Bill Text: FL H0225 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Ticket Sales

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee [H0225 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-H0225-Introduced.html

---

HB 225

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to ticket sales; amending s. 817.357,
3	F.S.; defining the term "original ticket seller";
4	requiring an original ticket seller to provide advance
5	public notice of its ticket policies for any event
6	that takes place in a facility that receives any
7	public funding; providing requirements for such
8	notice; requiring an original ticket seller to comply
9	with specified consumer protection standards for any
10	event that takes place in a facility that receives any
11	public funding; requiring each required public notice
12	of event ticket practices to be accompanied by a
13	specified certification; prohibiting specified
14	practices by original ticket sellers; providing that
15	specified violations are a violation of the Florida
16	Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; providing
17	exceptions; providing applicability; providing an
18	effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1.  Section 817.357, Florida Statutes, is amended
23	to read:
24	817.357  Transparency in ticket availability Purchase of
25	tickets.-
26	(1)  As used in this section, the term "original ticket
27	seller" means a person other than the operator of an Internet
28	resale marketplace that makes admission tickets available for
29	initial sale, directly or indirectly, to the general public, and
30	may include the operator of a venue; the sponsor or promoter of
31	an event; a sports team participating in an event or a league
32	whose teams are participant in an event; a theater company,
33	musical group, or similar participant in an event; or an agent
34	of any such person.
35	(2)  Whoever knowingly purchases from the original ticket
36	seller a quantity of tickets to an event which exceeds the
37	maximum ticket limit quantity posted by or on behalf of the
38	original ticket seller at the point of original sale or printed
39	on the tickets themselves and intends to resell such tickets
40	violates ss. 501.201-501.213, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair
41	Trade Practices Act. A person or firm is not liable under this
42	section with respect to tickets for which that person or firm is
43	the original ticket seller. For purposes of this section, the
44	term "original ticket seller" means the issuer of such ticket or
45	a person or firm who provides distribution services or ticket
46	sales services under a contract with such issuer.
47	(3)  An original ticket seller shall provide advance public
48	notice of its ticket policies for any event that takes place in
49	a facility that receives any public funding. The notice shall be
50	posted conspicuously on the original ticket seller's website and
51	at physical locations where tickets are issued to the public and
52	shall include the following information:
53	(a)  Identification of the event, including the date, time,
54	and location.
55	(b)  The total number of event tickets to be issued for the
56	event and the number of such tickets for every class, tier, or
57	level of admission offered.
58	(c)  The total number of event tickets to the event that
59	will be made available for purchase by members of the general
60	public as public sale tickets and the number of such tickets for
61	every class, tier, or level of admission offered.
62	(d)  The established price for each class, tier, or level
63	of admission offered which will be designated as public sale
64	tickets, including the amount of any premium, service charge, or
65	other fee applicable to the sale of such ticket.
66	(e)  Whether the ticket being sold was not made available
67	at the time of the initial public sale.
68	(f)  The on-sale date and time.
69	(g)  A complete list of the outlets at which such public
70	sale tickets will be made available for sale to the general
71	public on the date and at the time specified, including a list
72	of all Internet websites at which such tickets will be made
73	available.
74	(h)  A toll-free telephone number for the handling of
75	customer issues regarding the original sale of the event ticket.
76	(i)  The refund policy criteria and process.
77	(4)  An original ticket seller shall comply with the
78	following minimum consumer protection standards for any event
79	that takes place in a facility that receives any public funding:
80	(a)  Maintain a toll-free telephone number for the handling
81	of customer issues regarding the sale or resale of event
82	tickets.
83	(b)  Implement and reasonably publicize a standard refund
84	policy that provides a consumer who purchased an event ticket a
85	full refund if:
86	1.  The event is canceled before the scheduled occurrence
87	of the event and is not rescheduled;
88	2.  The event ticket received by the purchaser is
89	counterfeit;
90	3.  The event ticket has been canceled by the ticket issuer
91	for nonpayment by the original purchaser or for any reason other
92	than an act or omission of the consumer;
93	4.  The event ticket materially and to the detriment of the
94	consumer fails to conform to the description provided by the
95	seller or reseller; or
96	5.  The event ticket was not delivered to the consumer
97	prior to the occurrence of the event, unless such failure of
98	delivery was due to any act or omission of the consumer.
99
100	The full refund must include the full price paid by the consumer
101	for the event ticket, together with any fees charged in
102	connection with that purchase, including, but not limited to,
103	convenience fees, processing fees, at home printing charges,
104	shipping and handling charges, or delivery fees. The original
105	ticket seller may condition entitlement to a refund upon timely
106	return of the ticket purchased and may include reasonable
107	safeguards against abuse of the policy.
108	(5)  Each public notice of event ticket practices required
109	by this section shall be accompanied by a certification that the
110	original ticket seller is in compliance with all the
111	requirements of this section, that all tickets designated as
112	public sale tickets will in fact be made available for sale to
113	the general public as stated in the notice, and that all the
114	information contained in the notice is true and correct to the
115	best of the knowledge and belief of the party submitting the
116	notice.
117	(6)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is
118	unlawful for an original ticket seller to engage in any of the
119	following:
120	(a)  Purport to impose license or contractual terms on the
121	initial sale of event tickets, including, but not limited to,
122	terms printed on the back of a physical ticket that prohibit
123	resale of the ticket or that restrict the price or other terms
124	and conditions under which a ticket may be resold or
125	transferred.
126	(b)  Require the purchaser of a ticket, whether for a
127	single event or for a series or season of events, to agree not
128	to resell the ticket or to resell the ticket only through a
129	specific channel approved by the ticket issuer.
130	(c)  Bring legal action based on an unlawful prohibition or
131	restriction on resale of an event ticket against a purchaser who
132	resells or offers to resell an event ticket without permission
133	of the ticket issuer, or in violation of a restriction
134	purportedly imposed by the ticket issuer; persons who facilitate
135	or provide services for the resale of event tickets without such
136	permission or in alleged violation of such a restriction; or the
137	operator of a physical or electronic marketplace in which a
138	ticket is offered for resale without such permission, or in
139	alleged violation of such a restriction.
140	(d)  Impose any penalty on a ticket purchaser who resells
141	or offers to resell an event ticket without permission or in
142	violation of a restriction purportedly imposed by the ticket
143	issuer or treat such a purchaser in any material way less
144	favorably than a similarly situated purchaser who does not
145	resell or offer to resell an event ticket or who complies with
146	resale restrictions purportedly imposed by the ticket issuer.
147	(e)  Employ any means, including technological means, for
148	the purpose or with the foreseeable effect of prohibiting or
149	restricting the resale of event tickets, including, but not
150	limited to, issuing event tickets in a form that is not readily
151	transferrable to a subsequent purchaser or conditioning entry
152	into the venue on presentation of a token such as the original
153	purchaser's credit card or state-issued identification card that
154	cannot be readily transferred to a subsequent purchaser.
155	(f)  Seek to limit or restrict the price, or to impose a
156	minimum or maximum price, at which an event ticket may be
157	resold.
158	(7)  Any original ticket seller or its agent who sells a
159	ticket without providing proper notice pursuant to subsection
160	(3) or fails to comply with the other requirements in this
161	section violates part II of chapter 501, the Florida Deceptive
162	and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
163	(8)  This section does not apply to:
164	(a)  A sponsor or promoter of an event intended solely to
165	benefit a charitable endeavor for which all tickets are
166	distributed free of charge.
167	(b)  A not-for-profit educational institution, with respect
168	to an athletic event involving athletes or teams of the
169	institution, to the extent that such restrictions apply to
170	tickets initially distributed by the institution to any of the
171	following:
172	1.  Students, faculty, staff members, or alumni without
173	charge.
174	2.  Members of bona fide booster organizations consisting
175	of those making substantial financial contributions to the
176	institution.
177	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2012, and
178	apply to all ticket sales made on or after that date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.