Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wants to require companies in bankruptcy to honor outstanding gift cards, something they are not legally compelled to do, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Blumenthal introduced the Gift Card Protection Act, which would also bar companies in bankruptcy from continuing to sell gift cards and ban such cards from carrying expiration dates. Gift-card protections have been a pet issue for Blumenthal, who was elected to the Senate two years ago after serving 20 years as Connecticut’s attorney general. During his time as the state’s top lawyer, state laws banning gift card expiration dates and fees were restored. He also urged a bankruptcy judge to require local retailer Ski Market to honor about $200,000 gift cards after it told customers that the bankruptcy process did not allow it to do so.
