Bill > S160

This bill, titled "Reforming the issuance and sale of sports and entertainment tickets," aims to enhance consumer protection by establishing new regulations for ticket issuers and resellers. It repeals existing laws and defines key terms such as "event" (a public concert, performance, or sporting event with an admission fee held in a venue of over 1000 capacity that received public funding or is on government property), "event ticket," "person," "public funding," "resale" (any transfer of a ticket, excluding the initial sale), "ticket issuer" (anyone making tickets available to the public), and "venue." The bill mandates that ticket issuers provide advance public notice of their ticket policies, including details on ticket availability, pricing, and sale dates, and requires a certification of compliance with consumer protection standards. Crucially, it prohibits ticket issuers from restricting or prohibiting the resale of event tickets by lawful possessors, including through contractual terms, technological means, or legal action against resellers or marketplaces. Furthermore, individuals or entities engaged in the business of selling or reselling tickets, or operating marketplaces for them, must maintain a toll-free number for inquiries and implement a standard refund policy that covers situations like event cancellation, counterfeit tickets, or non-delivery, with refunds including all associated fees. The Commissioner of Public Safety is empowered to enforce these provisions through civil actions, seeking injunctions and damages, with statutory damages calculated per violation, capped per event, and potentially tripled for repeat offenders, and the Commissioner can also issue regulations to implement the act, with certain exceptions for charitable events and educational institutions.