Bill Text: NH SB201 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to resale of event tickets.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-09-06 - ==RESCHEDULED== Subcommittee Work Session: 09/20/2023 10:00 am Legislative Office Building 302-304 House Calendar 36 [SB201 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2023-SB201-Amended.html
SB 201 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/30/2023 1135s
03/30/2023 1264s
2023 SESSION
23-1006
04/05
SENATE BILL 201
AN ACT relative to resale of event tickets.
SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Rep. Nutter-Upham, Hills. 8
COMMITTEE: Commerce
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill makes the resale of event tickets by a person who is not the venue or an authorized agent of the venue without prominent display and acknowledgment of that condition an unlawful act under the consumer protection regulations.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/30/2023 1135s
03/30/2023 1264s 23-1006
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to resale of event tickets.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
I. The general court recognizes that independent live-performance venues are important entertainment centers and essential to the growth and success of New Hampshire's local economies. They serve as critical tax bases, as employers, as tourism destinations and as revenue generators for neighboring businesses such as restaurants, hotels, and retailers.
II. The general court further finds that the "secondary ticket marketplace" purports to be a resale marketplace between ticket purchasers and ticket resellers who have purchased tickets for admission to events that were originally sold or issued by the sponsors or promoters of the events. Problems arise when these sites resell tickets at a significantly higher cost than the venue when tickets are, in fact, available at face-value from the venue; when they “resell” tickets that they do not own; when they give fake confirmation numbers to the patron with no intention of providing the tickets; and when they engage in a host of deceptive or unethical behaviors.
III. The general court further finds that what was once a small offline industry of ticket resellers has grown into a multi billion dollar online industry, and is an enormous and expensive problem for venues, patrons and artists. These websites are not connected to venues and are often designed to make purchasers believe they are buying tickets directly from the venue.
IV. The general court further finds, that these practices result in understaffed venues exhausting valuable employee hours chasing box office issues, comforting and compensating upset patrons, filing paperwork against credit card back charges, and generally doing whatever they can to salvage their goodwill with the patron who often blames the venue for their situation.
V. In conclusion, the general court finds that to address these problems and mitigate the affects of deceptive practices, the following change to law is necessary.
2 New Paragraphs; Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection; Definitions. Amend RSA 358-A:1 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. "Venue" shall mean any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium or other place of exhibition or entertainment at which tickets are sold.
3 New Paragraph; Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection; Acts Unlawful; Unauthorized Resellers. Amend RSA 358-A:2 by inserting after paragraph XVIII the following new paragraph:
XIX. Reselling tickets to an event or performance unless the seller accomplishes the following:
(a) Prominently displays on the sale listing and again during purchase, in bold, 14 point font or greater, a disclosure indicating that the tickets are being sold pursuant to one of the following conditions:
(1) The seller does not actually own the ticket;
(2) The seller is a different entity than the venue where the event or performance is to be held; or
(3) The ticket being resold is in a block, zone, or other specific grouping of tickets; and
(b) Acquires the purchaser's acknowledgment of such condition through an affirmative act of clicking on a radio button, checkbox, or other similar indication of acknowledgment.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
