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S09461 Summary:

S09461 Actions:

S09461 Committee Votes:

S09461 Floor Votes:

S09461 Text:

 
                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.