good news on gift cards for connecticut businesses

(and thank you s & j and of course the REAL gift giver, baby s) your present was WAY TOO GENEROUS and i do mean that) Gift Cards Protected: Legislators
By Chad Lanzo clanzo@bcnnew.com
Attention all holiday gift card receivers - take your time when pondering how to use your gift cards.
The state Legislature passed a law earlier this year preventing businesses from decreasing gift card values over time or eliminating them entirely after a three-year span, which was allowed under previous law passed in 2003.
State Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, and state Rep. Chris Perone, D-137, outlined the details of the new legislation on Dec. 21 outside of Loehmann's Plaza.
According to Duff, any type of gift card - magnetic stripe, paper, electronic, stored-value or certificate, store and others - falls under the new law. With the exception of prepaid calling cards, no businesses may eliminate a card or apply a dormancy fee. "Gift cards are a million-dollar business that is continuously growing. The reason that we passed this law is because we want to protect consumers and to allow them to shop at their own leisure," said Duff.
Following the stressful holiday season, shoppers often like to unwind and relax, not go to busy stores full of customers returning gifts, he said. By allowing consumers more time to use gift cards, they are also allotted the opportunity to take advantage of sales.
"Stores imply that gift cards are as good as money. This law just helps make that closer to a reality than it was previously," said Perone................