balances.