Bill Text: NY S06716 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts into law components of legislation that relate to live event ticket sales; institutes civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software; increases civil penalties currently in place; institutes new penalties for second offenses for licensees and for any person, firm, corporation or entity who is made aware of the utilization of ticket purchasing software and does not notify the attorney general of such utilization (Part A); establishes an annual professional reseller renewal fee; requires professional ticket resellers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number as a condition of utilizing an online resale marketplace to resell tickets (Part B); provides criteria for when a purchaser may obtain a full refund of the amount paid for a ticket; permits a refund when a purchaser cannot attend an event due to a medical necessity (Part C); requires online resale marketplaces to post the established price ticket charged by the operator of a place of entertainment as part of each advertisement or offer for the resale of tickets and to obtain confirmation that user has read such notice before completing a transaction (Part D); relates to resale requirements for tickets; requires that if a licensee or other ticket reseller doesn't have possession of the ticket, then they shall have a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person or entity in possession of the ticket or from a person or entity who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, and tickets to the event have been placed on sale by the venue or entity hosting the event or its authorized agent before the licensee or reseller can advertise the sale of the tickets (Part E); requires ticket prices to be disclosed prior to a customer purchasing such ticket; requires such price to remain the same during the purchase process except for reasonable fees for delivery of tickets; provides such delivery fee shall also be disclosed to the purchaser (Part F); relates to unlawful charges in connection with tickets; permits reasonable charges for costs actually rendered or otherwise in connection to customer support, technological and software infrastructure, and actual operational costs for sales away from the box office; defines terms (Part G); prohibits the resale of a ticket if such ticket was initially offered to the public at no charge (Part H); relates to the availability of tickets for sale to the general public; defines a term (Part I); reduces the minimum seating capacity requirement for a professional sports organization membership pass to over thirteen thousand five hundred seats in a venue or stadium (Part J); prohibits exclusivity clauses in contracts between operators of places of entertainment and primary ticket vendors (Part K); relates to the resale of tickets included in a subscription or season ticket package (Part L); extends the effectiveness of certain provisions relating to tickets to places of entertainment (Part M).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-17 - PRINT NUMBER 6716B [S06716 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S06716-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6716--B 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 12, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, KRUEGER, MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi- gations and Government Operations -- recommitted to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to insti- tuting civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software (Part A); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to estab- lishing an annual professional reseller renewal fee and requiring professional ticket resellers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number (Part B); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to providing criteria for when a purchaser may obtain a full refund of the amount paid for a ticket (Part C); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to requiring online resale marketplaces to post the established ticket price as part of each advertisement or offer for the resale of tickets (Part D); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to resale requirements for tickets (Part E); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to requiring ticket prices to be disclosed prior to a customer purchasing such ticket and requiring such price to remain the same during the purchase process (Part F); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to unlawful charges in connection with tickets (Part G); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to prohibiting the resale of a ticket if such ticket was initially offered to the public at no charge (Part H); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the availabil- ity of tickets for sale to the general public (Part I); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to minimum seating capacity requirements for a professional sports organization membership pass (Part J); to amend the general obligations law, in relation to prohib- iting exclusivity clauses in contracts between operators of places of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11376-12-2S. 6716--B 2 entertainment and primary ticket vendors (Part K); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the resale of tickets included in a subscription or season ticket package (Part L); and to amend chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending the arts and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920 relating to regulation of boxing and wrestling matches relating to tickets to places of entertainment, and chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, amending the arts and cultural affairs law relating to resale of tickets of places of entertainment, in relation to extending the effectiveness thereof (Part M) The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation that 2 relate to live event ticket sales. Each component is wholly contained 3 within a Part identified as Parts A through M. The effective date for 4 each particular provision contained within such Part is set forth in the 5 last section of such Part. Any provision in any section contained within 6 a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which makes reference 7 to a section "of this act", when used in connection with that particular 8 component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding 9 section of the Part in which it is found, unless noted otherwise. 10 PART A 11 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3, and subdivisions 4, 5, 6 12 and 10 of section 25.24 of the arts and cultural affairs law, paragraph 13 (a) of subdivision 3, and subdivisions 4, 5 and 6 as amended by chapter 14 472 of the laws of 2016 and subdivision 10 as added by chapter 110 of 15 the laws of 2018, are amended to read as follows: 16 (a) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who knowingly 17 utilizes ticket purchasing software in order to purchase tickets shall 18 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less than [five19hundred] one thousand dollars and no more than [one] two thousand five 20 hundred dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit all profits 21 made from the sale of any such unlawfully obtained tickets. 22 4. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who intentionally 23 maintains any interest in or maintains any control of the operation of 24 ticket purchasing software to purchase tickets shall be subject to a 25 civil penalty in an amount of no less than [seven hundred fifty] one 26 thousand dollars and no more than [one] two thousand five hundred 27 dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit all profits made from 28 the sale of any such unlawfully obtained tickets. 29 5. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who knowingly resells 30 or offers to resell a ticket that such person, firm, corporation or 31 other entity knows was obtained using ticket purchasing software and was 32 not obtained for their own use or the use of their invitees, employees, 33 or agents shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less 34 than [five hundred] one thousand dollars and no more than [one] two 35 thousand five hundred dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit 36 all profits made from the sale of any such unlawfully obtained ticket. 37 6. Any person who is subject to a civil penalty under this section and 38 has been assessed a penalty under this section in the previous three 39 years shall be guilty of a violation and may be fined no less than [one]S. 6716--B 3 1 two thousand dollars and no more than [five] ten thousand dollars for 2 each such violation and shall forfeit all profits from the sale of any 3 such unlawfully obtained tickets. In addition, a person convicted of a 4 violation under this section may be required to forfeit any and all 5 equipment used in the unlawful purchasing of tickets. 6 10. [Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who is a licensee7under this article who is adjudicated guilty of the following acts may8lose their license and may be barred from licensure under this article9for a period not to exceed three years to be determined by the depart-10ment of state pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if such licen-11see: (a) knowingly utilized ticket purchasing software in order to12purchase tickets; (b) knowingly resold or offered to resell a ticket13that such licensee knew was obtained using ticket purchasing software;14or (c) intentionally maintained any interest in or maintained any15control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick-16ets.] (a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity who is a licen- 17 see under this article who is adjudicated guilty of the following acts 18 shall lose their license and shall be permanently barred from licensure 19 under this article pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if such 20 licensee: (i) knowingly utilized ticket purchasing software in order to 21 purchase tickets; (ii) knowingly resold or offered to resell a ticket 22 that such licensee knew was obtained using ticket purchasing software; 23 or (iii) intentionally maintained any interest in or maintained any 24 control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick- 25 ets. 26 (b) Failure to notify the attorney general of such acts pursuant to 27 this article shall result in a violation and such person, firm, corpo- 28 ration or other entity who fails to make such notification shall be 29 subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less than five hundred 30 dollars and no more than one thousand dollars per ticket purchased or 31 resold utilizing such ticket purchasing software. 32 (c) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who notifies the 33 attorney general of such acts pursuant to this article, where the attor- 34 ney general takes action pursuant to the notification which results in a 35 monetary penalty assessed under a violation pursuant to this article, 36 shall be entitled to five percent of the final penalty collected as a 37 result of such violation. 38 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 39 have become a law. 40 PART B 41 Section 1. Section 25.03 of the arts and cultural affairs law is 42 amended by adding a new subdivision 11 to read as follows: 43 11. "Professional reseller" means a reseller, also referred to as a 44 ticket broker, and includes any person, firm, corporation or other enti- 45 ty that is involved in the business of the resale of tickets. Individ- 46 uals who do not regularly engage in the business of reselling tickets, 47 who resell fewer than thirty tickets per year and who obtain the tickets 48 for such individual's personal use or the use of friends and family, are 49 not deemed professional resellers for the purposes of this article. 50 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 25.13 of the arts and cultural affairs 51 law, as amended by chapter 374 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read 52 as follows: 53 1. (a) No [person, firm or corporation] professional reseller shall 54 resell or engage in the business of reselling any tickets to a place ofS. 6716--B 4 1 entertainment or operate an internet website or any other electronic 2 service that provides a mechanism for two or more parties to participate 3 in a resale transaction or that facilitates resale transactions by the 4 means of an auction, or own, conduct or maintain any office, branch 5 office, bureau, agency or sub-agency for such business without having 6 first procured a license or certificate for each location at which busi- 7 ness will be conducted from the secretary of state. Any operator or 8 manager of a website that serves as a platform to facilitate resale, or 9 resale by way of a competitive bidding process, solely between third 10 parties and does not in any other manner engage in resales of tickets to 11 places of entertainment shall be exempt from the licensing requirements 12 of this section. The department of state shall issue and deliver to such 13 applicant a certificate or license to conduct such business and to own, 14 conduct or maintain a bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or branch 15 office for the conduct of such business on the premises stated in such 16 application upon the payment by or on behalf of the applicant of a fee 17 of five thousand dollars and shall be renewed upon the payment of [a18like fee annually.] an annual renewal fee pursuant to paragraph (b) of 19 this subdivision. Such license or certificate shall not be transferred 20 or assigned, except by permission of the secretary of state. Such 21 license or certificate shall run to the first day of January next ensu- 22 ing the date thereof, unless sooner revoked by the secretary of state. 23 Such license or certificate shall be granted upon a written application 24 setting forth such information as the secretary of state may require in 25 order to enable him or her to carry into effect the provisions of this 26 article and shall be accompanied by proof satisfactory to the secretary 27 of state of the moral character of the applicant. 28 (b) The annual professional reseller renewal fee shall be: 29 (i) for a professional reseller that resells more than thirty tickets 30 but less than one hundred tickets per year, an annual renewal fee of two 31 thousand dollars to maintain a professional reseller license; 32 (ii) for a professional reseller that resells one hundred or more 33 tickets but less than two hundred tickets per year, an annual renewal 34 fee of three thousand dollars to maintain a professional reseller 35 license; and 36 (iii) for a professional reseller that resells two hundred or more 37 tickets per year, an annual renewal fee of four thousand dollars to 38 maintain a professional reseller license. 39 (c) "Tickets" shall mean, for purposes of paragraph (b) of this subdi- 40 vision: (i) each resold ticket not originally purchased by the profes- 41 sional reseller as part of a season or subscription ticket package; or 42 (ii) a set of resold tickets originally purchased by the professional 43 reseller as part of a season or subscription ticket package. 44 § 3. Section 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by 45 chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 46 § 25.19. Posting of license or certificate. 1. For the purposes of 47 this section, "online resale marketplace" means any operator or manager 48 of a website or other electronic service that resells tickets or serves 49 as a platform to facilitate resale, or resale by way of a competitive 50 bidding process. 51 2. Immediately upon the receipt of the license or certificate issued 52 pursuant to this article by the secretary of state, the licensee named 53 therein shall cause such license to be posted and at all times displayed 54 in a conspicuous place in the principal office of such business for 55 which it is issued, and shall cause the certificate for each branch 56 office, bureau, agency or sub-agency to be posted and at all timesS. 6716--B 5 1 displayed in a conspicuous place in such branch office, bureau, agency 2 or sub-agency for which it is issued, so that all persons visiting such 3 principal office, branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency may readi- 4 ly see the same, and if such licensee does business on the internet, 5 including via a retail ticket purchasing platform, to provide a license 6 number displayed in a conspicuous manner or a hyperlink displayed in a 7 conspicuous manner to a scanned copy of such license. Such license or 8 certificate shall at all reasonable times be subject to inspection by 9 the secretary of state or his or her authorized inspectors. It shall be 10 unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation holding such 11 license or certificate to post such license or certificate or to permit 12 such certificate to be posted upon premises other than those described 13 therein or to which it has been transferred pursuant to the provisions 14 of this article or unlawfully to alter, deface or destroy any such 15 license or certificate. For purposes of this section, the term "retail 16 ticket purchasing platform" shall mean a retail ticket purchasing 17 website, application, phone system, or other technology platform used to 18 sell tickets. 19 3. (a) An online resale marketplace shall require professional resell- 20 ers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number as a 21 condition of utilizing an online resale marketplace to resell tickets. 22 (b) An online resale marketplace shall disclose in a clear and 23 conspicuous manner a notice on the advertisement or offer of a ticket or 24 tickets that such ticket or tickets being purchased are being resold by 25 a licensed New York state professional reseller. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections 28 25.03, 25.13 and 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by 29 sections one, two and three of this act shall not affect the repeal of 30 such article and shall be deemed repealed therewith. 31 PART C 32 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural 33 affairs law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 2007, is amended 34 and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows: 35 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person, firm or 36 corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under this article, 37 that sells tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets, resells tickets 38 or facilitates the resale or resale auction of tickets between independ- 39 ent parties by any means, must guarantee to each purchaser of such sold 40 or resold tickets that the person, firm or corporation will provide a 41 full refund of the amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not 42 limited to, all fees, regardless of how characterized), unless the 43 purchaser elects to retain such tickets or a credit equal to or in 44 excess of the full amount paid by the purchaser in lieu of a full refund 45 within thirty days of receiving such notice of an opportunity for a 46 refund, if any of the following occurs: (a) the event for which such 47 ticket has been sold or resold is cancelled, provided that if the event 48 is cancelled then actual handling and delivery fees need not be refunded 49 as long as such previously disclosed guarantee specifies that such fees 50 will not be refunded; (b) the ticket received by the purchaser does not 51 grant the purchaser admission to the event described on the ticket, for 52 reasons that may include, without limitation, that the ticket is coun- 53 terfeit or that the ticket has been cancelled by the issuer due to non- 54 payment, or that the event described on the ticket was cancelled for anyS. 6716--B 6 1 reason prior to purchase of the sold or resold ticket, unless the ticket 2 is cancelled due to an act or omission by such purchaser; [or] (c) the 3 ticket fails to conform to its description as advertised unless the 4 buyer has pre-approved a substitution of tickets; (d) the event for 5 which such ticket has been sold or resold is postponed more than once in 6 a calendar year; (e) the event for which such ticket has been sold or 7 resold has been rescheduled to a subsequent date more than one year from 8 the initial event date; or (f) the event for which such ticket has been 9 sold or resold has been postponed and has not been rescheduled within 10 three months after the initial event date. Upon the occurrence of any 11 of the aforementioned events, the seller or reseller shall notify the 12 purchaser of such tickets and shall provide a thirty-day window during 13 which the purchaser may elect to retain such tickets, receive a credit 14 equal to or in excess of the full amount paid by the purchaser or 15 receive a full refund. If, at the end of the thirty-day window, the 16 purchaser of such tickets does not choose one of the aforementioned 17 options, they shall receive an immediate full refund for the amount paid 18 by the purchaser including but not limited to all fees, regardless of 19 how characterized. The secretary of state shall promulgate rules and 20 regulations regarding notification procedures and shall determine a 21 sufficient refund time period, which shall be no less than thirty days 22 following the occurrence of a triggering event. 23 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person, firm or 24 corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under this article or 25 designated as a professional reseller or an online resale marketplace, 26 that resells tickets or facilitates the resale or resale auction of 27 tickets between independent parties by any means, shall guarantee with- 28 out restriction to each purchaser of such resold tickets that the 29 person, firm or corporation will honor, communicate and facilitate, if 30 so requested by such purchaser, all opportunities for refunds, 31 exchanges, credits or other remedies due to event cancellation or post- 32 ponement that are publicly offered by a primary ticket seller, as 33 defined in subdivision twelve of section 25.03 of this article, to 34 original purchasers of such tickets. 35 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 36 have become a law, provided, however, that the amendments to section 37 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 38 act shall not affect the expiration of such section and shall be deemed 39 expired therewith. 40 PART D 41 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 25.23 of the arts and cultural 42 affairs law, as added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 43 read as follows: 44 2. An online resale marketplace shall post a clear and conspicuous 45 notice on the website that the website is for the secondary sale of a 46 ticket, that the price of such ticket offered for sale may exceed the 47 established price and shall also state the refund policy of the platform 48 in connection with the cancellation or postponement of an event. An 49 online resale marketplace shall require the established price charged by 50 the operator of a place of entertainment that is printed or endorsed on 51 the face of each ticket in accordance with section 25.07 of this article 52 to be clearly and conspicuously posted as part of each advertisement or 53 offer for the resale of tickets. An online resale marketplace shall 54 require that the user confirm having read such [notice] notices beforeS. 6716--B 7 1 completing any transaction. For the purposes of this section, an "online 2 resale marketplace" means any operator or manager of a website or other 3 electronic service that resells tickets or serves as a platform to 4 facilitate resale, or resale by way of a competitive bidding process. 5 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 6 have become a law; provided however that the amendments to section 25.23 7 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this act 8 shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed 9 therewith. 10 PART E 11 Section 1. Section 25.10 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as 12 added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 25.10. Ticket resale requirements. 1. It shall be unlawful for a 14 licensee or other ticket reseller to advertise for the sale of tickets, 15 contract for the sale of tickets, contract to obtain tickets for anoth- 16 er, or accept consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for the 17 sale of tickets unless [such licensee or other ticket reseller meets one18or more of the following requirements] and until: 19 (a) such licensee or other ticket reseller has the offered ticket in 20 its possession or has a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at 21 a certain price from a person or entity in possession of the ticket or 22 from a person or entity who has a contractual right to obtain such tick- 23 et; and 24 (b) [such licensee or other ticket reseller has a written contract to25obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession26of the ticket or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain27such ticket; or28(c) such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the purchaser in a29clear and conspicuous manner and in plain language at the time of offer-30ing such ticket for sale and in a written notice prior to the completion31of the transaction that such licensee or other ticket reseller does not32have possession of the ticket, has no contract to obtain the offered33ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or34from a person who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, may not35be able to supply the ticket at the contracted price or range of prices,36and requires such purchaser to expressly confirm prior to completing the37transaction that the purchaser has read such notice.382. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a licensee or other ticket39reseller from accepting a deposit from a prospective purchaser for a40resale pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section,41provided that such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the42purchaser in writing prior to receipt of consideration of the terms of43the deposit agreement, and includes in the written notice the disclo-44sures otherwise required by this section. If a licensee or ticket45reseller has entered into a contract with or received consideration from46a prospective purchaser for the sale of a ticket or tickets and cannot47supply such ticket or tickets at the contracted price or price range,48such licensee or ticket reseller shall refund any monies paid by such49prospective purchaser within ten business days of receipt of a request50for a refund from such purchaser.513.] tickets to the event have been placed on sale by the venue or 52 entity hosting the event or its authorized agent. For the purposes of 53 this section, "placed on sale" shall mean the date and time when tickets 54 are made available for sale to the general public, excluding any priorS. 6716--B 8 1 sales to fan clubs, businesses, and persons for promotional activities. 2 This paragraph shall not apply to season or subscription ticket holders. 3 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to nullify, expand, 4 restrict, or otherwise amend or modify now existing laws or regulations 5 outside of this article, and nothing in this section shall be construed 6 as making lawful any fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal act or practice 7 that is unlawful pursuant to now existing laws or regulations. 8 [4.] 3. The attorney general shall have jurisdiction to enforce the 9 provisions of this section in accordance with the powers granted to him 10 or her by section sixty-three of the executive law. 11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 12 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section 13 25.10 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 14 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed 15 repealed therewith. 16 PART F 17 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural 18 affairs law, as added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 19 read as follows: 20 4. Every operator or operator's agent of a place of entertainment, any 21 licensee or other ticket reseller, or platform that facilitates the sale 22 or resale of tickets shall, in all advertisements and ticket sales list- 23 ings, display the total cost of the ticket, inclusive of all ancillary 24 fees that must be paid in order to purchase a ticket and disclose in a 25 clear and conspicuous manner [the total price of the ticket and] the 26 portion of the ticket price stated in dollars that represents a service 27 charge, or any other fee or surcharge to the purchaser. Such disclosures 28 shall occur at the beginning of a transaction before a ticket is 29 selected for purchase. The price of the ticket shall not change during 30 the purchase process, excluding reasonable fees for the delivery of 31 non-electronic tickets based on the delivery method selected by the 32 purchaser that shall be disclosed prior to accepting payment therefor. 33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 34 have become a law provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 35 4 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section 36 one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be 37 deemed to repeal therewith. 38 PART G 39 Section 1. Section 25.03 of the arts and cultural affairs law is 40 amended by adding two new subdivisions 12 and 13 to read as follows: 41 12. "Primary ticket seller" means an owner or operator of a venue or 42 sports team, a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of ticket- 43 ing services or an agent of such owner, operator, manager, or provider 44 that engages in the primary sale of tickets for an event or retains the 45 authority to otherwise distribute tickets. 46 13. "Placed on sale" means the date and time when tickets are made 47 available for sale to the general public, excluding any prior sales to 48 fan clubs, businesses, and persons for promotional activities. 49 § 2. Section 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by 50 chapter 61 of the laws of 2007 and subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 51 151 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:S. 6716--B 9 1 § 25.29. Unlawful charges in connection with tickets. 1. No operator 2 of any place of entertainment, or his or her agent, representative, 3 employee or licensee shall, if a price be charged for admission thereto, 4 exact, demand, accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any premium or 5 price in excess of the established price plus lawful taxes whether 6 designated as price, gratuity or otherwise; provided, however: (a) noth- 7 ing in this article shall be construed to prohibit a reasonable service 8 charge of fifteen or less percent of the price of a ticket prior to the 9 addition of any charges by [the operator or agents of the operator] any 10 person, firm or corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under 11 this article, that sells tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets, 12 resells tickets or facilitates the resale or resale auction of tickets 13 between independent parties by any means for special services[, includ-14ing but not limited to,] actually rendered or otherwise in connection to 15 customer support, technological and software infrastructure, and actual 16 operational costs for sales away from the box office[, credit card sales17or delivery]; (b) it shall be an unlawful act for a primary ticket sell- 18 er that earns greater revenue through the primary sale of tickets than 19 the resale of tickets from charging any fee whatsoever to resell tickets 20 originally purchased from such seller; and [(b)] (c) nothing in this 21 article shall be construed to prohibit an operator or its agent from 22 offering for initial sale tickets by means of an auction. 23 2. A reasonable and actual cost for the physical delivery of tickets 24 may be charged by the seller or reseller based on the method of delivery 25 selected by the purchaser; provided, however, no delivery fee shall be 26 separately charged for electronic tickets or tickets that may be printed 27 at home. 28 3. Any person, firm or corporation, regardless of whether or not 29 licensed under this article, that sells tickets or facilitates the sale 30 of tickets is prohibited from requiring a minimum price for the resale 31 of any tickets purchased from a primary ticket seller. 32 4. Under no circumstances shall any person, firm or corporation, 33 regardless of whether or not licensed under this article, that sells 34 tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets increase displayed prices of 35 tickets while a purchaser: (i) is waiting in a physical or virtual 36 queue, room or similar location or sequence established to await the 37 purchase of tickets; (ii) has the ability to select and review tickets 38 from a physical or virtual list or map but has not yet completed the 39 purchase; or (iii) is completing the physical or virtual checkout proc- 40 ess to purchase tickets. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivi- 41 sion, any person, firm or corporation that sells tickets or facilitates 42 the sale of tickets may place reasonable and uniform restrictions on the 43 length of time allowed for a purchaser of tickets to review and complete 44 each transaction. 45 5. In any prosecution under this section the attorney general shall 46 have concurrent jurisdiction with any district attorney and in any such 47 prosecution he or she or his or her deputy shall exercise all the powers 48 and perform all the duties which the district attorney would otherwise 49 be authorized to exercise or perform therein. 50 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 51 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections 52 25.03 and 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by sections 53 one and two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such sections and 54 shall be deemed repealed therewith. 55 PART HS. 6716--B 10 1 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a 2 new section 25.06 to read as follows: 3 § 25.06. Resale of tickets issued at no charge. Notwithstanding an 4 individual's ability to transfer a ticket to another party, it shall be 5 unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to resell or offer to 6 resell any ticket or other evidence of right of entry to any place of 7 entertainment if such ticket was initially offered to the public at no 8 charge. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 10 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to article 25 11 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this act 12 shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed 13 therewith. 14 PART I 15 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a 16 new section 25.04 to read as follows: 17 § 25.04. Tickets withheld from sale to general public. 1. Primary 18 ticket sellers shall disclose and display on the website, at the box 19 office and any other method of ticket distribution of such primary tick- 20 et seller, the total number of tickets offered for sale to the general 21 public by such primary ticket seller not less than seven days before the 22 date on which tickets shall be available for primary sale. The total 23 number shall be periodically updated by the primary ticket seller if and 24 when additional tickets are subsequently released for sale to the gener- 25 al public. This subdivision shall not apply to: (i) venues with a seat- 26 ing capacity of less than six thousand five hundred guests; or (ii) 27 places of entertainment such as fair grounds, amusement parks, museums, 28 observatories, ski resorts, ice skating rinks and other recreational 29 facilities or events wherein rides, exhibits and displays, games or 30 activities of skill or chance or the sale of food, beverages, toys and 31 souvenirs constitute the main uses. 32 2. It shall be an unlawful practice for a primary ticket seller or any 33 person or entity who has access to tickets to an event prior to the 34 tickets' release for sale to the general public to withhold such tickets 35 from sale to the general public in an amount exceeding ten percent of 36 all available seating for the event. Tickets distributed to bona fide 37 charitable groups or initially reserved due to event production holds, 38 including but not limited to pending seating, lighting, or stage config- 39 urations, that are subsequently released to the general public shall not 40 be included within this amount. This subdivision shall not apply to 41 places of entertainment such as fair grounds, amusement parks, museums, 42 observatories, ski resorts, ice skating rinks and other recreational 43 facilities or events wherein rides, exhibits and displays, games or 44 activities of skill or chance or the sale of food, beverages, toys and 45 souvenirs constitute the main uses. 46 3. It shall be an unlawful practice for an individual employee of any 47 venue, primary ticket seller, team, artist, online resale marketplace, 48 box office or any other entity that is involved in hosting, promoting, 49 performing or ticket selling to resell tickets that have been withheld 50 from the general public for a higher price than the primary sale of the 51 ticket or resell tickets to any third party that may have intentions, 52 actually or constructively known by such employee, to resell the ticket 53 for a higher price than the total cost of the ticket, including all 54 ancillary charges.S. 6716--B 11 1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 2 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to article 25 3 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this act 4 shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed 5 therewith. 6 PART J 7 Section 1. Section 25.12 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as 8 added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 9 § 25.12. Professional sports organization membership pass. Notwith- 10 standing section 25.30 of this article, an operator of a place of enter- 11 tainment or such operator's agent may offer paperless tickets which do 12 not allow for independent transferability provided that such tickets are 13 included in a membership pass at a discounted price offered by a profes- 14 sional sports organization for seating in venues or stadiums with a 15 fixed capacity of over [thirty] thirteen thousand five hundred seats 16 that guarantees entry to a specified number of events in a specified 17 time period with seat assignments assigned no more than four hours prior 18 to the commencement of the event and such seat assignment must be vari- 19 able from game to game and not intended for season ticket holders. Tick- 20 ets provided under such membership pass may be restricted from being 21 transferred or resold, including through the operator or operators' 22 agents, and must be clearly marked as such prior to initial offering or 23 sale. Such membership pass shall not mean a subscription or season tick- 24 et package offered for sale and shall not result in the sale of more 25 than five percent of the maximum amount of all seats that will be made 26 available at a venue for a particular event to be sold under this 27 section. 28 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 29 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section 30 25.12 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 31 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed 32 repealed therewith. 33 PART K 34 Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new 35 section 5-338 to read as follows: 36 § 5-338. Agreements between operators of places of entertainment and 37 primary ticket vendors. 1. For the purposes of this section, the follow- 38 ing terms shall have the following meanings: 39 (a) "Entertainment" means all forms of entertainment including, but 40 not limited to, theatrical or operatic performances, concerts, motion 41 pictures, all forms of entertainment at fairgrounds, amusement parks and 42 all types of athletic competitions including football, basketball, base- 43 ball, boxing, tennis, hockey, and any other sport, and all other forms 44 of diversion, recreation or show. 45 (b) "Operator" means any person who owns, operates, or controls a 46 place of entertainment or who promotes or produces an entertainment. 47 (c) "Place of entertainment" means any privately or publicly owned and 48 operated entertainment facility such as a theatre, stadium, arena, race- 49 track, museum, amusement park, or other place where performances, 50 concerts, exhibits, athletic games or contests are held for which an 51 entry fee is charged.S. 6716--B 12 1 (d) "Primary ticket seller" means an owner or operator of a venue or 2 sports team, a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of ticket- 3 ing services or an agent of such owner, operator, manager, or provider 4 that engages in the primary sale of tickets for an event or retains the 5 authority to otherwise distribute tickets. 6 (e) "Ticket" means any evidence of the right of entry to any place of 7 entertainment. 8 2. A contract between an operator of places of entertainment and a 9 primary ticket vendor shall not provide for the primary ticket vendor to 10 be the exclusive and sole primary ticket vendor for the operator of 11 places of entertainment. 12 3. It shall be unlawful to threaten or to seek to enforce a provision 13 made unlawful under this section or to otherwise penalize an operator of 14 a place of entertainment for entering into an agreement with another 15 primary ticket seller. 16 4. Any waiver of the provisions of this section is contrary to public 17 policy and thus is void and unenforceable. 18 5. This section shall not require an operator of a place of enter- 19 tainment to enter into an agreement with a primary ticket seller or 20 require that an operator of a place of entertainment have an agreement 21 with multiple primary ticket sellers. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 23 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall apply to 24 contracts entered into on or after such date. 25 PART L 26 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 25.30 of the arts 27 and cultural affairs law, as amended by chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, 28 is amended to read as follows: 29 (a) restrict by any means the resale of any tickets included in a 30 subscription or season ticket package to or via a licensee under section 31 25.13 of this article or via a website that serves as a platform to 32 facilitate resale as defined under section 25.13 of this article as a 33 condition of purchase, as a condition to retain such tickets for the 34 duration of the subscription or season ticket package agreement, or as a 35 condition to retain any [contractually agreed upon] rights to purchase 36 future subscription or season ticket packages that are otherwise 37 conferred in the subscription or season ticket agreement or extended to 38 subscribers not engaged in the resale market as a general policy of the 39 team, promoter, or venue. Further, it shall be unlawful to charge a 40 different rate to any such subscriber solely because the subscriber has 41 resold or may resell tickets; 42 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 43 have become a law provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph 44 (a) of subdivision 1 of section 25.30 of the arts and cultural affairs 45 law made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such 46 section and shall be deemed to be repealed therewith. 47 PART M 48 Section 1. Section 4 of chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending the 49 arts and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920 relat- 50 ing to the regulation of boxing and wrestling matches relating to tick- 51 ets to places of entertainment, as amended by chapter 148 of the laws of 52 2021, is amended to read as follows:S. 6716--B 13 1 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 2 have become a law, provided, chapter 61 of the laws of 2007 shall not 3 take effect with respect to the issuance of licenses or certificates 4 under this article by the secretary of state or department of state 5 until January 1, 2008 and regulation under this article by the commis- 6 sioners of licenses of the political subdivisions of the state shall 7 continue through December 31, 2007, and shall remain in full force and 8 effect only until and including June 30, [2022] 2025 when such act shall 9 be repealed and when, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 10 provisions of article 25 of title G of the arts and cultural affairs 11 law, repealed by such act, shall be reinstituted; provided further that 12 section 25.11 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by section 13 one of this act, shall survive such repeal date. Provided, however, the 14 printing on tickets required pursuant to sections 25.07 and 25.08 of 15 article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by this act, 16 shall not apply to tickets printed prior to enactment of such article so 17 long as notice of the higher maximum premium price and prohibition of 18 sales within one thousand five hundred feet from the physical structure 19 of the place of entertainment, where applicable, is prominently 20 displayed at the point of sale and at such place of entertainment. 21 § 2. Section 11 of chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, amending the arts 22 and cultural affairs law relating to resale of tickets to places of 23 entertainment, as amended by chapter 148 of the laws of 2021, is amended 24 to read as follows: 25 § 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 5 of the general 26 construction law, if this act shall take effect after May 15, 2010, the 27 provisions of article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, except 28 section 25.11 are hereby revived and shall continue in full force and 29 effect as they existed on May 15, 2010 through June 30, [2022] 2025 when 30 upon such date such provisions shall expire and be deemed repealed. 31 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 32 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 33 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 34 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 35 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 36 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 37 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 38 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 39 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 40 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 41 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 42 the applicable effective date of Parts A through M of this act shall be 43 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
