Bill Text: IL SB3632 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Ticket Sale and Resale Act. Provides that a ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller shall not offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller: (1) clearly and conspicuously displays the total event ticket price, if a price is displayed, in any advertisement, marketing, or price list where the ticket is offered for sale; (2) clearly and conspicuously discloses to any consumer who seeks to purchase an event ticket the total event ticket price at the time the ticket is first displayed to the consumer and anytime thereafter throughout the ticket purchasing process; and (3) provides the buyer with an itemized list of the base event ticket price and each event ticket fee. Defines terms.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-09 - Referred to Assignments [SB3632 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3632-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3632

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Steve Stadelman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
815 ILCS 414/1.5 was 720 ILCS 375/1.5

Amends the Ticket Sale and Resale Act. Provides that a ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller shall not offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller: (1) clearly and conspicuously displays the total event ticket price, if a price is displayed, in any advertisement, marketing, or price list where the ticket is offered for sale; (2) clearly and conspicuously discloses to any consumer who seeks to purchase an event ticket the total event ticket price at the time the ticket is first displayed to the consumer and anytime thereafter throughout the ticket purchasing process; and (3) provides the buyer with an itemized list of the base event ticket price and each event ticket fee. Defines terms.
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A BILL FOR

SB3632LRB103 38124 SPS 68256 b
1 AN ACT concerning business.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Ticket Sale and Resale Act is amended by
5changing Section 1.5 as follows:
6 (815 ILCS 414/1.5) (was 720 ILCS 375/1.5)
7 Sec. 1.5. Sale of tickets at more than face value
8prohibited; exceptions.
9 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b), (c),
10(d), (e), and (f-5) of this Section and in Section 4, it is
11unlawful for any person, persons, firm or corporation to sell
12tickets for baseball games, football games, hockey games,
13theatre entertainments, or any other amusement for a price
14more than the price printed upon the face of said ticket, and
15the price of said ticket shall correspond with the same price
16shown at the box office or the office of original
17distribution.
18 (b) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of
19admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance,
20or place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
21price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a
22ticket broker who meets all of the following requirements:
23 (1) The ticket broker is duly registered with the

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1 Office of the Secretary of State on a registration form
2 provided by that Office. The registration must contain a
3 certification that the ticket broker:
4 (A) engages in the resale of tickets on a regular
5 and ongoing basis from one or more permanent or fixed
6 locations located within this State;
7 (B) maintains as the principal business activity
8 at those locations the resale of tickets;
9 (C) displays at those locations the ticket
10 broker's registration;
11 (D) maintains at those locations a listing of the
12 names and addresses of all persons employed by the
13 ticket broker;
14 (E) is in compliance with all applicable federal,
15 State, and local laws relating to its ticket selling
16 activities, and that neither the ticket broker nor any
17 of its employees within the preceding 12 months have
18 been convicted of a violation of this Act; and
19 (F) meets the following requirements:
20 (i) the ticket broker maintains a toll free
21 number specifically dedicated for Illinois
22 consumer complaints and inquiries concerning
23 ticket sales;
24 (ii) the ticket broker has adopted a code that
25 advocates consumer protection that includes, at a
26 minimum:

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1 (a-1) consumer protection guidelines;
2 (b-1) a standard refund policy. In the
3 event a refund is due, the ticket broker shall
4 provide that refund without charge other than
5 for reasonable delivery fees for the return of
6 the tickets; and
7 (c-1) standards of professional conduct;
8 (iii) the ticket broker has adopted a
9 procedure for the binding resolution of consumer
10 complaints by an independent, disinterested third
11 party and thereby submits to the jurisdiction of
12 the State of Illinois; and
13 (iv) the ticket broker has established and
14 maintains a consumer protection rebate fund in
15 Illinois in an amount in excess of $100,000, which
16 must be cash available for immediate disbursement
17 for satisfaction of valid consumer complaints.
18 Alternatively, the ticket broker may fulfill the
19 requirements of subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (1) if
20 the ticket broker certifies that he or she belongs to a
21 professional association organized under the laws of this
22 State, or organized under the laws of any other state and
23 authorized to conduct business in Illinois, that has been
24 in existence for at least 3 years prior to the date of that
25 broker's registration with the Office of the Secretary of
26 State, and is specifically dedicated, for and on behalf of

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1 its members, to provide and maintain the consumer
2 protection requirements of subparagraph (F) of this
3 paragraph (1) to maintain the integrity of the ticket
4 brokerage industry.
5 (2) (Blank).
6 (3) The ticket broker and his employees must not
7 engage in the practice of selling, or attempting to sell,
8 tickets for any event while sitting or standing near the
9 facility at which the event is to be held or is being held
10 unless the ticket broker or his or her employees are on
11 property they own, lease, or have permission to occupy.
12 (4) The ticket broker must comply with all
13 requirements of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and
14 collect and remit all other applicable federal, State and
15 local taxes in connection with the ticket broker's ticket
16 selling activities.
17 (5) Beginning January 1, 1996, no ticket broker shall
18 advertise for resale any tickets within this State unless
19 the advertisement contains the name of the ticket broker
20 and the Illinois registration number issued by the Office
21 of the Secretary of State under this Section.
22 (6) Each ticket broker registered under this Act shall
23 pay an annual registration fee of $100.
24 (c) This Act does not apply to the sale of tickets of
25admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance,
26or place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a

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1price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a
2reseller engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce on an
3Internet auction listing service duly registered with the
4Office of the Secretary of State on a registration form
5provided by that Office. This subsection (c) applies to both
6sales through an online bid submission process and sales at a
7fixed price on the same website or interactive computer
8service as an Internet auction listing service.
9 This subsection (c) applies to resales described in this
10subsection only if the operator of the Internet auction
11listing service meets the following requirements:
12 (1) the operator maintains a listing of the names and
13 addresses of its corporate officers;
14 (2) the operator is in compliance with all applicable
15 federal, State, and local laws relating to ticket selling
16 activities, and the operator's officers and directors have
17 not been convicted of a violation of this Act within the
18 preceding 12 months;
19 (3) the operator maintains, either itself or through
20 an affiliate, a toll free number dedicated for consumer
21 complaints;
22 (4) the operator provides consumer protections that
23 include at a minimum:
24 (A) consumer protection guidelines;
25 (B) a standard refund policy that guarantees to
26 all purchasers that it will provide and in fact

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1 provides a full refund of the amount paid by the
2 purchaser (including, but not limited to, all fees,
3 regardless of how characterized) if the following
4 occurs:
5 (i) the ticketed event is cancelled and the
6 purchaser returns the tickets to the seller or
7 Internet auction listing service; however,
8 reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded if
9 the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that
10 the fees will not be refunded if the event is
11 cancelled;
12 (ii) the ticket received by the purchaser does
13 not allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed
14 event for reasons that may include, without
15 limitation, that the ticket is counterfeit or that
16 the ticket has been cancelled by the issuer due to
17 non-payment, unless the ticket is cancelled due to
18 an act or omission by such purchaser;
19 (iii) the ticket fails to conform to its
20 description on the Internet auction listing
21 service; or
22 (iv) the ticket seller willfully fails to send
23 the ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the
24 ticket seller attempted to deliver the ticket or
25 tickets to the purchaser in the manner required by
26 the Internet auction listing service and the

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1 purchaser failed to receive the ticket or tickets;
2 and
3 (C) standards of professional conduct;
4 (5) the operator has adopted an independent and
5 disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows
6 resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the
7 other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a
8 third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to
9 submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for
10 complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
11 (6) the operator either:
12 (A) complies with all applicable requirements of
13 the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and
14 remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes;
15 or
16 (B) publishes a written notice on the website
17 after the sale of one or more tickets that
18 automatically informs the ticket reseller of the
19 ticket reseller's potential legal obligation to pay
20 any applicable local amusement tax in connection with
21 the reseller's sale of tickets, and discloses to law
22 enforcement or other government tax officials, without
23 subpoena, the name, city, state, telephone number,
24 e-mail address, user ID history, fraud complaints, and
25 bidding and listing history of any specifically
26 identified reseller or purchaser upon the receipt of a

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1 verified request from law enforcement or other
2 government tax officials relating to a criminal
3 investigation or alleged illegal activity; and
4 (7) the operator either:
5 (A) has established and maintains a consumer
6 protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in
7 excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for
8 immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid
9 consumer complaints; or
10 (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors
11 and omissions insurance policy that provides at least
12 $100,000 in coverage.
13 (d) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of
14admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance,
15or place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
16price in excess of the printed box office ticket price
17conducted at an auction solely by or for a not-for-profit
18organization for charitable purposes under clause (a)(1) of
19Section 10-1 of the Auction License Act.
20 (e) This Act does not apply to the resale of a ticket for
21admission to a baseball game, football game, hockey game,
22theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for a price more
23than the price printed on the face of the ticket and for more
24than the price of the ticket at the box office if the resale is
25made through an Internet website whose operator meets the
26following requirements:

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1 (1) the operator has a business presence and physical
2 street address in the State of Illinois and clearly and
3 conspicuously posts that address on the website;
4 (2) the operator maintains a listing of the names of
5 the operator's directors and officers, and is duly
6 registered with the Office of the Secretary of State on a
7 registration form provided by that Office;
8 (3) the operator is in compliance with all applicable
9 federal, State, and local laws relating to its ticket
10 reselling activities regulated under this Act, and the
11 operator's officers and directors have not been convicted
12 of a violation of this Act within the preceding 12 months;
13 (4) the operator maintains a toll free number
14 specifically dedicated for consumer complaints and
15 inquiries regarding ticket resales made through the
16 website;
17 (5) the operator either:
18 (A) has established and maintains a consumer
19 protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in
20 excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for
21 immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid
22 consumer complaints; or
23 (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors
24 and omissions policy of insurance in the minimum
25 amount of $100,000 for the satisfaction of valid
26 consumer complaints;

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1 (6) the operator has adopted an independent and
2 disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows
3 resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the
4 other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a
5 third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to
6 submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for
7 complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
8 (7) the operator either:
9 (A) complies with all applicable requirements of
10 the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and
11 remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes;
12 or
13 (B) publishes a written notice on the website
14 after the sale of one or more tickets that
15 automatically informs the ticket reseller of the
16 ticket reseller's potential legal obligation to pay
17 any applicable local amusement tax in connection with
18 the reseller's sale of tickets, and discloses to law
19 enforcement or other government tax officials, without
20 subpoena, the name, city, state, telephone number,
21 e-mail address, user ID history, fraud complaints, and
22 bidding and listing history of any specifically
23 identified reseller or purchaser upon the receipt of a
24 verified request from law enforcement or other
25 government tax officials relating to a criminal
26 investigation or alleged illegal activity; and

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1 (8) the operator guarantees to all purchasers that it
2 will provide and in fact provides a full refund of the
3 amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not limited
4 to, all fees, regardless of how characterized) if any of
5 the following occurs:
6 (A) the ticketed event is cancelled and the
7 purchaser returns the tickets to the website operator;
8 however, reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded
9 if the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that
10 the fees will not be refunded if the event is
11 cancelled;
12 (B) the ticket received by the purchaser does not
13 allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event for
14 reasons that may include, without limitation, that the
15 ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket has been
16 cancelled by the issuer due to non-payment, unless the
17 ticket is cancelled due to an act or omission by the
18 purchaser;
19 (C) the ticket fails to conform to its description
20 on the website; or
21 (D) the ticket seller willfully fails to send the
22 ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the ticket
23 seller attempted to deliver the ticket or tickets to
24 the purchaser in the manner required by the website
25 operator and the purchaser failed to receive the
26 ticket or tickets.

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1 Nothing in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to imply
2any limitation on ticket sales made in accordance with
3subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this Section or any
4limitation on sales made in accordance with Section 4.
5 (f) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e)
6of this Section apply only to the resale of a ticket after the
7initial sale of that ticket. No reseller of a ticket may refuse
8to sell tickets to another ticket reseller solely on the basis
9that the purchaser is a ticket reseller or ticket broker
10authorized to resell tickets pursuant to this Act.
11 (f-5) In addition to the requirements imposed under
12subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this Section,
13ticket brokers and resellers must comply with the requirements
14of this subsection. Before accepting any payment from a
15purchaser, a ticket broker or reseller must disclose to the
16purchaser in a clear, conspicuous, and readily noticeable
17manner the following information:
18 (1) the registered name and city of the event venue;
19 (2) that the ticket broker or reseller is not the
20 event venue box office or its licensed ticket agent, but
21 is, instead, a ticket broker or reseller and that lost or
22 stolen tickets may be reissued only by ticket brokers or
23 resellers;
24 (3) whether it is registered under this Act; and
25 (4) its refund policy, name, and contact information.
26 Before selling and accepting payment for a ticket, a

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1ticket broker or reseller must require the purchaser to
2acknowledge by an affirmative act the disclosures required
3under this subsection. The disclosures required by this
4subsection must be made in a clear and conspicuous manner,
5appear together, and be preceded by the heading "IMPORTANT
6NOTICE" which must be in bold face font that is larger than the
7font size of the required disclosures.
8 Ticket brokers and resellers must guarantee a full refund
9of the amount paid by the purchaser, including handling and
10delivery fees, if any of the following occurs:
11 (1) the ticket received by the purchaser does not
12 grant the purchaser admission to the event described on
13 the ticket, unless it is due to an act or omission by the
14 purchaser;
15 (2) the ticket fails to conform substantially to its
16 description as advertised; or
17 (3) the event for which the ticket has been resold is
18 cancelled and not rescheduled.
19 This subsection (f-5) does not apply to an Internet
20auction listing service.
21 (f-10) A ticket issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller
22shall not offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket
23issuer, ticket broker, or ticket reseller:
24 (1) clearly and conspicuously displays the total event
25 ticket price, if a price is displayed, in any
26 advertisement, marketing, or price list where the ticket

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1 is offered for sale;
2 (2) clearly and conspicuously discloses to any
3 consumer who seeks to purchase an event ticket the total
4 event ticket price at the time the ticket is first
5 displayed to the consumer and anytime thereafter
6 throughout the ticket purchasing process; and
7 (3) provides the buyer with an itemized list of the
8 base event ticket price and each event ticket fee.
9 As used in this subsection:
10 "Base event ticket price" means the price of the event
11ticket, excluding the cost of any event ticket fees.
12 "Event" means any live concert, theatrical performance,
13sporting event, show, or similarly scheduled live activity,
14taking place in a venue with a seating or attendance capacity
15of at least 100 people that is open to the general public and
16promoted, advertised, or marketed or for which event tickets
17are generally sold or distributed.
18 "Event ticket fee" means a charge or fee that must be paid
19in addition to the base event ticket price in order to obtain
20an event ticket from a ticket broker, or ticket reseller,
21including service fees, order processing fees, delivery fees,
22facility fees, taxes, and other charges. "Event ticket fee"
23does not include a charge or fee for an optional product or
24service associated with the event that may be selected by a
25purchaser of an event ticket.
26 "Optional product or service" means a product or service

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