2019 -- H 5362

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LC001176

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Craven, and McEntee

     Date Introduced: February 08, 2019

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 5-22-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-22 entitled "Shows and

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Exhibitions" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     5-22-26. Ticket speculators. Ticket sales and resale.

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     (a) When used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following

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meanings:

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     (1) "Non-transferable ticketing system" means restricting, through contractual or

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technological means, a ticket purchaser's ability to freely use, give away, or resell the tickets they

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have purchased.

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     (2) "Ticket issuer" means any person that makes tickets available, directly or indirectly,

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to an entertainment event, and may include the operator of a venue; the sponsor or promoter of an

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entertainment event; a sports team participating in an entertainment event or a league whose

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teams are participating in an entertainment event; a theatre company, musical group or similar

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participant in an entertainment event; or an agent of any such person.

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     (3) "Ticket platform" means a marketplace that enables consumers to purchase and sell

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tickets.

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     (4) "Resale of tickets" means the act of reselling tickets purchased from the ticket issuer.

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     (b) No person shall sell resell, offer for sale resale, or attempt to sell resell any ticket,

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privilege, or license of admission to an entertainment event, including, but not limited to, any

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place of public amusement, arena, stadium, theatre, performance, sport, exhibition, or athletic

 

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contest in this state at a price greater than the price, including tax, printed on the ticket, and a

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reasonable service charge for services actually rendered not to exceed three dollars ($3.00) or ten

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percent (10%) of the price printed on the ticket, whichever is greater. The owner or operator of

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the property on which an entertainment event is to be held or is being held may authorize, in

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writing, any person to sell a ticket, privilege, or license of admission at a price in excess of that

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authorized under this section. That writing shall specify the price for which the ticket, privilege,

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or license of admission is to be sold. Any person violating any provision of this section is guilty

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of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each

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offense.

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     (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a person may resell, offer to resell, or

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attempt to resell any ticket, privilege, or license of admission to an entertainment event,

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including, but not limited to, any place of public amusement, arena, stadium, theatre,

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performance, sport, exhibition, or athletic contest in this state, without restriction or monetary

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limitation, through an Internet website if the person has legally procured the ticket and provides

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the ticket purchaser a full refund or comparable replacement ticket if:

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     (1) The event is canceled and not rescheduled;

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     (2) The ticket received by the purchaser is counterfeit;

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     (3) The ticket fails to conform to the description provided by the seller or reseller;

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     (4) The ticket was not delivered to the purchaser prior to the occurrence of the event,

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unless such failure of delivery was due to an act or omission of the purchaser; or

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     (5) The ticket does not provide the consumer admission to the event for which it was

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purchased.

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     (c) The refund shall include the full price paid by the consumer for the ticket, in addition

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to all fees charged in connection with that purchase, including, but not limited to, download,

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delivery, and shipping fees.

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     (d) A person subject to this section by engaging in the resale of event tickets may satisfy

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the requirements of this section by utilizing a ticket platform that fully complies with this section.

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     (e) Notwithstanding any contrary terms or conditions:

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     (1) A ticket issuer may employ a nontransferable ticketing system only if the consumer is

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offered an option at the time of initial sale to purchase the same ticket in a transferable form that

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allows tickets to be given away or resold independent of the ticket issuer's preferred ticket

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platform, without penalty or discrimination.

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     (2) A ticket buyer or seller shall not be penalized, discriminated against, or denied access

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to an event solely because the ticket or tickets were resold or because of the ticket platform

 

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through which the ticket or tickets were resold.

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     (f) Nothing in this section shall prevent a ticket issuer or venue operator from:

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     (1) Maintaining and enforcing policies with respect to conduct, behavior, or age at the

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venue or event;

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     (2) Establishing and enforcing limits on the quantity of tickets that may be purchased;

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     (3) Canceling tickets that were procured in violation of subsection (g) of this section or

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15 U.S.C §45c [the Federal BOTS Act].

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     (4) Employing a non-transferable system:

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     (i) For tickets that are sold or given to individuals or groups as part of a targeted

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promotion, discounted price, or private event offered because of the individuals' or groups' status

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or affiliation, including, but not limited to, groups or individuals characterized by a disability,

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membership in a religious or civic organization, students, or economic hardship, and such tickets

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are not offered promotionally to the general public.

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     (ii) For tickets sold to the NCAA Division I post-season collegiate basketball and hockey

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tournaments.

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     (g) A person may not knowingly use or sell software to circumvent a security measure,

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access control system, or other control or measure used by a ticket platform to enforce event

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ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of online ticket purchasing order rules.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 6-13.1 of the General Laws entitled "Deceptive Trade Practices" is

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hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     6-13.1-30. Deceptive ticket websites.

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     (a) When used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following

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meanings:

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     (1) "Internet domain name" means a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an Internet

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host or service, which is assigned through centralized Internet naming authorities and which is

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comprised of a series of character strings separated by periods, with the right most string

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specifying the top of the hierarchy.

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     (2) "Ticket website" means a website advertising the sale of tickets, offering the sale of

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tickets, or offering tickets for resale to an event in Rhode Island.

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     (3) "URL" means a website's uniform resource locator.

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     (4) "Venue" means an arena, stadium, theater, concert hall, or other place of exhibition or

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performance in this state.

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     (5) "Website operator" means a person owning, operating, or controlling a ticket website

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for an event scheduled at a venue.

 

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     (b)(l) Except as provided in §6-13.1-30(b)(2), a website operator may not intentionally

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use an Internet domain name, or any subdomain thereof, in a ticket website's URL that contains

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any of the following:

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     (i) The name of the venue.

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     (ii) The name of the exhibition or performance, including the name of the person or entity

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scheduled to perform or appear at the venue.

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     (iii) Any name substantially similar to the name of the venue, exhibition or performance,

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including the name of the person or entity, scheduled to perform or appear at the venue.

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     (2) Section 6-13.1-30(b)(1) does not apply to a website operator who is authorized by the

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venue to be acting upon its behalf.

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     (c) A violation of this section is an unfair or deceptive trade practice as defined in §6-

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13.1-1.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2020.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS

***

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     This act would establish that a person reselling tickets for an entertainment event would

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provide a full refund if the event is cancelled and not rescheduled, the ticket is counterfeit, the

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ticket fails to conform to the description provided by the seller or reseller; the ticket is not

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delivered to the purchaser prior to the occurrence of the event, unless such failure of delivery was

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due to an act or omission of the purchaser, or the ticket does not provide the consumer admission

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to the event for which it was purchased, misrepresented, delivered after the event or fails to

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provide admission. It would allow ticket issuers to sell nontransferable tickets only if transferable

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tickets are also offered. The act would also prohibit deceptive ticket websites.

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     This act would take effect on January 1, 2020.

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