2022                                Laws of Maryland                         Ch. 724

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 239 and 241 of Article 56 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, (1968 Replacement Volume), title "Licenses," subtitle
"Trading Stamp Companies," be and the same are hereby repealed
and re-enacted, and to read as follows:

239.

As used in this subtitle:

(a)    The term "trading stamp" means any stamp or similar de-
vice issued in connection with the retail sale of merchandise or serv-
ice, as a cash discount or for any other marketing purpose, which
entitles the rightful holder, on its due presentation for redemption,
to receive merchandise, service or cash. This term, however, shall
not mean any redeemable device used by the manufacturer or packer
of an article, in advertising or selling it, or any redeemable device
issued and redeemed by a newspaper, magazine or other publication.

(b)    The term "trading stamp company" means any person en-
gaged in distributing trading stamps for retail issuance by others,
or in redeeming trading stamps for retailers, in any way or under
any guise.

(c)    The term "person" means any individual, partnership, cor-
poration, association or other organization.

(d) The term "retail distributor of trading stamps" means any

person who gives, sells, or otherwise distributes trading stamps for

a trading stamp company as defined in subparagraph (b) to the

ultimate consumer either at time of sale or at any time when a sales

presentation is made before or after delivery of the trading stamps.

The term, however, shall not mean any person who distributes trad-

ing stamps as a salesman's bonus, safety award, employee incentive

plan, donation to a charitable or non profit organization or other

plans not associated with the sale of goods or services.

(e) The term "cost factor" means the average cost of the trad-

ing stamps to the retail distributor of trading stamps. Such aver-

age cost shall be the actual cost of the trading stamps to the retail

distributor of trading stamps over the six calendar month period

immediately preceding the month in which the trading stamps are

distributed to the consumer by the retail distributor of trading

stamps.

241.

(a) No trading stamp company shall distribute trading stamps
in this State or shall redeem trading stamps hereafter issued therein
unless [(a) each stamp has legibly printed upon its face in cents
or any fraction thereof a cash value determined by the company,
and (b) the] (1) The rightful holders may, at their option, redeem
the stamps in cash when duly presented to the company for redemp-
tion in a number having an aggregate cash value of not less than
twenty-five cents [.] , and (2) that the cash redemption value of
said stamps shall be at least equal to the greater of (i) the highest
cash redemption value offered by the company in any other juris-
diction where the company does business, or (ii) the value which
the company represents the stamps have when redeemed for mer-