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SF266 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties. Effective date: 07/01/2025.

A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties. Effective date: 07/01/2025.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
WEBSTER
Last action
2025-04-18
Official status
Signed by Governor . S.J. 845 .
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties. Effective date: 07/01/2025.

A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties.
  • Effective date: 07/01/2025.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-18 Iowa Legislature

    Signed by Governor . S.J. 845 .

  2. 2025-04-17 Iowa Legislature

    Reported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor. S.J. 829 .

  3. 2025-03-20 Iowa Legislature

    Message from House. S.J. 601 .

  4. 2025-03-19 Iowa Legislature

    Immediate message. H.J. 748 .

  5. 2025-03-19 Iowa Legislature

    Passed House , yeas 96, nays 0. H.J. 728 .

  6. 2025-03-19 Iowa Legislature

    Substituted for HF 842 . H.J. 728 .

  7. 2025-03-18 Iowa Legislature

    Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 682 .

  8. 2025-03-12 Iowa Legislature

    Read first time, passed on file. H.J. 637 .

  9. 2025-03-12 Iowa Legislature

    Message from Senate. H.J. 636 .

  10. 2025-03-12 Iowa Legislature

    Immediate message. S.J. 501 .

  11. 2025-03-12 Iowa Legislature

    Passed Senate , yeas 48, nays 0. S.J. 497 .

  12. 2025-03-11 Iowa Legislature

    Fiscal note .

  13. 2025-03-06 Iowa Legislature

    Placed on calendar.

  14. 2025-03-06 Iowa Legislature

    Committee report, recommending passage. S.J. 437 .

  15. 2025-03-04 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  16. 2025-03-03 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 03/04/2025 10:00AM Senate Lounge.

  17. 2025-02-17 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Webster, Blake, and Reichman. S.J. 271 .

  18. 2025-02-11 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 240 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties. Effective date: 07/01/2025.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
STATE OF IOWA
KIM REYNOLDS
GOVERNOR
ApriI 18,2025
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I hereby transmit:
Senate File 266, an Act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and
providing penalties.
The above Senate File is hereby approved on this date.
Sincerely,
molfc
Governor of lo
cc: Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House
STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, IOWA 50319 515.281.5211 FAX 515.725.3527 WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV
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WILL MAINTAI
GENERAL ASSEMBE\inininHMnnMHiHHimwHHinmHHHnninnnmiiimiiiHnmH?;!!H]!}iiiiHiiimiimiimHni»;i!!i!i»iJiiHiiiiiiiiitSi;i!!iiiiH»iHHimiiitiiW!i!iiimiiimitiHmnmiHl
Senate File 266
AN ACT
RELATING TO THEFT, FORGERY, AND FRAUD INVOLVING A GIFT CARD, AND
PROVIDING PENALTIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 714.2D Crimes involving gift cards.
1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
a. ^Cardholder'^ means any person in possession of a physical
or digital gift card issued through a purchase by the person,
or received by the person from a willing party.
b. '^Card issuer" means any person that issues a gift card or
the agent of a gift card issuer.
c. "^Gift card" means a physical or digital card, code,
or device that 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 is
redeemable upon presentation by a consumer either at a single
merchant, a group of affiliated merchants, or at multiple
unaffiliated merchants for goods or services within the payment
card network.
d. '''Gift card redemption information" means information
unique to each gift card that allows the cardholder to access,
transfer, or spend the funds on that gift card.
e. '"Gift card seller" means a merchant that is engaged in
the business of selling gift cards to consumers.
Senate File 266, p. 2
f. '^Value^ means the greatest amount of economic loss the
owner of the property might reasonably suffer including, in the
case of a gift card, the full monetary face value or potential
value for variable-load gift cards.
2. a. Any person who, with 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 commits theft and is guilty of an
aggravated misdemeanor.
b. Any person who, with intent to defraud, alters or tampers
with a gift card commits forgery and is guilty of an aggravated
misdemeanor.
c. Any person who, with intent to defraud, devises a scheme
to obtain a gift card or gift card redemption information
from a card holder, card issuer, or gift card seller by
means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or
promises engages in a fraudulent practice and is guilty of the
following:
(1) A class felony if the amount of money or value of
property or services involved exceeds five thousand dollars.
(2) A class ""d" felony if the amount of money or value of
property or services involved exceeds one thousand dollars but
does not exceed five thousand dollars.
(3) An aggravated misdemeanor if the amount of money or
value of property or services involved exceeds five hundred
dollars but does not exceed one thousand dollars.
(4) A serious misdemeanor if the amount of money or value of
property or services involved is five hundred dollars or less.
d. Any person who, with intent to defraud, uses, for the
purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, or anything else
of value, a gift card or gift card redemption information that
has been obtained in violation of this section commits theft
and is guilty of the following:
(1) A class felony if the value of the property stolen
exceeds five thousand dollars.
(2) A class "d" felony if the value of the property stolen
is more than one thousand dollars but not more than five
thousand dollars.
(3) An aggravated misdemeanor if the value of the property
Senate Pile 266, p. 3
stolen is more than five hundred dollars but not more than one
thousand dollars.
(4) A serious misdemeanor if the value of the property
stolen is five hundred dollars or less.
3. The value of the retail merchandise received by the
person in violation of this section within any six-month period
may be aggregated and the defendant charged accordingly in
applying the provisions of this section..
AMY SIN^yAIR
President of the Senate
PAT/GRASSLEY
Speaker of House
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
is known as Senate File 266, Ninety-first General Assembly.
Approved
W. CHARLES SMITHSON
Secretliry Senate
2025
:m R^NOLDS
Governor