Bill Text: NY S08501 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the sale of tickets to places of entertainment; establishes notice and disclosure requirements for the sale or resale of tickets.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-07-01 - SIGNED CHAP.110 [S08501 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08501-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8501--A
                    IN SENATE
                                       May 9, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  MURPHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment  Operations  --  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 the
          sale of tickets to places of entertainment; to amend  chapter  704  of
          the laws of 1991, amending the arts and cultural affairs law and chap-
          ter  912  of the laws of 1920 relating to the 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 to places of  entertainment,
          in relation to extending the effectiveness of the provisions thereof
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended  by  adding  a
     2  new section 25.10 to read as follows:
     3    §  25.10.  Ticket  resale requirements. 1.  It shall be unlawful for a
     4  licensee or other ticket reseller to contract for the sale of tickets or
     5  accept consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for  the  sale
     6  of  tickets  unless  such licensee or other ticket reseller meets one or
     7  more of the following requirements:
     8    (a) such licensee or other ticket  reseller  has  the  ticket  in  its
     9  possession;
    10    (b)  such  licensee or other ticket reseller has a written contract to
    11  obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession
    12  of the ticket or from a person who has a  contractual  right  to  obtain
    13  such ticket; or
    14    (c)  such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the purchaser in a
    15  clear and conspicuous manner and in plain language at the time of offer-
    16  ing such ticket for sale and in a written notice prior to the completion
    17  of the transaction that such licensee or other ticket reseller does  not
    18  have  possession  of  the  ticket, has no contract to obtain the offered
    19  ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the  ticket  or
    20  from a person who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, may not
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15773-03-8
        S. 8501--A                          2
     1  be able to supply the ticket at the contracted price or range of prices,
     2  and requires such purchaser to expressly confirm prior to completing the
     3  transaction that the purchaser has read such notice.
     4    2.  Nothing  in this section shall prohibit a licensee or other ticket
     5  reseller from accepting a deposit from a  prospective  purchaser  for  a
     6  resale  pursuant  to  paragraph  (c) of subdivision one of this section,
     7  provided that  such  licensee  or  other  ticket  reseller  informs  the
     8  purchaser  in  writing prior to receipt of consideration of the terms of
     9  the deposit agreement, and includes in the written  notice  the  disclo-
    10  sures  otherwise  required  by  this  section.  If  a licensee or ticket
    11  reseller has entered into a contract with or received consideration from
    12  a prospective purchaser for the sale of a ticket or tickets  and  cannot
    13  supply  such  ticket  or tickets at the contracted price or price range,
    14  such licensee or ticket reseller shall refund any monies  paid  by  such
    15  prospective  purchaser  within ten business days of receipt of a request
    16  for a refund from such purchaser.
    17    3. Nothing in this section shall  be  construed  to  nullify,  expand,
    18  restrict,  or otherwise amend or modify now existing laws or regulations
    19  outside of this article, and nothing in this section shall be  construed
    20  as  making  lawful any fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal act or practice
    21  that is unlawful pursuant to now existing laws or regulations.
    22    4. The  attorney  general  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  enforce  the
    23  provisions  of this section in accordance with the powers granted to him
    24  or her by section sixty-three of the executive law.
    25    § 2. Section 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by
    26  chapter 61 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
    27    § 25.19. Posting of  license  or  certificate.  Immediately  upon  the
    28  receipt of the license or certificate issued pursuant to this article by
    29  the  secretary  of  state,  the  licensee named therein shall cause such
    30  license to be posted and at all times displayed in a  conspicuous  place
    31  in  the  principal  office  of such business for which it is issued, and
    32  shall cause the certificate for each branch office,  bureau,  agency  or
    33  sub-agency  to  be  posted  and  at all times displayed in a conspicuous
    34  place in such branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency for  which  it
    35  is  issued,  so  that all persons visiting such principal office, branch
    36  office, bureau, agency or sub-agency may readily see the  same,  and  if
    37  such  licensee  does  business  on  the internet, including via a retail
    38  ticket purchasing platform, to provide a license number displayed  in  a
    39  conspicuous manner or a hyperlink displayed in a conspicuous manner to a
    40  scanned  copy of such license.  Such license or certificate shall at all
    41  reasonable times be subject to inspection by the secretary of  state  or
    42  his  or  her authorized inspectors. It shall be unlawful for any person,
    43  firm, partnership or corporation holding such license or certificate  to
    44  post  such  license  or  certificate or to permit such certificate to be
    45  posted upon premises other than those described therein or to  which  it
    46  has  been  transferred  pursuant  to  the  provisions of this article or
    47  unlawfully to alter, deface or destroy any such license or  certificate.
    48  For  purposes  of this section, the term "retail ticket purchasing plat-
    49  form" shall mean a retail ticket purchasing website, application,  phone
    50  system, or other technology platform used to sell tickets.
    51    § 3. Section 25.23 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by
    52  chapter 106 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
    53    § 25.23. Posting  of  price  lists;  information to purchaser.   1. In
    54  every principal office or branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency of
    55  any licensee under this article, there shall be conspicuously posted and
    56  at all times displayed  a  price  list  showing  the  established  price
        S. 8501--A                          3
     1  charged by the operator of the place of entertainment for which a ticket
     2  is being sold by such licensee, together with the price being charged by
     3  such  licensee for the resale of such ticket, so that all persons visit-
     4  ing  such  place  may  readily  see the same. The licensee shall also on
     5  request furnish each purchaser of a ticket with a  receipt  showing  the
     6  same information. Further, if the licensee conducts business through the
     7  use  of  the  internet,  the  same price list, or hyperlink to the same,
     8  shall be conspicuously displayed on the internet page on  which  tickets
     9  are  accessed.  In  addition the licensee shall publish in a conspicuous
    10  place, or hyperlink to on the internet a statement clearly detailing the
    11  required guarantees required by section 25.07 of this article.
    12    2. An online resale marketplace shall post  a  clear  and  conspicuous
    13  notice  on  the  website that the website is for the secondary sale of a
    14  ticket, that the price of such ticket offered for sale  may  exceed  the
    15  established price and shall also state the refund policy of the platform
    16  in  connection  with  the  cancellation  or postponement of an event. An
    17  online resale marketplace shall require that  the  user  confirm  having
    18  read such notice before completing any transaction.  For the purposes of
    19  this  section,  an  "online  resale  marketplace"  means any operator or
    20  manager of a website or other electronic service that resells tickets or
    21  serves as a platform to facilitate resale, or resale by way of a compet-
    22  itive bidding process.
    23    § 4. Section 25.24 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended  by
    24  adding a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
    25    10.  Any  person,  firm, corporation or other entity who is a licensee
    26  under this article who is adjudicated guilty of the following  acts  may
    27  lose  their  license and may be barred from licensure under this article
    28  for a period not to exceed three years to be determined by  the  depart-
    29  ment  of  state pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if such licen-
    30  see: (a) knowingly utilized  ticket  purchasing  software  in  order  to
    31  purchase  tickets;  (b)  knowingly  resold or offered to resell a ticket
    32  that such licensee knew was obtained using ticket  purchasing  software;
    33  or  (c)  intentionally  maintained  any  interest  in  or maintained any
    34  control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick-
    35  ets.
    36    § 5. Section 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended  by
    37  adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
    38    4. Every operator or operator's agent of a place of entertainment, any
    39  licensee  or  other  ticket  reseller  or  platform that facilitates the
    40  resale of tickets shall disclose in a clear and conspicuous  manner  the
    41  total  price of the ticket and the portion of the ticket price stated in
    42  dollars that represents a service charge, or any other fee or  surcharge
    43  prior to accepting payment therefor.
    44    §  6.  The  arts  and  cultural affairs law is amended by adding a new
    45  section 25.12 to read as follows:
    46    § 25.12. Professional sports organization membership pass.    Notwith-
    47  standing section 25.30 of this article, an operator of a place of enter-
    48  tainment  or  such operator's agent may offer paperless tickets which do
    49  not allow for independent transferability provided that such tickets are
    50  included in a membership pass at a discounted price offered by a profes-
    51  sional sports organization that guarantees entry to a  specified  number
    52  of  events  in  a  specified  time  period.  Tickets provided under such
    53  membership pass cannot be transferred or resold, including  through  the
    54  operator  or operators' agents, and must be clearly marked as such. Such
    55  membership pass shall not mean a subscription or season  ticket  package
        S. 8501--A                          4
     1  offered  for  sale  and  shall  not result in the sale of more than five
     2  percent of all seats available at a venue for a particular event.
     3    §  7. Section 25.30 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended by
     4  adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
     5    5. No operator or  its  agent  shall  transfer  a  prospective  ticket
     6  purchaser  through  any means to a licensee or secondary ticket reseller
     7  without providing a clear and conspicuous disclosure  that  informs  the
     8  prospective purchaser that the ticket is not being offered by the opera-
     9  tor  or  its agent, but rather by a licensee or other ticket reseller in
    10  the secondary market.
    11    § 8. The arts and cultural affairs law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    12  section 25.34 to read as follows:
    13    § 25.34. Ticket websites. 1. As used in this section:
    14    (a) "Ticket website" means an internet website advertising the sale of
    15  tickets,  offering the sale of such tickets, or facilitating a secondary
    16  ticket exchange.
    17    (b) "URL" means the uniform resource locator  for  a  website  on  the
    18  internet.
    19    2.  (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to, with intent to mislead
    20  or deceive, own, operate, or control a ticket website for an event sche-
    21  duled at a place of entertainment to use a subdomain or domain name in a
    22  ticket website's URL that contains:
    23    (i) the name of the place of entertainment, provided that  this  para-
    24  graph  shall not preclude the use of general terms to depict a geograph-
    25  ical location or venue category;
    26    (ii) the name of the specific event, including the name of a person or
    27  entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event; or
    28    (iii) a name substantially similar to those  in  subparagraph  (i)  or
    29  (ii) of this paragraph.
    30    (b) Paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply if the person is
    31  acting  on  behalf  of,  and  with  the  consent of, the place of enter-
    32  tainment, event, artist or sports team for which the  website  is  being
    33  created.
    34    3.  Any  person,  firm,  corporation or other entity who intentionally
    35  owns, operates, or controls such ticket website shall be  subject  to  a
    36  civil  penalty  in  an  amount of no more than one thousand five hundred
    37  dollars for each such violation.
    38    4. Any person who is subject to a civil penalty under this section and
    39  has been assessed a penalty under this section  in  the  previous  three
    40  years  shall  be  assessed a civil penalty of no more than five thousand
    41  dollars for each such violation.
    42    5. The  attorney  general  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  enforce  the
    43  provisions  of this section in accordance with the powers granted to him
    44  or her by section sixty-three of the executive law.
    45    § 9. Section 4 of chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending  the  arts
    46  and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920 relating to
    47  the  regulation  of  boxing and wrestling matches relating to tickets to
    48  places of entertainment, as amended by chapter 68 of the laws  of  2017,
    49  is amended to read as follows:
    50    §  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    51  have become a law, provided, chapter 61 of the laws of  2007  shall  not
    52  take  effect  with  respect  to the issuance of licenses or certificates
    53  under this article by the secretary of  state  or  department  of  state
    54  until  January  1, 2008 and regulation under this article by the commis-
    55  sioners of licenses of the political subdivisions  of  the  state  shall
    56  continue  through  December 31, 2007, and shall remain in full force and
        S. 8501--A                          5
     1  effect only until and including June 30, [2018] 2021 when such act shall
     2  be repealed and when, notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  the
     3  provisions  of  article  25  of title G of the arts and cultural affairs
     4  law,  repealed by such act, shall be reinstituted; provided further that
     5  section 25.11 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by  section
     6  one  of this act, shall survive such repeal date. Provided, however, the
     7  printing on tickets required pursuant to sections  25.07  and  25.08  of
     8  article  25  of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by this act,
     9  shall not apply to tickets printed prior to enactment of such article so
    10  long as notice of the higher maximum premium price  and  prohibition  of
    11  sales  within one thousand five hundred feet from the physical structure
    12  of  the  place  of  entertainment,  where  applicable,  is   prominently
    13  displayed at the point of sale and at such place of entertainment.
    14    § 10. Section 11 of chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, amending the arts
    15  and  cultural  affairs  law  relating  to resale of tickets to places of
    16  entertainment, as amended by chapter 68 of the laws of 2017, is  amended
    17  to read as follows:
    18    §  11.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  article 5 of the general
    19  construction law, if this act shall take effect after May 15, 2010,  the
    20  provisions  of  article  25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, except
    21  section 25.11 are hereby revived and shall continue in  full  force  and
    22  effect as they existed on May 15, 2010 through June 30, [2018] 2021 when
    23  upon such date such provisions shall expire and be deemed repealed.
    24    § 11. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however that:
    25    (a)  sections one, two, three, four, five, seven and eight of this act
    26  shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it  shall  have
    27  become a law; and
    28    (b)  the amendments to article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law
    29  made by sections one, two, three, five, six, seven and eight of this act
    30  shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed
    31  therewith.