Bill Text: MI SB0762 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Crimes; other; resale of event tickets at higher or lower prices, and certain prohibitions for online ticket sales; provide for. Amends sec. 465 of 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.465).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-23 - Referred To Committee On Commerce [SB0762 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-SB0762-Introduced.html

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE BILL No. 762

 

 

January 23, 2018, Introduced by Senators PROOS, BRANDENBURG, CASPERSON, COLBECK, KOWALL, EMMONS, KNOLLENBERG, JONES and NOFS and referred to the Committee on Commerce.

 

 

     A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled

 

"The Michigan penal code,"

 

by amending section 465 (MCL 750.465).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 465. (1) The owner, lessee, operator, or manager of each

 

theatre, circus, athletic grounds used for an athletic game, or

 

place of public entertainment or amusement shall have printed on

 

each ticket issued for admission to, or for a seat of, the theatre,

 

circus, athletic grounds, or place of public entertainment or

 

amusement, in conspicuous type, the price of the ticket, and the

 

number on the seat when each seat is if the seats are numbered. The

 

owner, lessee, operator, or manager also shall print or endorse on

 

the ticket the charge in excess of the box office price at which

 

the ticket is sold if the ticket is purchased at a location other

 

than the box office where the event occurs and the following

 

statement: "This ticket may be purchased at the box office price

 

without the surcharge by purchasing the ticket at the box office

 

where the event is scheduled to occur.".

 

     (2) A person owning, occupying, managing, or controlling a

 

building, room, park or enclosure for the sale of tickets for a

 

theatre, circus, athletic game, or place of public entertainment or

 

amusement, who asks, demands, or receives from a person for the

 

sale of the ticket to a theatre, circus, athletic grounds, or place

 

of public entertainment or amusement, a price in excess of the

 

general admission advertised or charged for the same privilege, or

 

a person, who by himself or herself or his or her agent or

 

employee, offers for sale upon a public place or thoroughfare, a

 

ticket to a theatre, circus, athletic grounds, or place of public

 

entertainment or amusement, for admission to, or for a seat or

 

other privilege in a theatre, circus, athletic grounds, or place of

 

public entertainment or amusement, at a price in excess of that

 

demanded or received from the general public for the same

 

privilege, or in excess of the advertised or printed rate, shall be

 

punished as provided in subsection (6), except if the request,

 

demand, or receipt is with the written permission of the owner,

 

lessee, operator, or manager of the theatre, circus, athletic

 

grounds, or place of public entertainment or amusement where the

 

event occurs. If the owner, lessee, operator, or manager permits,

 

in writing, a charge in excess of the box office price, the

 

permission shall be limited to the sales of tickets at locations

 

other than the box office where the event occurs.

     (3) Except as provided in subsections (1) and (2), a person

 

shall not establish an agency or suboffice for the sale of a seat

 

ticket of admission to a theatre, circus, athletic grounds, or

 

place of public entertainment or amusement at a price greater than

 

the sale of a seat ticket at the box office of the theatre, circus,

 

athletic grounds, place of public entertainment or amusement, or in

 

excess of the advertised price of the seat ticket.

 

     (4) Except as provided in subsections (1) and (2), the owner,

 

lessee, operator, or occupant of a building, room, enclosure, or

 

other place open to the public, who permits a person to sell or

 

exhibit for sale in the building, room, enclosure, or other place

 

open to the public, 1 or more tickets for a theatre, circus,

 

athletic grounds, or place of public entertainment or amusement,

 

for more than the price printed on the ticket, shall be liable and

 

guilty equally as the person.

 

     (5) If the owner, lessee, operator, or manager of a circus,

 

theatre, athletic grounds, or place of public entertainment or

 

amusement has sold a ticket or admission to a person, under

 

restrictive conditions and at a less rate than the general

 

admission charged, and whose name appears on the face of the ticket

 

or is registered in the office of the owner, lessee, operator, or

 

managers as the holder of the ticket and if it is printed on the

 

face of the ticket that the ticket is nontransferable and sold only

 

to the person whose name appears on the face of the ticket or is

 

registered, the holder of the ticket shall not sell the ticket to

 

another person, and a person selling the ticket shall be punished

 

as provided in subsection (6).

     (2) A person shall not knowingly sell, give, transfer, use,

 

distribute, or possess with the intent to distribute software that

 

is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of interfering

 

with the ticket sale operations of any owner, lessee, operator, or

 

manager of a circus, theater, athletic grounds, or place of public

 

entertainment or amusement over the internet by circumventing any

 

measures or controls on the seller's website that are instituted to

 

ensure an equitable sale process.

 

     (3) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person owning,

 

operating, or controlling a ticket website for an event scheduled

 

at a venue in this state shall not use a subdomain or domain name

 

in the ticket website's URL that contains any of the following:

 

     (a) All or part of the name of the venue.

 

     (b) All or part of the name of the event, including the name

 

of a person or entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event.

 

     (c) A name substantially similar to those described in

 

subdivision (a) or (b).

 

     (4) Subsection (3) does not apply if the person owning,

 

operating, or controlling a ticket website for an event scheduled

 

in this state is acting on behalf of the venue.

 

     (5) (6) A person who that violates this section is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or

 

a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.

 

     (6) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Ticket website" means a website advertising the sale of

 

tickets, offering the sale of tickets, or facilitating a secondary

 

ticket exchange.

     (b) "URL" means the uniform resource locator for a website on

 

the internet.

 

     (c) "Venue" includes a sports venue, concert venue, theatrical

 

venue, club, convention center, fairgrounds, public assembly

 

facility, or mass gathering location.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.