Governor Hassan's Veto Message Regarding SB 403

Statement

Governor Maggie Hassan released the following message after today vetoing Senate Bill 403:

"By the authority vested in me, pursuant to part II, Article 44 of the New Hampshire Constitution, on June 7, 2016, I have vetoed Senate Bill 403, relative to the sale of gift certificates with expiration dates.

"Senate Bill 403 is a technically flawed bill with inconsistencies that will confuse both consumers and businesses alike. Originally a request of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, this bill's original intent was to raise the threshold for expiration dates and abandoned property laws relative to gift cards.

"The final version of the bill only raised the threshold for expiration dates, an inconsistency that may create difficulties for both consumers and merchants, and as a result, the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association has requested a veto and for the next legislature to pass the original legislation.

"This bill seeks to increase the threshold above which merchants can sell gift cards with expiration dates from $100 to $250. While well-intentioned, this bill does not fully improve convenience for the consumer as it failed to consider the necessary counterpart change to the State's abandoned property laws. This issue was noted late in the legislative process, but ultimately not fixed.

"Increasing the threshold at which a gift certificate is allowed to expire is a change that is beneficial to consumers, but because of a technical flaw in the bill, consumers will not always be able to redeem gift cards with the merchant. Without the accompanying increase to the threshold at which merchants are required to report a gift card as abandoned property from $100 to $250, a consumer would have to redeem the card with the State Treasurer because after five years of non-use, any card sold with a value of more than $100 will be reported as abandoned property.

"The change to the abandoned property threshold would have allowed consumers to redeem the cards at the merchant in perpetuity, whereas the inconsistency created by only increasing the threshold for the expiration date places an unintended burden on both consumers and businesses for gift cards ranging from $100 to $250. The House considered an amendment that would have made the bill beneficial to both consumers and merchants, however, that amendment failed because it did not include an important provision for telecommunications cards.

"The Legislature should reconsider this legislation next year in order to maximize the benefit to both consumers and merchants by that ensuring all sections of law are in sync. Because this bill only affects one section of the law, without accomplishing the stated intent, I am vetoing Senate Bill 403, relative to the sale of gift certificates with expiration dates."

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