I’m not sure the history of the laws around gift card fees in Hawaii, but, in a move that seems contrary to the trends in legislation both at the State and Federal levels, Hawaii’s legislature voted to approve the charging of fees, up to 10% of the gift cards face value with a maximum of $5, when a gift card is issued.

Most closed-loop store gift cards (Target, Wal-Mart) do not charge fees when gift cards are issued.  Most open-loop (Visa, MasterCard) gift cards DO charge fees when the cards are issued.  Perhaps prior to this law these fees were somehow not allowed in Hawaii.  As to why the legislature would vote to weaken a consumer friendly law, I am baffled and the comments on the story are very against the move.