By: Oliveira H.B. No. 3041
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale of event tickets; providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 13, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 2158 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2158. SALE OF EVENT TICKETS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 2158.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Event" means a concert, theatrical performance,
sporting event, exhibition, show, or similar scheduled activity
that:
(A) is open to the general public;
(B) is held in a public or private venue
accommodating more than 1,000 persons; and
(C) requires payment of an admission fee to
attend the activity.
(2) "Event ticket" means any physical or electronic
certificate, document, voucher, token, or other evidence of a right
to enter an event, an entitlement to purchase a right to enter an
event, or a right to occupy a specified seat at an event.
(3) "Resale" includes any form of transfer or
alienation of possession or an offer of transfer or alienation of
possession, including an offer of transfer or alienation of the
entitlement to possession, of an event ticket, made by any means,
with or without consideration, from a person other than the ticket
issuer.
(4) "Ticket issuer" means a person who directly or
indirectly makes event tickets available for initial sale to the
general public, and may include the operator of a venue, the sponsor
or promoter of an event, a sports team participating in an event, a
league whose teams are participating in the event, a theater
company, a musical group or similar participant in an event, or an
authorized agent of those persons. The term does not include a
person involved in or facilitating an event ticket resale.
(5) "Venue" means the theater, stadium, field, hall,
or other facility where an event takes place.
Sec. 2158.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter does not apply
to the resale of event tickets issued:
(1) for an event for which any proceeds are intended
solely to benefit charity; or
(2) free of charge to students, faculty, staff
members, alumni, booster club members, or substantial financial
contributors of an institution of higher education as defined in
Section 61.003, Education Code.
Sec. 2158.003. RESTRICTIONS ON TICKET ISSUERS. A ticket
issuer may not:
(1) prohibit or restrict the resale of an event
ticket;
(2) print terms and conditions on an event ticket that
purport to restrict the resale of that ticket;
(3) impose a penalty on a person who resells or offers
to resell an event ticket or treat the person in any material way
less favorably than a similarly situated purchaser who does not
resell, offer to resell, or violate a restriction on the resale of
the event ticket imposed by a ticket issuer in violation of this
section;
(4) prevent resale of event tickets by limiting the
form of the event tickets to only a nontransferable electronic form
or by requiring a person to present the original purchaser's credit
card or state-issued identification card to gain admission to the
event; or
(5) impose a minimum or maximum price on the resale of
an event ticket or otherwise restrict or limit the price of the
event ticket on resale.
SUBCHAPTER B. PENALTIES
Sec. 2158.051. ATTORNEY GENERAL POWERS; INVESTIGATION;
INJUNCTION; CIVIL ACTION. (a) For the protection of consumers, the
attorney general may:
(1) investigate a claim made by any person that a
ticket issuer failed to post notice for an event in the manner
required by Section 2158.052;
(2) bring an action in district court to enjoin a
person from violating this chapter;
(3) sue for money damages on behalf of a consumer who
purchased an event ticket, is a resident of this state, and is
injured by a violation of this chapter;
(4) bring an action to recover a civil penalty imposed
under Section 2158.102; or
(5) recover reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining
injunctive relief or civil penalties under this section.
(b) If the consumer prevails in a suit under this section,
the consumer may recover court costs and attorney's fees and:
(1) actual damages; or
(2) the lesser of $100,000 or $100 for each violation
of this chapter that occurred.
(c) For purposes of calculating damages under Subsection
(b)(2), each event ticket sold, resold, or offered for sale in a
manner other than a manner authorized by this chapter or rules
adopted under this chapter is a violation of this chapter.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2), on a finding by the
trier of fact that the defendant has violated this chapter on one or
more previous occasions, the trier of fact may award an amount not
to exceed three times the amount available under Subsection (b).
(e) A complaint under this section must be filed not later
than the first anniversary of the date the violation occurs.
Sec. 2158.052. CIVIL PENALTY. A ticket issuer who
knowingly violates Section 2158.052 is liable for a civil penalty
of not less than $100 or more than $500 for each violation.
Sec. 2158.053. OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if
the person knowingly or recklessly makes a materially false or
misleading statement on behalf of a ticket issuer in the advance
public notice required under Section 2158.052.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2158, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act, applies to the sale or resale of an event ticket for an event
subject to that chapter that occurs on or after January 1, 2014,
regardless of whether any event tickets were issued before that
date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.