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	<ns0:Description>
		<ns0:Id>20250AB__071098AMD</ns0:Id>
		<ns0:VersionNum>98</ns0:VersionNum>
		<ns0:History>
			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-02-14</ns0:ActionDate>
			</ns0:Action>
			<ns0:Action>
				<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_ASSEMBLY</ns0:ActionText>
				<ns0:ActionDate>2025-03-18</ns0:ActionDate>
			</ns0:Action>
		</ns0:History>
		<ns0:LegislativeInfo>
			<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
			<ns0:SessionNum>0</ns0:SessionNum>
			<ns0:MeasureType>AB</ns0:MeasureType>
			<ns0:MeasureNum>710</ns0:MeasureNum>
			<ns0:MeasureState>AMD</ns0:MeasureState>
		</ns0:LegislativeInfo>
		<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin</ns0:AuthorText>
		<ns0:Authors>
			<ns0:Legislator>
				<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
				<ns0:House>ASSEMBLY</ns0:House>
				<ns0:Name>Irwin</ns0:Name>
			</ns0:Legislator>
		</ns0:Authors>
		<ns0:Title>An act to add Section 490.45 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes.</ns0:Title>
		<ns0:RelatingClause>crimes</ns0:RelatingClause>
		<ns0:GeneralSubject>
			<ns0:Subject>Theft of a gift card.</ns0:Subject>
		</ns0:GeneralSubject>
		<ns0:DigestText>
			<html:p>Existing law makes every person who, with intent to defraud, sells, transfers, or conveys an access card, as defined, without the cardholder’s or issuer’s consent guilty of grand theft. Existing law makes every person who, with the intent to defraud, designs, makes, alters, or embosses a counterfeit access card or utters or otherwise attempts to use a counterfeit access card guilty of forgery. Existing law makes every person who, with the intent to defraud, uses a forged or altered card guilty of theft.</html:p>
			<html:p>This bill would make a person who, with the intent to defraud, acquires or retains possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information, as defined, or uses an acquired or forged card, without the consent of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller, or, with the intent to defraud, devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift
			 card redemption information from a cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises guilty of theft, punishable as a misdemeanor, and, if the things of value that are acquired or used exceed $950, guilty of grand theft, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. The bill would make a person who, with the intent to defraud, alters or tampers with a gift card guilty of forgery, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.</html:p>
			<html:p>The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.</html:p>
			<html:p>This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.</html:p>
		</ns0:DigestText>
		<ns0:DigestKey>
			<ns0:VoteRequired>MAJORITY</ns0:VoteRequired>
			<ns0:Appropriation>NO</ns0:Appropriation>
			<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
			<ns0:LocalProgram>YES</ns0:LocalProgram>
		</ns0:DigestKey>
		<ns0:MeasureIndicators>
			<ns0:ImmediateEffect>NO</ns0:ImmediateEffect>
			<ns0:ImmediateEffectFlags>
				<ns0:Urgency>NO</ns0:Urgency>
				<ns0:TaxLevy>NO</ns0:TaxLevy>
				<ns0:Election>NO</ns0:Election>
				<ns0:UsualCurrentExpenses>NO</ns0:UsualCurrentExpenses>
				<ns0:BudgetBill>NO</ns0:BudgetBill>
				<ns0:Prop25TrailerBill>NO</ns0:Prop25TrailerBill>
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		</ns0:MeasureIndicators>
	</ns0:Description>
	<ns0:Bill id="bill">
		<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
		<ns0:BillSection id="id_A61E5FA4-FF7B-414B-9D37-A46C2F691F82">
			<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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				Section 490.45 is added to the 
				<ns0:DocName>Penal Code</ns0:DocName>
				, to read:
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			<ns0:Fragment>
				<ns0:LawSection id="id_2AFF63E1-8382-4445-B780-554346AB0CF6">
					<ns0:Num>490.45.</ns0:Num>
					<ns0:LawSectionVersion id="id_CAC088FE-7F9B-42EB-ADC5-44EA934930B9">
						<ns0:Content>
							<html:p>
								(a)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A person who, with the intent to defraud, acquires or retains possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information without the consent of the cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller is guilty of theft.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(b)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A person who, with the intent to defraud, alters or tampers with a gift card is guilty of forgery, punishable pursuant to Section 473.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(c)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A person who, with the intent to defraud, uses a gift card or gift card redemption information for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else of value that has been obtained in violation of subdivision (a) or (b) is guilty of
						theft.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(d)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A person who, with the intent to defraud, devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information from a cardholder, card issuer, or gift card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises is guilty of theft.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(e)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								If the value of all money, goods, services, and other things of value obtained in violation of this section exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), the person is guilty of grand theft.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(f)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(1)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Cardholder” means a person to whom a physical or virtual gift card is issued through a purchase or a person who
						receives a gift card from a willing party.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(2)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Card issuer” means a person that issues a gift card or the agent of that person with respect to that card.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(3)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Gift card” means a physical or digital card, code, or device that is either activated or inactivated and is issued to a consumer on a prepaid basis primarily for personal, family, or household purposes in a specified amount, regardless of whether that amount may be increased or reloaded in exchange for payment, and can be either of the following:
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(A)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								A closed-loop gift card, meaning that it is redeemable upon presentation by a consumer at a single merchant or group of affiliated merchants.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(B)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								An open-loop gift card, meaning that it is redeemable upon presentation by a consumer at multiple unaffiliated merchants for goods or services within the payment card network.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(4)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Gift card redemption information” means information unique to a gift card that allows the cardholder to access, transfer, or spend the funds accessed by the gift card.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(5)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Gift card seller” means a merchant that is engaged in the business of selling open-loop or closed-loop gift cards to consumers.
							</html:p>
							<html:p>
								(6)
								<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
								“Value” means the greatest amount of economic loss the owner of the property might reasonably suffer, including the full monetary face value of a gift card or the potential value for variable load gift cards.
							</html:p>
						</ns0:Content>
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				</ns0:LawSection>
			</ns0:Fragment>
		</ns0:BillSection>
		<ns0:BillSection id="id_0843699F-7F66-45B0-9BAA-DEFF45CA0091">
			<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
			<ns0:Content>
				<html:p>
					No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII
					<html:span class="ThinSpace"/>
					B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
					<html:span class="ThinSpace"/>
					B of the California Constitution.
				</html:p>
			</ns0:Content>
		</ns0:BillSection>
	</ns0:Bill>
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