Bill Text: CA SB785 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Consumer protection: ticket sellers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-08-26 - Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry. [SB785 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB785-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Assembly
June 24, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
June 28, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Senate
May 01, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Senate
April 10, 2023 |
Amended
IN
Senate
March 22, 2023 |
Introduced by Senator Caballero (Coauthors: Senators Dodd and Portantino) |
February 17, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 22500 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:22500.
(a) Original sellers, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces shall be registered with the Secretary of State and be duly licensed, as may be required by any local jurisdiction.SEC. 2.
Section 22501 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:22501.
Original sellers, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces shall maintain records of ticket sales, deposits, andSEC. 3.
Section 22502 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:22502.
(a) An original ticket seller or a ticket reseller, before listing, marketing, or selling a ticket, shall own, possess, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket.SEC. 4.
Section 22502.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:22502.3.
(1)The original seller or a ticket reseller has the ticket in their possession.
(2)The original seller or a ticket reseller has a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain the ticket from the event presenter.
(b)In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), it shall be unlawful for an original seller or a ticket reseller to advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket, or accept consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for the sale of a ticket, unless the ticket has been made available for sale on the internet to the public by the event presenter, including, without limitation, through a presale, fan club presale, or any other promotional presale event, or the event presenter or its authorized agent has otherwise provided permission to the original seller or ticket reseller to do so.
SEC. 5.
Section 22502.1 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:22502.1.
(a) A ticket marketplace, before accepting a listing to market or sell a ticket, shall require that the person listing the ticket own, possess, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket, and be able to deliver the ticket to the buyer.SEC. 6.
Section 22502.2 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:22502.4.
It shall be unlawful for an original seller, a ticket reseller, or a ticket marketplace to represent that they can deliver or cause to be delivered, a ticket at a specific price or within a specific price range, and to fail to deliver within a reasonable time, or by a contracted time, the ticket, at or below the price stated or within the range of prices stated.SEC. 7.
Section 22502.3 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:22502.5.
In addition to other remedies, an original seller, a ticket reseller, or a ticket marketplace that violates Section 22505.1 or 22502.4 shall be civilly liable to the ticket purchaser for two times the contracted price of the ticket, in addition to any sum expended by the purchaser in nonrefundable expenses for attending, or attempting to attend, the event in good faith reliance on seat or space availability, and reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.SEC. 8.
Section 22503 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:(a)
22503.
(a) A “consumer,” as used in this chapter, means a natural person who purchases tickets to an entertainment event with the purpose of attending that event.
(b)
(c)
(d)
SEC. 9.
Section 22503.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:22503.3.
Nothing in this chapter shall infringe upon the right of an event presenter to impose terms and conditions on the sale, pricing, transfer, or resale of tickets to their events, or on the technologies that an event presenter uses in the sale of those tickets.SEC. 10.
Section 22503.5 of the Business and Professions Code is repealed.SEC. 11.
Section 22503.6 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:22503.4.
This chapter does not apply to an officially appointed agent of an air carrier, ocean carrier, or motor coach carrier that purchases or sells tickets in conjunction with a tour package accomplished through the primary event promoter, or their agent, by written agreement.SEC. 12.
Section 22505.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:22505.2.
A person shall not use an internet website, or cause an internet website to be used, to display either of the following:SEC. 13.
Section 22505.5 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:22505.1.
Notwithstanding Section 22503.4, 22504, or 22511, it shall be unlawful for a person to intentionally use, cause to be used, or sell software or services to do, or to otherwise engage in, any of the following:SEC. 14.
Section 22507 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:22507.
(a) The ticket price of an event that is canceled shall be fully refunded to the purchaser by the person who sold or facilitated the sale of the ticket to the purchaser, whether an original seller, event presenter, ticket reseller, or ticket marketplace, within 30 calendar days of the cancellation.SEC. 15.
Section 22508 of the Business and Professions Code is repealed.(a)Original sellers, event presenters, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces shall not advertise, display, or offer a price for a ticket that does not include all fees or charges that are required to be paid in order to purchase the ticket other than taxes or fees imposed by a
government on the transaction.
(b)Original sellers, event
presenters, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces may separately state any fees or charges included in the price of a ticket only if the disclosure is not false or misleading, including, but not limited to, by bundling government taxes or fees with any component of the price, and shall not present those fees charges more prominently, or in the same or larger size, than the
price of the ticket.
(c)The total cost of the ticket shall be clearly and conspicuously disclosed, from the first time pricing is displayed and anytime thereafter, except that a reasonable fee may be charged for the delivery of a nonelectronic ticket if multiple delivery options are presented to the purchaser for selection and the delivery fee is disclosed to the purchaser before payment is accepted.
(d)The total cost shall be displayed in any price quote or advertisement that includes pricing.
(e)Ticket resellers and ticket marketplaces shall disclose in the description of the price of a ticket that the ticket is a resale ticket that may be offered at a price that is more than the price of a ticket offered or sold by the event presenter. Ticket resellers and ticket marketplaces shall include in any listing for a resale ticket the face price of the original
ticket.