Bill Text: CA SB785 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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

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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

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 785

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Introduced by Senator Caballero
(Coauthors: Senators Dodd and Portantino)

February 17, 2023

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An act to amend Sections 22500, 22501, 22502, 22503, 22507, and 22511 of, to amend and renumber Sections 22502.2, 22502.3, 22503.6, and 22505.5 of, to amend, renumber, and add Section 22502.1 of, to add Sections 22503.3 and 22505.2 to, and to repeal Section Sections 22503.5 and 22508 of, and to repeal and add Section 22508 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to business.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 785, as amended, Caballero. Consumer protection: ticket sellers.

Existing law provides comprehensive regulation of ticket sellers, defined as a person who, for compensation, commission, or otherwise, sells admission tickets to sporting, musical, theater, or any other entertainment event. In this regard, existing law, among other things, prohibits specified ticket selling practices and imposes certain recordkeeping and disclosure requirements. Existing law makes a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor, and imposes civil penalties for certain violations.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to impose similar requirements, as applicable, to original sellers, event presenters, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces, as defined, and to require original sellers, ticket resellers, and ticket marketplaces to be registered with the Secretary of State. By expanding the scope of certain requirements related to selling those tickets, the violation of which is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require an original ticket seller or a ticket reseller, before listing, marketing, or selling a ticket, to own, possess, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket. The bill would require a ticket marketplace to impose a similar requirement before accepting a ticket listing, as specified. The bill would also make it unlawful for an original seller or a ticket reseller to advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket unless the ticket has been made available for sale on the internet to the public or the event presenter or its authorized agent has otherwise provided permission, as specified. if they do not own, possess, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket.

The bill would make certain intentional acts unlawful, including purchasing tickets in excess of posted limits for an online event ticket sale and circumventing or disabling certain sales volume limitation systems. The bill would also prohibit certain internet website displays that are substantially similar to the internet website of an event presenter or original seller, or any of their authorized agents, with the intent to mislead and without their written consent.

The bill would impose revise and recast various disclosure requirements on the advertisement of tickets for sale, including requiring ticket resellers and ticket marketplaces to disclose the face price of the original ticket. location within the venue that the ticket will permit the purchaser to occupy. The bill would delete the requirement that a ticket seller disclose that a service charge is added to the price of the ticket.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill 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.

(b) A violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or by both.

(c) For the purposes of this chapter, each ticket sold or offered for sale in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate violation. An action for a violation of this chapter may be brought only by any of the following:

(1) The Attorney General.

(2) A district attorney.

(3) A city attorney of a city that has a population greater than 750,000.

(4) A county council counsel of a county within which any city has a population greater than 750,000.

(5) A city prosecutor in a city that has a full-time city prosecutor, with the consent of the district attorney.

(d) In an action alleging a violation of this chapter, the court shall impose a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation of this chapter. In determining the amount of the civil penalty, the court shall consider all of the relevant circumstances presented by any of the parties to the case, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The nature and seriousness of the misconduct.

(2) The number of violations.

(3) The persistence of the misconduct.

(4) The length of time during which the misconduct occurred.

(5) The willfulness of the misconduct.

(6) The assets, liabilities, and net worth of the defendant.

(e) The remedies provided by this section are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this state.

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, and refunds. refunds for at least a period of one year.

SEC. 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.

(b) An original seller or a ticket reseller shall, at the time of listing or marketing of, and before selling a ticket, disclose to the purchaser, by means of a description or a map, the location within the venue that the ticket will entitle permit the purchaser to occupy, including the section, row, and seat number represented by each ticket, and the face price printed or displayed on the ticket that they are listing for resale. unless that ticket is designated as standing room only or not otherwise associated with occupying a particular location within a venue.

SEC. 4.

 Section 22502.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:

22502.3.

 (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 either of the following requirements is met: ticket if they do not own, possess, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket.

(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.

(b) A ticket marketplace, on its internet website in each ticket listing, shall disclose to the purchaser, by means of a description or a map, the location within the venue that the ticket will entitle permit the purchaser to occupy, including the section, row, and seat number represented by each ticket. ticket, unless that ticket is designated as standing room only or not otherwise associated with occupying a particular location within a venue.

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:

22503.

(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) An “event,” as used in this chapter, means a live entertainment event, including a live sporting, musical, or theatre event.

(c) An “event presenter,” as used in this chapter, means the person or organization that is responsible for a sporting, musical, theatre, or other entertainment event for which tickets are sold, including the holder of the rights to the sporting, musical, theatre, or other entertainment event, or their authorized agent.

(b)

(d) An “original seller,” as used in this chapter, means a person who, for compensation, commission, or otherwise, advertises, lists, markets for sale, or sells an admission ticket to a sporting, musical, theatre, or other entertainment event for original sale as instructed by an event presenter.

(c)

(e) A “ticket marketplace,” as used in this chapter, means an entity who, for compensation, commission, or otherwise, advertises, lists, markets for sale, processes payments for, facilitates the sale or exchange of, or sells an admission ticket for, a sporting, musical, theatre, or other entertainment event, whether original sale or resale.

(d)

(f) A “ticket reseller,” as used in this chapter, means a person who for compensation, commission, or otherwise, advertises, lists, markets for sale, or sells an admission ticket to a sporting, musical, theatre, or other entertainment event other than a ticket for original sale sold by an original seller.

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:

(a) A trademarked or copyrighted URL, title, designation, image, mark, or other symbol without the written consent of the trademark or copyright holder.

(b) Any combination of text, images, web designs, or internet addresses that is substantially similar to the internet website of an event presenter or original seller, or any of their authorized agents, with the intent to mislead and without the written consent of the event presenter or original seller.

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:

(a) Purchase tickets in excess of posted limits for an online event ticket sale.

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

(c) Circumvent or disable a security measure, access control system, or other control or measure that is used to facilitate authorized entry into an event.

(d) Purchase tickets in violation of the event presenter’s posted terms and conditions.

(e) Utilize multiple Internet Protocol addresses, multiple purchaser accounts, or multiple email addresses to purchase tickets in excess of posted ticket limits.

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.

(b) The ticket price of an event that is postponed, rescheduled, or replaced with another event at the same date and time, shall be fully refunded or credited to the account of the purchaser by the person who processed the sale of the ticket upon request within 30 calendar days of the refund request.

(c) For purposes of this section, a rescheduled event includes a canceled occurrence of a recurring event for which the purchaser is offered the opportunity to attend another, materially identical occurrence of the same event, at a different date or time.

(d) A local jurisdiction may require an original seller, ticket reseller, or ticket marketplace to provide a bond of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) to provide any refunds that may be required pursuant to this section.

SEC. 15.

 Section 22508 of the Business and Professions Code is repealed.

SEC. 16.Section 22508 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

22508.

(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.

SEC. 17.SEC. 16.

 Section 22511 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

22511.

 This chapter does not apply to any event for which tickets are distributed free of charge, or to any nonprofit, charitable, tax-exempt organization that sells tickets to an event sponsored by the organization. charge.

SEC. 18.SEC. 17.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.