Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S191 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1934 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 191
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Nick Collins
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to protect consumers of tickets.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Nick CollinsFirst Suffolk 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1934 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 191
18	18	By Mr. Collins, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 191) of Nick Collins for legislation
19	19	to protect consumers of tickets by employing a paperless ticketing system that gives the
20	20	consumer an option at the time of initial sale to purchase the same paperless tickets in
21	21	transferable form that the consumer can transfer at any price. Consumer Protection and
22	22	Professional Licensure.
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
26	26	(2025-2026)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act to protect consumers of tickets.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Section 182A of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as most recently inserted
32	32	2by section 248 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out subsection
33	33	3(b) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
34	34	4 (b) (1) No person, firm, corporation or other entity shall employ a paperless ticketing
35	35	5system unless the consumer is given an option at the time of initial sale to purchase the same
36	36	6paperless tickets in transferable form that the consumer can transfer at any price, and at any time,
37	37	7and without additional fees.
38	38	8 (2) The established price for any given ticket shall be the same regardless of the form or
39	39	9transferability of such ticket. 2 of 3
40	40	10 (3) The ability for a ticket to be transferred shall not constitute a special service for the
41	41	11purpose of imposing a service charge subject to section 185D. It shall be unlawful to penalize,
42	42	12discriminate against or deny access to a ticket buyer on the basis that the ticket was transferred or
43	43	13resold, including if the ticket was transferred or resold independent from the initial sale ticketing
44	44	14system.
45	45	15 (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an operator of any such theatrical
46	46	16exhibition, public show or public amusement or exhibition, or such operator’s agent, may offer
47	47	17paperless tickets that do not allow for transferability; provided, that: (i) those tickets shall be sold
48	48	18or given to individuals or groups as part of a private event or a targeted promotion at a
49	49	19discounted price offered because of the individual’s or group’s status or affiliation with religious
50	50	20or charitable institutions, societies or organizations or civic leagues or organizations not
51	51	21organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, associations of
52	52	22veterans of any wars of the United States, students, or groups or individuals characterized by a
53	53	23disability or economic hardship and tickets issued through a non-transferable ticketing system
54	54	24pursuant to the exemption in this subsection shall not be offered promotionally to the general
55	55	25public and shall be clearly marked as a ticket restricted to the specified individual or group; or
56	56	26(ii) such tickets shall be included in a membership pass at a discounted price offered by a
57	57	27professional sports organization for seating in venues or stadiums with a fixed capacity of not
58	58	28less than 19,000 seats that guarantees entry to a specified number of events in a specified time
59	59	29period with seat assignments: (A) assigned not more than 4 hours prior to the commencement of
60	60	30the event; and (B) variable from game to game and not intended for season ticket holders.
61	61	31Tickets provided under a membership pass may be restricted from being transferred or resold,
62	62	32including through the operator or operator’s agents, and shall be clearly marked as such prior to 3 of 3
63	63	33initial offering or sale. Such membership pass shall not mean a subscription or season ticket
64	64	34package offered for sale and shall not result in the sale of more than 5 per cent of the maximum
65	65	35amount of all seats that will be made available at a venue for a particular event to be sold under
66	66	36this subsection
67	67	37 SECTION 2. Subsection (c) of section 182A of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as most
68	68	38recently inserted by section 248 of chapter 238 of the Acts of 2024, is hereby amended by
69	69	39striking the first sentence.
70	70	40 SECTION 3. Subsection (a) of section 185A of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as most
71	71	41recently inserted by section 249 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by
72	72	42inserting at the end thereof the following:- provided, however that any primary ticket issuer and
73	73	43any operator or manager of a website or other platform to facilitate resale, or resale through a
74	74	44competitive bidding process, solely between third parties and that does not in any other manner
75	75	45engage in reselling of tickets shall be exempt from said licensing requirements.
76	76	46 SECTION 4. Subsection (c) of section 185D of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as most
77	77	47recently inserted by section 249 of chapter 238 of the acts of 2024, shall take effect beginning
78	78	48July 1, 2025.