| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to ticket sales; amending s. 817.357, |
| 3 | F.S.; defining the term "original ticket seller"; |
| 4 | requiring an original ticket seller to provide advance |
| 5 | public notice of its ticket policies for any event |
| 6 | that takes place in a facility that receives any |
| 7 | public funding; providing requirements for such |
| 8 | notice; requiring an original ticket seller to comply |
| 9 | with specified consumer protection standards for any |
| 10 | event that takes place in a facility that receives any |
| 11 | public funding; requiring each required public notice |
| 12 | of event ticket practices to be accompanied by a |
| 13 | specified certification; prohibiting specified |
| 14 | practices by original ticket sellers; providing that |
| 15 | specified violations are a violation of the Florida |
| 16 | Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; providing |
| 17 | exceptions; providing applicability; providing an |
| 18 | effective date. |
| 19 |
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| 20 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Section 1. Section 817.357, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 23 | to read: |
| 24 | 817.357 Transparency in ticket availability Purchase of |
| 25 | tickets.- |
| 26 | (1) As used in this section, the term "original ticket |
| 27 | seller" means a person other than the operator of an Internet |
| 28 | resale marketplace that makes admission tickets available for |
| 29 | initial sale, directly or indirectly, to the general public, and |
| 30 | may include the operator of a venue; the sponsor or promoter of |
| 31 | an event; a sports team participating in an event or a league |
| 32 | whose teams are participant in an event; a theater company, |
| 33 | musical group, or similar participant in an event; or an agent |
| 34 | of any such person. |
| 35 | (2) Whoever knowingly purchases from the original ticket |
| 36 | seller a quantity of tickets to an event which exceeds the |
| 37 | maximum ticket limit quantity posted by or on behalf of the |
| 38 | original ticket seller at the point of original sale or printed |
| 39 | on the tickets themselves and intends to resell such tickets |
| 40 | violates ss. 501.201-501.213, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair |
| 41 | Trade Practices Act. A person or firm is not liable under this |
| 42 | section with respect to tickets for which that person or firm is |
| 43 | the original ticket seller. For purposes of this section, the |
| 44 | term "original ticket seller" means the issuer of such ticket or |
| 45 | a person or firm who provides distribution services or ticket |
| 46 | sales services under a contract with such issuer. |
| 47 | (3) An original ticket seller shall provide advance public |
| 48 | notice of its ticket policies for any event that takes place in |
| 49 | a facility that receives any public funding. The notice shall be |
| 50 | posted conspicuously on the original ticket seller's website and |
| 51 | at physical locations where tickets are issued to the public and |
| 52 | shall include the following information: |
| 53 | (a) Identification of the event, including the date, time, |
| 54 | and location. |
| 55 | (b) The total number of event tickets to be issued for the |
| 56 | event and the number of such tickets for every class, tier, or |
| 57 | level of admission offered. |
| 58 | (c) The total number of event tickets to the event that |
| 59 | will be made available for purchase by members of the general |
| 60 | public as public sale tickets and the number of such tickets for |
| 61 | every class, tier, or level of admission offered. |
| 62 | (d) The established price for each class, tier, or level |
| 63 | of admission offered which will be designated as public sale |
| 64 | tickets, including the amount of any premium, service charge, or |
| 65 | other fee applicable to the sale of such ticket. |
| 66 | (e) Whether the ticket being sold was not made available |
| 67 | at the time of the initial public sale. |
| 68 | (f) The on-sale date and time. |
| 69 | (g) A complete list of the outlets at which such public |
| 70 | sale tickets will be made available for sale to the general |
| 71 | public on the date and at the time specified, including a list |
| 72 | of all Internet websites at which such tickets will be made |
| 73 | available. |
| 74 | (h) A toll-free telephone number for the handling of |
| 75 | customer issues regarding the original sale of the event ticket. |
| 76 | (i) The refund policy criteria and process. |
| 77 | (4) An original ticket seller shall comply with the |
| 78 | following minimum consumer protection standards for any event |
| 79 | that takes place in a facility that receives any public funding: |
| 80 | (a) Maintain a toll-free telephone number for the handling |
| 81 | of customer issues regarding the sale or resale of event |
| 82 | tickets. |
| 83 | (b) Implement and reasonably publicize a standard refund |
| 84 | policy that provides a consumer who purchased an event ticket a |
| 85 | full refund if: |
| 86 | 1. The event is canceled before the scheduled occurrence |
| 87 | of the event and is not rescheduled; |
| 88 | 2. The event ticket received by the purchaser is |
| 89 | counterfeit; |
| 90 | 3. The event ticket has been canceled by the ticket issuer |
| 91 | for nonpayment by the original purchaser or for any reason other |
| 92 | than an act or omission of the consumer; |
| 93 | 4. The event ticket materially and to the detriment of the |
| 94 | consumer fails to conform to the description provided by the |
| 95 | seller or reseller; or |
| 96 | 5. The event ticket was not delivered to the consumer |
| 97 | prior to the occurrence of the event, unless such failure of |
| 98 | delivery was due to any act or omission of the consumer. |
| 99 |
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| 100 | The full refund must include the full price paid by the consumer |
| 101 | for the event ticket, together with any fees charged in |
| 102 | connection with that purchase, including, but not limited to, |
| 103 | convenience fees, processing fees, at home printing charges, |
| 104 | shipping and handling charges, or delivery fees. The original |
| 105 | ticket seller may condition entitlement to a refund upon timely |
| 106 | return of the ticket purchased and may include reasonable |
| 107 | safeguards against abuse of the policy. |
| 108 | (5) Each public notice of event ticket practices required |
| 109 | by this section shall be accompanied by a certification that the |
| 110 | original ticket seller is in compliance with all the |
| 111 | requirements of this section, that all tickets designated as |
| 112 | public sale tickets will in fact be made available for sale to |
| 113 | the general public as stated in the notice, and that all the |
| 114 | information contained in the notice is true and correct to the |
| 115 | best of the knowledge and belief of the party submitting the |
| 116 | notice. |
| 117 | (6) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is |
| 118 | unlawful for an original ticket seller to engage in any of the |
| 119 | following: |
| 120 | (a) Purport to impose license or contractual terms on the |
| 121 | initial sale of event tickets, including, but not limited to, |
| 122 | terms printed on the back of a physical ticket that prohibit |
| 123 | resale of the ticket or that restrict the price or other terms |
| 124 | and conditions under which a ticket may be resold or |
| 125 | transferred. |
| 126 | (b) Require the purchaser of a ticket, whether for a |
| 127 | single event or for a series or season of events, to agree not |
| 128 | to resell the ticket or to resell the ticket only through a |
| 129 | specific channel approved by the ticket issuer. |
| 130 | (c) Bring legal action based on an unlawful prohibition or |
| 131 | restriction on resale of an event ticket against a purchaser who |
| 132 | resells or offers to resell an event ticket without permission |
| 133 | of the ticket issuer, or in violation of a restriction |
| 134 | purportedly imposed by the ticket issuer; persons who facilitate |
| 135 | or provide services for the resale of event tickets without such |
| 136 | permission or in alleged violation of such a restriction; or the |
| 137 | operator of a physical or electronic marketplace in which a |
| 138 | ticket is offered for resale without such permission, or in |
| 139 | alleged violation of such a restriction. |
| 140 | (d) Impose any penalty on a ticket purchaser who resells |
| 141 | or offers to resell an event ticket without permission or in |
| 142 | violation of a restriction purportedly imposed by the ticket |
| 143 | issuer or treat such a purchaser in any material way less |
| 144 | favorably than a similarly situated purchaser who does not |
| 145 | resell or offer to resell an event ticket or who complies with |
| 146 | resale restrictions purportedly imposed by the ticket issuer. |
| 147 | (e) Employ any means, including technological means, for |
| 148 | the purpose or with the foreseeable effect of prohibiting or |
| 149 | restricting the resale of event tickets, including, but not |
| 150 | limited to, issuing event tickets in a form that is not readily |
| 151 | transferrable to a subsequent purchaser or conditioning entry |
| 152 | into the venue on presentation of a token such as the original |
| 153 | purchaser's credit card or state-issued identification card that |
| 154 | cannot be readily transferred to a subsequent purchaser. |
| 155 | (f) Seek to limit or restrict the price, or to impose a |
| 156 | minimum or maximum price, at which an event ticket may be |
| 157 | resold. |
| 158 | (7) Any original ticket seller or its agent who sells a |
| 159 | ticket without providing proper notice pursuant to subsection |
| 160 | (3) or fails to comply with the other requirements in this |
| 161 | section violates part II of chapter 501, the Florida Deceptive |
| 162 | and Unfair Trade Practices Act. |
| 163 | (8) This section does not apply to: |
| 164 | (a) A sponsor or promoter of an event intended solely to |
| 165 | benefit a charitable endeavor for which all tickets are |
| 166 | distributed free of charge. |
| 167 | (b) A not-for-profit educational institution, with respect |
| 168 | to an athletic event involving athletes or teams of the |
| 169 | institution, to the extent that such restrictions apply to |
| 170 | tickets initially distributed by the institution to any of the |
| 171 | following: |
| 172 | 1. Students, faculty, staff members, or alumni without |
| 173 | charge. |
| 174 | 2. Members of bona fide booster organizations consisting |
| 175 | of those making substantial financial contributions to the |
| 176 | institution. |
| 177 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012, and |
| 178 | apply to all ticket sales made on or after that date. |