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S08501 Summary:

BILL NOS08501B
 
SAME ASSAME AS A08245-C
 
SPONSORMURPHY
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§25.19, 25.23, 25.24, 25.07 & 25.30, add §§25.10, 25.12 & 25.34, Arts & Cul L; amd §4, Chap 704 of 1991; amd §11, Chap 151 of 2010
 
Relates to the sale of tickets to places of entertainment; establishes notice and disclosure requirements for the sale or resale of tickets.
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S08501 Actions:

BILL NOS08501B
 
05/09/2018REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
06/15/2018AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
06/15/2018PRINT NUMBER 8501A
06/17/2018AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
06/17/2018PRINT NUMBER 8501B
06/19/2018COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
06/19/2018ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1964
06/20/2018PASSED SENATE
06/20/2018DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
06/20/2018referred to codes
06/20/2018substituted for a8245c
06/20/2018ordered to third reading rules cal.444
06/20/2018passed assembly
06/20/2018returned to senate
06/28/2018DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
07/01/2018SIGNED CHAP.110
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S08501 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8501--B
 
                    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 -- 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,
     5  contract to obtain tickets for  another,  or  accept  consideration  for
     6  payment  in  full  or  for a deposit for the sale of tickets unless such
     7  licensee or other ticket reseller meets one or  more  of  the  following
     8  requirements:
     9    (a)  such  licensee or other ticket reseller has the offered ticket in
    10  its possession;
    11    (b) such licensee or other ticket reseller has a written  contract  to
    12  obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession
    13  of  the  ticket  or  from a person who has a contractual right to obtain
    14  such ticket; or
    15    (c) such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the purchaser in  a
    16  clear and conspicuous manner and in plain language at the time of offer-
    17  ing such ticket for sale and in a written notice prior to the completion
    18  of  the transaction that such licensee or other ticket reseller does not
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15773-04-8

        S. 8501--B                          2
 
     1  have possession of the ticket, has no contract  to  obtain  the  offered
     2  ticket  at  a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or
     3  from a person who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, may not
     4  be able to supply the ticket at the contracted price or range of prices,
     5  and requires such purchaser to expressly confirm prior to completing the
     6  transaction that the purchaser has read such notice.
     7    2.  Nothing  in this section shall prohibit a licensee or other ticket
     8  reseller from accepting a deposit from a  prospective  purchaser  for  a
     9  resale  pursuant  to  paragraph  (c) of subdivision one of this section,
    10  provided that  such  licensee  or  other  ticket  reseller  informs  the
    11  purchaser  in  writing prior to receipt of consideration of the terms of
    12  the deposit agreement, and includes in the written  notice  the  disclo-
    13  sures  otherwise  required  by  this  section.  If  a licensee or ticket
    14  reseller has entered into a contract with or received consideration from
    15  a prospective purchaser for the sale of a ticket or tickets  and  cannot
    16  supply  such  ticket  or tickets at the contracted price or price range,
    17  such licensee or ticket reseller shall refund any monies  paid  by  such
    18  prospective  purchaser  within ten business days of receipt of a request
    19  for a refund from such purchaser.
    20    3. Nothing in this section shall  be  construed  to  nullify,  expand,
    21  restrict,  or otherwise amend or modify now existing laws or regulations
    22  outside of this article, and nothing in this section shall be  construed
    23  as  making  lawful any fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal act or practice
    24  that is unlawful pursuant to now existing laws or regulations.
    25    4. The  attorney  general  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  enforce  the
    26  provisions  of this section in accordance with the powers granted to him
    27  or her by section sixty-three of the executive law.
    28    § 2. Section 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by
    29  chapter 61 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
    30    § 25.19. Posting of  license  or  certificate.  Immediately  upon  the
    31  receipt of the license or certificate issued pursuant to this article by
    32  the  secretary  of  state,  the  licensee named therein shall cause such
    33  license to be posted and at all times displayed in a  conspicuous  place
    34  in  the  principal  office  of such business for which it is issued, and
    35  shall cause the certificate for each branch office,  bureau,  agency  or
    36  sub-agency  to  be  posted  and  at all times displayed in a conspicuous
    37  place in such branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency for  which  it
    38  is  issued,  so  that all persons visiting such principal office, branch
    39  office, bureau, agency or sub-agency may readily see the  same,  and  if
    40  such  licensee  does  business  on  the internet, including via a retail
    41  ticket purchasing platform, to provide a license number displayed  in  a
    42  conspicuous manner or a hyperlink displayed in a conspicuous manner to a
    43  scanned  copy of such license.  Such license or certificate shall at all
    44  reasonable times be subject to inspection by the secretary of  state  or
    45  his  or  her authorized inspectors. It shall be unlawful for any person,
    46  firm, partnership or corporation holding such license or certificate  to
    47  post  such  license  or  certificate or to permit such certificate to be
    48  posted upon premises other than those described therein or to  which  it
    49  has  been  transferred  pursuant  to  the  provisions of this article or
    50  unlawfully to alter, deface or destroy any such license or  certificate.
    51  For  purposes  of this section, the term "retail ticket purchasing plat-
    52  form" shall mean a retail ticket purchasing website, application,  phone
    53  system, or other technology platform used to sell tickets.
    54    § 3. Section 25.23 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by
    55  chapter 106 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:

        S. 8501--B                          3
 
     1    § 25.23. Posting  of  price  lists;  information to purchaser.   1. In
     2  every principal office or branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency of
     3  any licensee under this article, there shall be conspicuously posted and
     4  at all times displayed  a  price  list  showing  the  established  price
     5  charged by the operator of the place of entertainment for which a ticket
     6  is being sold by such licensee, together with the price being charged by
     7  such  licensee for the resale of such ticket, so that all persons visit-
     8  ing such place may readily see the same.  The  licensee  shall  also  on
     9  request  furnish  each  purchaser of a ticket with a receipt showing the
    10  same information. Further, if the licensee conducts business through the
    11  use of the internet, the same price list,  or  hyperlink  to  the  same,
    12  shall  be  conspicuously displayed on the internet page on which tickets
    13  are accessed. In addition the licensee shall publish  in  a  conspicuous
    14  place, or hyperlink to on the internet a statement clearly detailing the
    15  required guarantees required by section 25.07 of this article.
    16    2.  An  online  resale  marketplace shall post a clear and conspicuous
    17  notice on the website that the website is for the secondary  sale  of  a
    18  ticket,  that  the  price of such ticket offered for sale may exceed the
    19  established price and shall also state the refund policy of the platform
    20  in connection with the cancellation or  postponement  of  an  event.  An
    21  online  resale  marketplace  shall  require that the user confirm having
    22  read such notice before completing any transaction.  For the purposes of
    23  this section, an "online  resale  marketplace"  means  any  operator  or
    24  manager of a website or other electronic service that resells tickets or
    25  serves as a platform to facilitate resale, or resale by way of a compet-
    26  itive bidding process.
    27    §  4. Section 25.24 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended by
    28  adding a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
    29    10. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who  is  a  licensee
    30  under  this  article who is adjudicated guilty of the following acts may
    31  lose their license and may be barred from licensure under  this  article
    32  for  a  period not to exceed three years to be determined by the depart-
    33  ment of state pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if  such  licen-
    34  see:  (a)  knowingly  utilized  ticket  purchasing  software in order to
    35  purchase tickets; (b) knowingly resold or offered  to  resell  a  ticket
    36  that  such  licensee knew was obtained using ticket purchasing software;
    37  or (c) intentionally  maintained  any  interest  in  or  maintained  any
    38  control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick-
    39  ets.
    40    §  5. Section 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended by
    41  adding a new subdivision 4 to 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
    44  resale  of  tickets shall disclose in a clear and conspicuous manner the
    45  total price of the ticket and the portion of the ticket price stated  in
    46  dollars  that represents a service charge, or any other fee or surcharge
    47  prior to accepting payment therefor.
    48    § 6. The arts and cultural affairs law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    49  section 25.12 to read as follows:
    50    §  25.12.  Professional sports organization membership pass.  Notwith-
    51  standing section 25.30 of this article, an operator of a place of enter-
    52  tainment or such operator's agent may offer paperless tickets  which  do
    53  not allow for independent transferability provided that such tickets are
    54  included in a membership pass at a discounted price offered by a profes-
    55  sional  sports  organization  for  seating  in venues or stadiums with a
    56  fixed capacity of over thirty thousand seats that guarantees entry to  a

        S. 8501--B                          4
 
     1  specified  number of events in a specified time period with seat assign-
     2  ments assigned no more than four hours prior to the commencement of  the
     3  event  and  such  seat assignment must be variable from game to game and
     4  not  intended  for  season ticket holders.   Tickets provided under such
     5  membership pass may be restricted  from  being  transferred  or  resold,
     6  including through the operator or operators' agents, and must be clearly
     7  marked  as  such prior to initial offering or sale. Such membership pass
     8  shall not mean a subscription or season ticket package offered for  sale
     9  and  shall not result in the sale of more than five percent of the maxi-
    10  mum amount of all seats that will be made available at  a  venue  for  a
    11  particular event to be sold under this section.
    12    §  7. Section 25.30 of the arts and cultural affairs law is amended by
    13  adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    14    5. No operator or  its  agent  shall  transfer  a  prospective  ticket
    15  purchaser  through  any means to a licensee or secondary ticket reseller
    16  without providing a clear and conspicuous disclosure  that  informs  the
    17  prospective purchaser that the ticket is not being offered by the opera-
    18  tor  or  its agent, but rather by a licensee or other ticket reseller in
    19  the secondary market.
    20    § 8. The arts and cultural affairs law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    21  section 25.34 to read as follows:
    22    § 25.34. Ticket websites. 1. As used in this section:
    23    (a) "Ticket website" means an internet website advertising the sale of
    24  tickets,  offering the sale of such tickets, or facilitating a secondary
    25  ticket exchange.
    26    (b) "URL" means the uniform resource locator  for  a  website  on  the
    27  internet.
    28    2.  (a)  It  shall be unlawful for any person or other entity to, with
    29  intent to mislead or deceive, own, operate, or control a ticket  website
    30  for an event scheduled at a place of entertainment to use a subdomain or
    31  domain name in a ticket website's URL that contains:
    32    (i)  the  name of the place of entertainment, provided that this para-
    33  graph shall not preclude the use of general terms to depict a  geograph-
    34  ical location or venue category;
    35    (ii) the name of the specific event, including the name of a person or
    36  entity scheduled to perform or appear at the event; or
    37    (iii)  a  name  substantially  similar to those in subparagraph (i) or
    38  (ii) of this paragraph.
    39    (b) Paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply if the person is
    40  acting on behalf of, and with  the  consent  of,  the  place  of  enter-
    41  tainment,  event,  artist  or sports team for which the website is being
    42  created.
    43    3. Any person, firm, corporation or  other  entity  who  intentionally
    44  owns,  operates,  or  controls such ticket website shall be subject to a
    45  civil penalty in an amount of no more than  one  thousand  five  hundred
    46  dollars for each such violation.
    47    4. Any person who is subject to a civil penalty under this section and
    48  has  been  assessed  a  penalty under this section in the previous three
    49  years shall be assessed a civil penalty of no more  than  five  thousand
    50  dollars for each such violation.
    51    5.  The  attorney  general  shall  have  jurisdiction  to  enforce the
    52  provisions of this section in accordance with the powers granted to  him
    53  or her by section sixty-three of the executive law.
    54    §  9.  Section 4 of chapter 704 of the laws of 1991, amending the arts
    55  and cultural affairs law and chapter 912 of the laws of 1920 relating to
    56  the regulation of boxing and wrestling matches relating  to  tickets  to

        S. 8501--B                          5

     1  places  of  entertainment, as amended by chapter 68 of the laws of 2017,
     2  is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
     4  have become a law, provided, chapter 61 of the laws of  2007  shall  not
     5  take  effect  with  respect  to the issuance of licenses or certificates
     6  under this article by the secretary of  state  or  department  of  state
     7  until  January  1, 2008 and regulation under this article by the commis-
     8  sioners of licenses of the political subdivisions  of  the  state  shall
     9  continue  through  December 31, 2007, and shall remain in full force and
    10  effect only until and including June 30, [2018] 2021 when such act shall
    11  be repealed and when, notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  the
    12  provisions  of  article  25  of title G of the arts and cultural affairs
    13  law, repealed by such act, shall be reinstituted; provided further  that
    14  section  25.11 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by section
    15  one of this act, shall survive such repeal date. Provided, however,  the
    16  printing  on  tickets  required  pursuant to sections 25.07 and 25.08 of
    17  article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as added by  this  act,
    18  shall not apply to tickets printed prior to enactment of such article so
    19  long  as  notice  of the higher maximum premium price and prohibition of
    20  sales within one thousand five hundred feet from the physical  structure
    21  of   the  place  of  entertainment,  where  applicable,  is  prominently
    22  displayed at the point of sale and at such place of entertainment.
    23    § 10. Section 11 of chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, amending the arts
    24  and cultural affairs law relating to resale  of  tickets  to  places  of
    25  entertainment,  as amended by chapter 68 of the laws of 2017, is amended
    26  to read as follows:
    27    § 11. Notwithstanding the provisions  of  article  5  of  the  general
    28  construction  law, if this act shall take effect after May 15, 2010, the
    29  provisions of article 25 of the arts and cultural  affairs  law,  except
    30  section  25.11  are  hereby revived and shall continue in full force and
    31  effect as they existed on May 15, 2010 through June 30, [2018] 2021 when
    32  upon such date such provisions shall expire and be deemed repealed.
    33    § 11. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however that:
    34    (a) sections one, two, three, four, five, seven and eight of this  act
    35  shall  take  effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have
    36  become a law; and
    37    (b) the amendments to article 25 of the arts and cultural affairs  law
    38  made by sections one, two, three, five, six, seven and eight of this act
    39  shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed
    40  therewith.
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