Since school funding has become a priority to most Oregonians, the DSL has worked hard to increase the size of the CSF. In 1997 HB 2591 was passed to exempt gift certificates from the unclaimed property statutes. The DSL projected a possible growth potential of $1.55 million to the CSF per biennium from gift cards. During last year of collection the real income was around $5,000.
Oregon was one of the first states to remove gift certificates from the audit process and businesses from across the country have been trying to follow Oregon's lead on this issue. Now school unions are trying to revert back to an old policy for gift cards.
There are costs associated with production and tracking of gift card values, and many of these businesses donate gift cards to schools and other causes. The unclaimed property policy would only apply to purchased gift cards; however, forcing businesses to pay for all unredeemed purchased cards without account for costs or donations will limit the amount of charitable contributions.
One of the issues during 1997 was that gift certificates were not always tracked by the business. The Bill in the 2005 session only addressed gift cards as they are easier to track both for the state and the consumer. If businesses are told they will be audited for gift cards they produce, the business may be less likely to use gift cards, which is a disadvantage for the consumer.
Lastly, the unclaimed property statutes where designed to help consumers receive their property. Under this statute, if the consumer returns to the store and the value of their gift card has been turned over to the state, it is an added trip for the consumer. This does nothing to help the consumer redeem their gift card.
