| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 281 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information |
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| 6 | 6 | | to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, to prohibit speculative |
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| 7 | 7 | | ticketing, and for other purposes. |
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| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 9 | 9 | | JANUARY28, 2025 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Mr. S |
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| 11 | 11 | | CHMITT(for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; |
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| 12 | 12 | | which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, |
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| 13 | 13 | | Science, and Transportation |
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| 14 | 14 | | A BILL |
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| 15 | 15 | | To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive |
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| 16 | 16 | | information to consumers about ticket prices and related |
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| 17 | 17 | | fees, to prohibit speculative ticketing, and for other pur- |
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| 18 | 18 | | poses. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency In 4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act’’ or the ‘‘TICKET 5 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Act’’. 6 |
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| 26 | 26 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 27 | 27 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 28 | 28 | | SEC. 2. ALL INCLUSIVE TICKET PRICE DISCLOSURE. 1 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Beginning 180 days after the date of the enactment 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer, sec-3 |
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| 31 | 31 | | ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket 4 |
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| 32 | 32 | | exchange to offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket 5 |
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| 33 | 33 | | issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary mar-6 |
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| 34 | 34 | | ket ticket exchange— 7 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) clearly and conspicuously displays the total 8 |
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| 36 | 36 | | event ticket price, if a price is displayed, in any ad-9 |
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| 37 | 37 | | vertisement, marketing, or price list wherever the 10 |
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| 38 | 38 | | ticket is offered for sale; 11 |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) clearly and conspicuously discloses to any 12 |
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| 40 | 40 | | individual who seeks to purchase an event ticket the 13 |
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| 41 | 41 | | total event ticket price at the time the ticket is first 14 |
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| 42 | 42 | | displayed to the individual and anytime thereafter 15 |
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| 43 | 43 | | throughout the ticket purchasing process; and 16 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) provides an itemized list of the base event 17 |
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| 45 | 45 | | ticket price and each event ticket fee prior to the 18 |
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| 46 | 46 | | completion of the ticket purchasing process. 19 |
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| 47 | 47 | | SEC. 3. SPECULATIVE TICKETING BAN. 20 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (a) P |
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| 49 | 49 | | ROHIBITION.—Beginning 180 days after the 21 |
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| 50 | 50 | | date of the enactment of this Act, a ticket issuer, sec-22 |
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| 51 | 51 | | ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket 23 |
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| 52 | 52 | | exchange that does not have actual or constructive posses-24 |
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| 53 | 53 | | sion of an event ticket shall not sell, offer for sale, or ad-25 |
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| 54 | 54 | | vertise for sale such event ticket. 26 |
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| 57 | 57 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 58 | 58 | | (b) SERVICESPERMITTED.—Notwithstanding sub-1 |
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| 59 | 59 | | section (a), a secondary market ticket issuer or secondary 2 |
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| 60 | 60 | | market ticket exchange may sell, offer for sale, or adver-3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | tise for sale a service to an individual to obtain an event 4 |
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| 62 | 62 | | ticket on behalf of such individual if the secondary market 5 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ticket issuer or secondary market ticket exchange complies 6 |
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| 64 | 64 | | with the following: 7 |
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| 65 | 65 | | (1) Does not market or list the service as an 8 |
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| 66 | 66 | | event ticket. 9 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (2) Maintains a clear, distinct, and easily dis-10 |
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| 68 | 68 | | cernible separation between the service and event 11 |
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| 69 | 69 | | tickets that persists throughout the entire service se-12 |
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| 70 | 70 | | lection and purchasing process. 13 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (3) Clearly and conspicuously discloses before 14 |
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| 72 | 72 | | selection of the service that the service is not an 15 |
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| 73 | 73 | | event ticket and that the purchase of the service 16 |
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| 74 | 74 | | does not guarantee an event ticket. 17 |
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| 75 | 75 | | SEC. 4. DISCLOSURES. 18 |
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| 76 | 76 | | A ticket issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or 19 |
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| 77 | 77 | | secondary market ticket exchange— 20 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (1) if offering an event ticket for resale, shall 21 |
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| 79 | 79 | | provide a clear and conspicuous statement, before a 22 |
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| 80 | 80 | | consumer purchases the event ticket from the ticket 23 |
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| 81 | 81 | | issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary 24 |
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| 83 | 83 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 85 | 85 | | market ticket exchange, that the issuer or exchange 1 |
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| 86 | 86 | | is engaged in the secondary sale of event tickets; and 2 |
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| 87 | 87 | | (2) shall not state that the ticket issuer, sec-3 |
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| 88 | 88 | | ondary market ticket issuer, or secondary market 4 |
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| 89 | 89 | | ticket exchange is affiliated with or endorsed by a 5 |
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| 90 | 90 | | venue, team, or artist, as applicable, including by 6 |
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| 91 | 91 | | using words like ‘‘official’’ in promotional materials, 7 |
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| 92 | 92 | | social media promotions, or paid advertising, unless 8 |
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| 93 | 93 | | a partnership agreement has been executed or the 9 |
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| 94 | 94 | | issuer or exchange has the express written consent 10 |
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| 95 | 95 | | of the venue, team, or artist, as applicable. 11 |
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| 96 | 96 | | SEC. 5. REFUND REQUIREMENTS. 12 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (a) C |
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| 98 | 98 | | ANCELLATION.—Beginning 180 days after the 13 |
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| 99 | 99 | | date of the enactment of this Act, if an event is canceled 14 |
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| 100 | 100 | | or postponed (except for a case in which an event is can-15 |
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| 101 | 101 | | celed or postponed due to a cause beyond the reasonable 16 |
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| 102 | 102 | | control of the issuer, including a natural disaster, civil dis-17 |
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| 103 | 103 | | turbance, or otherwise unforeseeable impediment), a ticket 18 |
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| 104 | 104 | | issuer, secondary market ticket issuer, or secondary mar-19 |
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| 105 | 105 | | ket ticket exchange shall provide the purchaser of an event 20 |
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| 106 | 106 | | ticket from the issuer or exchange for the canceled or post-21 |
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| 107 | 107 | | poned event, at a minimum— 22 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (1) if the event is cancelled, a full refund for 23 |
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| 109 | 109 | | the total event ticket price; 24 |
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| 112 | 112 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 113 | 113 | | (2) subject to availability, if the event is post-1 |
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| 114 | 114 | | poned for not more than 6 months and the original 2 |
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| 115 | 115 | | event ticket is no longer valid for entry to the re-3 |
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| 116 | 116 | | scheduled event, a replacement event ticket for the 4 |
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| 117 | 117 | | rescheduled event in the same or a comparable loca-5 |
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| 118 | 118 | | tion once the event has been rescheduled; or 6 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (3) if the event is postponed for more than 6 7 |
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| 120 | 120 | | months, at the option of the purchaser— 8 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (A) a full refund for the total event ticket 9 |
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| 122 | 122 | | price; or 10 |
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| 123 | 123 | | (B) if the original event ticket is no longer 11 |
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| 124 | 124 | | valid for entry to the rescheduled event, a re-12 |
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| 125 | 125 | | placement event ticket for the rescheduled event 13 |
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| 126 | 126 | | in the same or a comparable location once the 14 |
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| 127 | 127 | | event has been rescheduled. 15 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (b) D |
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| 129 | 129 | | ISCLOSURE OFGUARANTEE AND REFUNDPOL-16 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ICYREQUIRED.—Beginning 180 days after the date of the 17 |
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| 131 | 131 | | enactment of this Act, a ticket issuer, secondary market 18 |
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| 132 | 132 | | ticket issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange shall 19 |
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| 133 | 133 | | disclose clearly and conspicuously to a purchaser before 20 |
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| 134 | 134 | | the completion of an event ticket sale the guarantee or 21 |
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| 135 | 135 | | refund policy of such ticket issuer, secondary market tick-22 |
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| 136 | 136 | | et issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange, including 23 |
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| 137 | 137 | | under what circumstances any refund issued will include 24 |
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| 138 | 138 | | a refund of any event ticket fee. 25 |
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| 141 | 141 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 142 | 142 | | (c) DISCLOSURE OFHOWTOOBTAIN AREFUNDRE-1 |
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| 143 | 143 | | QUIRED.—Beginning 180 days after the date of the enact-2 |
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| 144 | 144 | | ment of this Act, a ticket issuer, secondary market ticket 3 |
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| 145 | 145 | | issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange shall provide 4 |
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| 146 | 146 | | a clear and conspicuous explanation of how to obtain a 5 |
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| 147 | 147 | | refund of the total event ticket price. 6 |
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| 148 | 148 | | SEC. 6. REPORT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ON 7 |
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| 149 | 149 | | BOTS ACT OF 2016 ENFORCEMENT. 8 |
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| 150 | 150 | | Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-9 |
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| 151 | 151 | | ment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress 10 |
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| 152 | 152 | | a report on enforcement of the Better Online Ticket Sales 11 |
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| 153 | 153 | | Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–274; 15 U.S.C. 45c), includ-12 |
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| 154 | 154 | | ing any enforcement action taken, challenges with enforce-13 |
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| 155 | 155 | | ment and coordination with State Attorneys General, and 14 |
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| 156 | 156 | | recommendations on how to improve enforcement and in-15 |
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| 157 | 157 | | dustry compliance. 16 |
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| 158 | 158 | | SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT. 17 |
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| 159 | 159 | | (a) U |
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| 160 | 160 | | NFAIR ORDECEPTIVEACT ORPRACTICE.—A 18 |
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| 161 | 161 | | violation of this Act shall be treated as a violation of a 19 |
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| 162 | 162 | | rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under 20 |
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| 163 | 163 | | section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 21 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 22 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (b) P |
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| 166 | 166 | | OWERS OFCOMMISSION.— 23 |
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| 167 | 167 | | (1) I |
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| 168 | 168 | | N GENERAL.—The Commission shall en-24 |
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| 169 | 169 | | force this Act in the same manner, by the same 25 |
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| 172 | 172 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 173 | 173 | | means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and 1 |
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| 174 | 174 | | duties as though all applicable terms and provisions 2 |
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| 175 | 175 | | of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 3 |
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| 176 | 176 | | et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 4 |
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| 177 | 177 | | this Act. 5 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (2) P |
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| 179 | 179 | | RIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES .—Any person 6 |
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| 180 | 180 | | who violates this Act shall be subject to the penalties 7 |
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| 181 | 181 | | and entitled to the privileges and immunities pro-8 |
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| 182 | 182 | | vided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 9 |
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| 183 | 183 | | U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 10 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (3) A |
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| 185 | 185 | | UTHORITY PRESERVED .—Nothing in this 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the 12 |
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| 187 | 187 | | Commission under any other provision of law. 13 |
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| 188 | 188 | | SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 14 |
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| 189 | 189 | | In this Act: 15 |
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| 190 | 190 | | (1) A |
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| 191 | 191 | | RTIST.—The term ‘‘artist’’ means any per-16 |
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| 192 | 192 | | former, musician, comedian, producer, ensemble or 17 |
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| 193 | 193 | | production entity of a theatrical production, sports 18 |
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| 194 | 194 | | team owner, or similar person. 19 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (2) B |
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| 196 | 196 | | ASE EVENT TICKET PRICE .—The term 20 |
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| 197 | 197 | | ‘‘base event ticket price’’ means, with respect to an 21 |
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| 198 | 198 | | event ticket, the price of the event ticket excluding 22 |
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| 199 | 199 | | the cost of any event ticket fees. 23 |
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| 200 | 200 | | (3) C |
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| 201 | 201 | | OMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 24 |
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| 202 | 202 | | means the Federal Trade Commission. 25 |
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| 205 | 205 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 206 | 206 | | (4) EVENT.—The term ‘‘event’’ means any live 1 |
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| 207 | 207 | | concert, theatrical performance, sporting event, 2 |
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| 208 | 208 | | show, or similarly scheduled live activity, that is— 3 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (A) taking place in a venue with a seating 4 |
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| 210 | 210 | | or attendance capacity exceeding 200 persons; 5 |
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| 211 | 211 | | (B) open to the general public; and 6 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (C) promoted, advertised, or marketed in 7 |
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| 213 | 213 | | interstate commerce, or for which event tickets 8 |
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| 214 | 214 | | are generally sold or distributed in interstate 9 |
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| 215 | 215 | | commerce. 10 |
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| 216 | 216 | | (5) E |
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| 217 | 217 | | VENT TICKET; TICKET ISSUER.—The 11 |
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| 218 | 218 | | terms ‘‘event ticket’’ and ‘‘ticket issuer’’ have the 12 |
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| 219 | 219 | | meaning given those terms in the Better Online 13 |
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| 220 | 220 | | Ticket Sales Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–274). 14 |
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| 221 | 221 | | (6) E |
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| 222 | 222 | | VENT TICKET FEE .—The term ‘‘event 15 |
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| 223 | 223 | | ticket fee’’— 16 |
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| 224 | 224 | | (A) means a charge for an event ticket 17 |
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| 225 | 225 | | that must be paid in addition to the base event 18 |
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| 226 | 226 | | ticket price in order to obtain an event ticket 19 |
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| 227 | 227 | | from a ticket issuer, secondary market ticket 20 |
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| 228 | 228 | | issuer, or secondary market ticket exchange, in-21 |
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| 229 | 229 | | cluding any service fee, charge and order proc-22 |
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| 230 | 230 | | essing fee, delivery fee, facility charge fee, tax, 23 |
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| 231 | 231 | | and any other charge; and 24 |
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| 234 | 234 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 235 | 235 | | (B) does not include any charge or fee for 1 |
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| 236 | 236 | | an optional product or service associated with 2 |
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| 237 | 237 | | the event that may be selected by a purchaser 3 |
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| 238 | 238 | | of an event ticket. 4 |
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| 239 | 239 | | (7) O |
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| 240 | 240 | | PTIONAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE .—The 5 |
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| 241 | 241 | | term ‘‘optional product or service’’ means a product 6 |
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| 242 | 242 | | or service that an individual does not need to pur-7 |
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| 243 | 243 | | chase to use or take possession of an event ticket. 8 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (8) R |
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| 245 | 245 | | ESALE; SECONDARY SALE .—The terms 9 |
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| 246 | 246 | | ‘‘resale’’ and ‘‘secondary sale’’ mean any sale of an 10 |
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| 247 | 247 | | event ticket that occurs after the initial sale of the 11 |
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| 248 | 248 | | event ticket by a ticket issuer. 12 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (9) S |
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| 250 | 250 | | ECONDARY MARKET TICKET EXCHANGE .— 13 |
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| 251 | 251 | | The term ‘‘secondary market ticket exchange’’ 14 |
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| 252 | 252 | | means any person that in the regular course of trade 15 |
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| 253 | 253 | | or business of that person operates a platform or ex-16 |
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| 254 | 254 | | change for advertising, listing, or selling resale tick-17 |
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| 255 | 255 | | ets, on behalf of itself, vendors, or a secondary mar-18 |
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| 256 | 256 | | ket ticket issuer. 19 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (10) S |
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| 258 | 258 | | ECONDARY MARKET TICKET ISSUER .— 20 |
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| 259 | 259 | | The term ‘‘secondary market ticket issuer’’ means 21 |
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| 260 | 260 | | any person, including a ticket issuer, that resells or 22 |
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| 261 | 261 | | makes a secondary sale of an event ticket to the gen-23 |
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| 262 | 262 | | eral public in the regular course of the trade or busi-24 |
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| 263 | 263 | | ness of the person. 25 |
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| 266 | 266 | | •S 281 IS |
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| 267 | 267 | | (11) TOTAL EVENT TICKET PRICE .—The term 1 |
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| 268 | 268 | | ‘‘total event ticket price’’ means, with respect to an 2 |
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| 269 | 269 | | event ticket, the total cost of the event ticket, includ-3 |
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| 270 | 270 | | ing the base event ticket price and any event ticket 4 |
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| 271 | 271 | | fee. 5 |
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| 272 | 272 | | (12) V |
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| 273 | 273 | | ENUE.—The term ‘‘venue’’ means a 6 |
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| 274 | 274 | | physical space at which an event takes place. 7 |
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| 275 | 275 | | Æ |
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