DeLuca said businesses routinely place an expiration date on gift certificates purchased at their establishment.
Consumers lose out while businesses get to keep money for services never provided.
DeLuca's bill would mirror a California law that makes it unlawful to include an expiration date on gift certificates. DeLuca noted that there are steps consumers can take if they have an expired gift certificate. State law requires money paid for unredeemed gift certificates to be turned in to the Treasury Department's Bureau of Unclaimed Property two years after the expiration date or seven years after the date of issuance for certificates without expiration dates. It is a law that is underutilized by Pennsylvania businesses and relatively unknown to consumers. There are 41,970 gift certificates in the Unclaimed Property Bureau.