Amd §§25.24, 25.07, 25.23 & 25.29, add §25.06, Arts & Cul L; amd §4, Chap 704 of 1991; amd §11, Chap 151 of
2010
Enacts into law components of legislation that relate to live event ticket sales; institutes civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software; increases civil penalties currently in place and institutes new penalties for second offenses for licensees (Part A); requires full ticket prices to be disclosed prior to a customer purchasing such ticket; requires such price to remain the same during the purchase process (Part B); prohibits the resale of a ticket if such ticket was initially offered to the public at no charge (Part C); requires online resale marketplaces to clearly and conspicuously disclose the established price charged by the operator of a place of entertainment that is printed or endorsed on the face of each ticket (Part D); allows reasonable and actual costs to be charged for the physical delivery of certain tickets (Part E); extends the effectiveness of certain provisions relating to tickets to places of entertainment (Part F).
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9461
IN SENATE
May 30, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations
AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to insti-
tuting civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software (Part
A); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to requir-
ing ticket prices to be disclosed prior to a customer purchasing such
ticket and requiring such price to remain the same during the purchase
process (Part B); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in
relation to prohibiting the resale of a ticket if such ticket was
initially offered to the public at no charge (Part C); to amend the
arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to requiring online resale
marketplaces to clearly and conspicuously disclose the established
price charged by the operator of a place of entertainment that is
printed or endorsed on the face of each ticket (Part D); to amend the
arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to allowing reasonable and
actual costs to be charged for the physical delivery of certain tick-
ets (Part E); and to amend chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending
the arts and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920
relating to 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 of places of entertainment, in relation to extending the
effectiveness thereof (Part F)
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation that
2 relate to live event ticket sales. Each component is wholly contained
3 within a Part identified as Parts A through F. The effective date for
4 each particular provision contained within such Part is set forth in the
5 last section of such Part. Any provision in any section contained within
6 a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which makes reference
7 to a section "of this act", when used in connection with that particular
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11376-22-2
S. 9461 2
1 component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding
2 section of the Part in which it is found, unless noted otherwise.
3 PART A
4 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3, and subdivisions 4, 5 and 6
5 of section 25.24 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by
6 chapter 472 of the laws of 2016, are amended to read as follows:
7 (a) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who knowingly
8 utilizes ticket purchasing software in order to purchase tickets shall
9 be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less than [five
10 hundred] one thousand dollars and no more than [one] two thousand five
11 hundred dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit all profits
12 made from the sale of any such unlawfully obtained tickets.
13 4. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who intentionally
14 maintains any interest in or maintains any control of the operation of
15 ticket purchasing software to purchase tickets shall be subject to a
16 civil penalty in an amount of no less than [seven hundred fifty] one
17 thousand dollars and no more than [one] two thousand five hundred
18 dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit all profits made from
19 the sale of any such unlawfully obtained tickets.
20 5. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who knowingly resells
21 or offers to resell a ticket that such person, firm, corporation or
22 other entity knows was obtained using ticket purchasing software and was
23 not obtained for their own use or the use of their invitees, employees,
24 or agents shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less
25 than [five hundred] one thousand dollars and no more than [one] two
26 thousand five hundred dollars for each such violation and shall forfeit
27 all profits made from the sale of any such unlawfully obtained ticket.
28 6. Any person who is subject to a civil penalty under this section and
29 has been assessed a penalty under this section in the previous three
30 years shall be guilty of a violation and may be fined no less than [one]
31 two thousand dollars and no more than [five] ten thousand dollars for
32 each such violation and shall forfeit all profits from the sale of any
33 such unlawfully obtained tickets. In addition, a person convicted of a
34 violation under this section may be required to forfeit any and all
35 equipment used in the unlawful purchasing of tickets.
36 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
37 have become a law.
38 PART B
39 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural
40 affairs law, as added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to
41 read as follows:
42 4. Every operator or operator's agent of a place of entertainment, any
43 licensee or other ticket reseller, or platform that facilitates the sale
44 or resale of tickets shall disclose the total cost of the ticket, inclu-
45 sive of all ancillary fees that must be paid in order to purchase the
46 ticket, and disclose in a clear and conspicuous manner [the total price
47 of the ticket and] the portion of the ticket price stated in dollars
48 that represents a service charge, or any other fee or surcharge to the
49 purchaser. Such disclosure of the total cost and fees shall be displayed
50 in the ticket listing prior to the ticket being selected for purchase.
51 Disclosures of subtotals, fees, charges, and any other component of the
52 total price shall not be false or misleading, and may not be presented
S. 9461 3
1 more prominently or in the same or larger size as the total price. The
2 price of the ticket shall not increase during the purchase process,
3 excluding reasonable fees for the delivery of non-electronic tickets
4 based on the delivery method selected by the purchaser, which shall be
5 disclosed prior to accepting payment therefor. Nothing in this subdivi-
6 sion shall be construed to nullify, expand, restrict, or otherwise amend
7 or modify now existing laws or regulations outside of this article, and
8 nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as making lawful any
9 fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal act or practice that is unlawful
10 pursuant to now existing laws or regulations.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
12 have become a law provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision
13 4 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section
14 one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be
15 deemed to repeal therewith.
16 PART C
17 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a
18 new section 25.06 to read as follows:
19 § 25.06. Resale of tickets issued at no charge. Notwithstanding an
20 individual's ability to transfer a ticket to another party, it shall be
21 unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to resell or offer to
22 resell any ticket or other evidence of right of entry to any place of
23 entertainment if such ticket was initially offered to the public at no
24 charge and access to such tickets is not contingent upon providing any
25 form of monetary consideration.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
27 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to article 25
28 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this act
29 shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed
30 therewith.
31 PART D
32 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 25.23 of the arts and cultural
33 affairs law, as added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to
34 read as follows:
35 2. An online resale marketplace shall post a clear and conspicuous
36 notice on the website that the website is for the secondary sale of a
37 ticket, that the price of such ticket offered for sale may exceed the
38 established price and shall also state the refund policy of the platform
39 in connection with the cancellation or postponement of an event. An
40 online resale marketplace shall be required to clearly and conspicuously
41 disclose the established price charged by the operator of a place of
42 entertainment that is printed or endorsed on the face of each ticket in
43 accordance with section 25.07 of this article prior to the user complet-
44 ing any transaction. An online resale marketplace shall require that the
45 user confirm having read such [notice] notices before completing any
46 transaction. For the purposes of this section, an "online resale market-
47 place" means any operator or manager of a website or other electronic
48 service that resells tickets or serves as a platform to facilitate
49 resale, or resale by way of a competitive bidding process.
50 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
51 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section
52 25.23 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this
S. 9461 4
1 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed
2 repealed therewith.
3 PART E
4 Section 1. Section 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as
5 amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 2007 and subdivision 1 as amended
6 by chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
7 § 25.29. Unlawful charges in connection with tickets. 1. No operator
8 of any place of entertainment, or his or her agent, representative,
9 employee or licensee shall, if a price be charged for admission thereto,
10 exact, demand, accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any premium or
11 price in excess of the established price plus lawful taxes whether
12 designated as price, gratuity or otherwise; provided, however: (a) noth-
13 ing in this article shall be construed to prohibit a reasonable service
14 charge by the operator or agents of the operator for special services,
15 including but not limited to, sales away from the box office, credit
16 card sales or delivery; and (b) nothing in this article shall be
17 construed to prohibit an operator or its agent from offering for initial
18 sale tickets by means of an auction.
19 2. A reasonable and actual cost for the physical delivery of tickets
20 may be charged by a seller or reseller based on the method of delivery
21 selected by the purchaser; provided, however, that no delivery fee shall
22 be charged by a seller or reseller for tickets delivered electronically
23 or tickets that may be printed independently by the purchaser.
24 3. In any prosecution under this section the attorney general shall
25 have concurrent jurisdiction with any district attorney and in any such
26 prosecution he or she or his or her deputy shall exercise all the powers
27 and perform all the duties which the district attorney would otherwise
28 be authorized to exercise or perform therein.
29 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
30 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section
31 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this
32 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed
33 repealed therewith.
34 PART F
35 Section 1. Section 4 of chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending the
36 arts and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920 relat-
37 ing to the regulation of boxing and wrestling matches relating to tick-
38 ets to places of entertainment, as amended by chapter 148 of the laws of
39 2021, is amended to read as follows:
40 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
41 have become a law, provided, chapter 61 of the laws of 2007 shall not
42 take effect with respect to the issuance of licenses or certificates
43 under this article by the secretary of state or department of state
44 until January 1, 2008 and regulation under this article by the commis-
45 sioners of licenses of the political subdivisions of the state shall
46 continue through December 31, 2007, and shall remain in full force and
47 effect only until and including June 30, [2022] 2025 when such act shall
48 be repealed and when, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
49 provisions of article 25 of title G of the arts and cultural affairs
50 law, repealed by such act, shall be reinstituted; provided further that
51 section 25.11 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by section
52 one of this act, shall survive such repeal date. Provided, however, the
S. 9461 5
1 printing on tickets required pursuant to sections 25.07 and 25.08 of
2 article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by this act,
3 shall not apply to tickets printed prior to enactment of such article so
4 long as notice of the higher maximum premium price and prohibition of
5 sales within one thousand five hundred feet from the physical structure
6 of the place of entertainment, where applicable, is prominently
7 displayed at the point of sale and at such place of entertainment.
8 § 2. Section 11 of chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, amending the arts
9 and cultural affairs law relating to resale of tickets to places of
10 entertainment, as amended by chapter 148 of the laws of 2021, is amended
11 to read as follows:
12 § 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 5 of the general
13 construction law, if this act shall take effect after May 15, 2010, the
14 provisions of article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, except
15 section 25.11 are hereby revived and shall continue in full force and
16 effect as they existed on May 15, 2010 through June 30, [2022] 2025 when
17 upon such date such provisions shall expire and be deemed repealed.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
19 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
20 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
21 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
22 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
23 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
24 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
25 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
26 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
27 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
29 the applicable effective date of Parts A through F of this act shall be
30 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
