🟡Relating to the creation of the offense of fraudulent use, possession, or tampering with a gift card, gift card packaging, or gift card data or redemption information.

🟡 SB 1809: New felony penalties for gift card fraud

What it says it does:
The bill creates a new crime for fraudulent use, possession, or tampering with gift cards, their packaging, or their digital redemption information.

What it actually changes:
It shifts punishment from being based on dollar value to being based on the number of cards or card data involved. Three or more cards trigger a presumption of fraud unless the holder is a business or government agency. Prosecutors can also charge under this law, other theft laws, or both.

Who is pushing for it:
Support came from the Texas Retailers Association, Texas Restaurant Association, Home Depot, Target, Walmart, United Supermarkets, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, law enforcement unions, sheriffs, and district attorneys. No opposition testimony is listed in the files.

Who benefits:
Large retailers, payment processors, and law enforcement gain easier prosecutions, higher penalties, and stronger deterrence against card tampering or data theft.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Individuals caught with low-value or unactivated cards face felony charges based on count, not harm. Small resellers and consumers without resources to fight presumptions face more pressure to plead.

Why this matters long term:
It sets a precedent where item counts alone can trigger serious felony charges. That model can spread to other retail or digital fraud areas. The carve-out for businesses and government creates unequal treatment and reduces accountability.

What to watch next:
Whether prosecutors apply this aggressively against low-dollar cases. Whether new proposals expand the “count not value” model to other crimes. How costs for jails, probation, and indigent defense grow without added funding.

Bottom line:
SB 1809 gives retailers and prosecutors more power to punish fraud but risks sweeping in smaller actors with disproportionate penalties. It is a retailer-driven crackdown that lacks built-in oversight or reporting.

#SB1809 #TexasPolicy #RetailCrime #ConsumerRights #WatchTheRules