123rd MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 2181 LR 3431(02)
An Act To Protect Consumers' Gift Card Interests
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "     "
Committee: Judiciary
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Fiscal Note
Undetermined current biennium revenue decrease - General Fund
Undetermined current biennium revenue decrease - Other Special Revenue Funds
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Pursuant to 33 MRSA section 1964, the Office of the State Treasurer transfers funds in excess of $500,000 to the General Fund from the Unclaimed Property Fund at the end of each year.  Requiring merchants to refund gift card balances below $5 to consumers will reduce revenue turned over to the Unclaimed Property Fund and ultimately reduce the transfer to the General Fund.  Since the Office of the Treasurer does not maintain individualized gift card account detail there is no way to determine an historical trend of how much of the gift card amounts received are related to balances below $5.  Therefore, the specific reduction in revenue from this proposed legislation can not be determined at this time.