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Senate panel considers bill to add gift‑card theft to financial‑card offense law and increase penalties
Summary
Senate Bill 84 would add possession or use of stolen gift cards or redemption information to the criminal use of a financial card statute and create tiered penalties tied to the value of goods obtained within a seven‑day period.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard proponents on Senate Bill 84, a proposal to add certain gift‑card conduct to Kansas’s criminal use of a financial card statute and to apply tiered penalties based on the value of goods obtained within a seven‑day period.
The reviser told the committee the bill would amend KSA 21‑58‑28 to add two new offenses: acquiring or possessing a gift card or gift‑card redemption information without consent of the cardholder, issuer or seller; and related conduct. The bill would define terms including "gift card," "open loop gift card," "gift card issuer" and "gift card redemption information." Penalties described in the brief would mirror other financial crimes: a class A nonperson misdemeanor if goods obtained within seven days total less than $1,000; a severity level 9 nonperson felony for $1,000–$24,999 in value; and a severity level 7 nonperson felony for $25,000 or more.
William Wilkes, senior director of government affairs for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and speaking on behalf of the Kansas Retail Council, said retailers are seeing fraud and tampering with gift cards and supported raising penalties. Wilkes described a common scheme in which fraudsters record or change card numbers and then use activated cards after consumers put money on them. "Gift cards have been the most requested holiday gift item for 17 years in a row, and fraud and tampering with gift cards continues to grow nationwide," Wilkes said.
Committee members sought technical clarifications. Senator Argo Bright asked whether the statute’s thresholds are cumulative across multiple cards; Wilkes said the bill’s language applies to the cumulative value obtained "within any seven day period." The reviser confirmed the seven‑day aggregation language in the draft.
The hearing included written only opponent testimony from James Houston Bales of the Board of Indigent Defense Services Legislative Committee; no in‑room opponents spoke. The committee closed the hearing on SB 84 without taking a vote.
Details to track: the bill adds specific definitions for gift‑card terms, treats unauthorized possession or use of gift cards or their redemption data as a form of financial‑card crime, and applies tiered penalties tied to the aggregated value of goods obtained within a seven‑day window.
