CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen asked a legislative panel on Wednesday to pass his bill requiring unused gift card value to revert to the state of Nevada to help fund education programs.

Assembly Bill 279 would declare that unused gift card value would become abandoned property either on its expiration date or if not used after three years.

Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, told the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee that unused gift card values already are required by federal law to be reverted to the state where the company that issued the card is incorporated. So, if the company that issued a card is incorporated in Delaware, even if the card was purchased in Nevada, the unused portion is supposed to go to the state of Delaware, he said.

An exception to that requirement is if a state has a reversion law as the freshman lawmaker has proposed for Nevada.

"It only makes sense that if the card was purchased here in Nevada, it should stay in Nevada," Kihuen said. "This bill would also allow the state to generate much needed funds for education without raising taxes or fees."

There is no firm estimate of what kind of revenue could be generated to the state from such a program.

The Texas Legislature passed a similar bill in 2005 that transfers unused and expired gift card value to the state by defining it as abandoned property. A fiscal note on the Texas legislation anticipated $20 million in revenue to the state in fiscal year 2009.

Of the $80 billion spent on gift cards in 2006, an estimated $8 billion will not be used, Kihuen told the panel.

No action was taken on the bill. Gov. Jim Gibbons has not yet weighed in on whether he would support the measure.

Assemblyman James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, asked why a card's unused value should revert to the state if it had not expired.

"Aren't you taking money away from consumers," he asked.

Kihuen said that after three years, the likelihood of the value being redeemed is remote. But a person could always claim the unused value of the card from the state, he said.

Another option is to exempt cards that do not expire.

Kihuen said he found out the hard way about expired cards when he tried to use a $100 card 13 months after it was given to him as a Christmas present, but it was not honored.

The money was supposed to revert to the state where the restaurant was incorporated, but Kihuen said he does not know if that happened or not.

The bill was supported by Lea Lipscomb, representing the Retail Association of Nevada. He said it is up to the Legislature to determine if the money should be earmarked for education programs as proposed by Kihuen.

George Ross, representing the Nevada Restaurant Association, opposed the bill, saying the industry has taken several recent hits, including a higher minimum wage and smoking restrictions. The gift card law is just one more economic impact, he said.

Most restaurants accept expired cards because good will is a key to success in the business, Ross said.

If a restaurant does honor an expired card, it takes a double hit because the value already has been turned over to the state, he said.