Texas Senate bill by Sen. Flores creates offense for fraudulent gift card use

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Peter P. Flores aims to address fraudulent use and possession of gift cards by defining offenses and establishing penalties for unauthorized acquisition or use, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 10 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 59 Democrats and 81 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat and five Republicans voted against it.

Peter P. Flores introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Monday, March 3, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Flores graduated from Texas A&M University in 1983 with a BS.

Flores, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 24th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Dawn Buckingham.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘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’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Penal Code to create the offense of fraudulent use or possession of a gift card or gift card redemption information. It defines key terms such as cardholder, card issuer, gift card, gift card redemption information, and gift card seller. A person commits an offense if they acquire, retain, alter, or use gift cards or related information without consent, or if they use tampered cards to gain value. The severity of the offense ranges from a Class C misdemeanor for values under $100 to a first-degree felony for amounts of $300,000 or more. This legislation takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (Republican – District 7) and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (Republican – District 18).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Tuesday, April 29, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, May 13.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.