CONTENT

Senate Bill 158 (S-1) would enact the "Event Online Ticket Sales Act" to prohibit a person from circumventing or disabling a measure used to enforce ticket purchase limits, enforce order within ticket sales, or validate authentic event tickets.

Senate Bill 159 (S-1) would enact a new law to prescribe a civil fine of up to $5,000 for a violation of the proposed "Event Online Ticket Sales Act" and allow the Attorney General (AG) to bring a civil action against imminent or actual violations of the Act.

The bills are tie-barred.

Senate Bill 158 (S-1)

Definitions

"Entertainment event" would mean a concert, theatrical performance, sporting event, exhibition, show, or similar scheduled activity held in the State that is open to the public, held in a public or private venue, and charges an admission fee to attend.

"Person" would mean an individual, a sole proprietorship, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity, or a combination of persons described above.

"Ticket" would mean a physical, electronic, or other form of a certificate, voucher, document, token, or other evidence indicating that the person entitled to possession through purchase or otherwise has a right to enter a venue for an entertainment event at the date and time specified on the ticket.

"Ticket purchasing limit" would mean the posted limit stating the number of tickets a person may purchase for a specific entertainment event during an online ticket sale.

Prohibition of Interfering with Security Measure

The Act would prohibit a person from using or creating a bot to do any of the following:

-- Purchase an amount of tickets for an entertainment event in excess of the ticket purchasing limit.

-- Use multiple internet protocol addresses, purchaser accounts, or email addresses to purchase an amount of tickets for an entertainment event in excess of the ticket purchasing limit.

-- Circumvent or disable an electronic queue, waiting period, presale code, or other sales volume limitation system associated with an online ticket sale.

-- Circumvent or disable a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure that was used to validate that a ticket was not fraudulent.

Senate Bill 159 (S-1)

Investigations and Fines for Interfering with Security Measures

The bill would allow the AG to investigate a claim that a person had violated the "Event Online Ticket Sales Act". If the AG determined that a violation was imminent or a person was in the process of violating the Act, the AG could bring a civil action to restrain, enjoin, or prevent the person from violating or continuing to violate the Act. If the AG determined that a person had violated the Act, the AG could bring a civil action against the person for appropriate relief, including injunctive relief or to collect the civil fine prescribed below for the violation of the Act. The AG also could recover restitution. The court could allow the AG to recover reasonable costs and attorney fees incurred in an action resulting in the imposition of a civil fine under the Act.

A person that violated the Act would be subject to a civil fine of up to $5,000, which would have to be deposited into the General Fund. Each ticket acquired in violation of the Act would constitute a separate violation for the purpose of assessing a civil fine. Additionally, a person that violated a court order or injunction issued to enforce the Act would be subject to a civil fine of up to $5,000.

BRIEF RATIONALE

According to testimony, ticket prices for live events have risen dramatically due to bots quickly buying up large quantities of tickets, reducing the opportunities for human customers to purchase these tickets directly. The bot-bought tickets are often sold on a secondary market at prices that most consumers cannot meet. Some have argued that live events are large drivers of economic activity and bots should not be used to exploit both customers and artists.

PREVIOUS LEGISLATION

(This section does not provide a comprehensive account of previous legislative efforts on this subject matter.)

Senate Bills 158 and 159 are respectively reintroductions of House Bills 5661 and 5662 from the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. House Bills 5661 and 5662 passed the House and were referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection but received no further action.

Legislative Analyst: Nathan Leaman

FISCAL IMPACT

The bills would not have a fiscal impact on the AG, and no fiscal impact is anticipated for local units of government. The bills would empower the AG to enforce the "Event Online Ticket Sales Act", which could create expenses for the AG; however, the bills also would allow the AG to recover costs for these litigious expenses. The bills also could generate revenue for the State’s General Fund in the form of civil fines at a rate of $5,000 per violation. It is unknown how much revenue this would generate for the State.

Fiscal Analyst: Michael Siracuse