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AB-2203 Ticket sellers: electronic tickets.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 04/30/24 - Amended Assembly

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AB2203:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 30, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 04, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 14, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2203

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 07, 2024

An act to add Section 22502.4 to Chapter 21.2 (commencing with Section 22513) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to ticket sellers.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2203, as amended, McCarty. Ticket sellers: electronic tickets.
Existing law regulates ticket sellers, defined as a person who, for compensation, commission, or otherwise, sells admission tickets to sporting, musical, theater, or any other entertainment event. In this regard, existing law, among other things, prohibits specified ticket selling practices and imposes certain recordkeeping and disclosure requirements. Existing law provides various exemptions from those provisions, including, among others, exempting a person who sells 6 tickets or less to any one single event, as specified. Existing law makes a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor, and imposes civil penalties for certain violations.

This bill, notwithstanding the above-described exemption, would make it unlawful for a ticket seller to sell the same ticket to more than one person on the secondary market. By imposing new requirements on ticket sellers, the violation of which would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would require a ticket seller to immediately deliver a proof of purchase to a consumer, and would require a venue operator to honor that proof of purchase in lieu of the ticket if specified conditions are met. The bill would impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500 for a violation of these requirements, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 21.2 (commencing with Section 22513) is added to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  21.2. Fair Ticketing Practices Act

22513.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Consumer” means a natural person who purchases a ticket to an entertainment event with the purpose of attending that event.
(b) “Entertainment event” means a scheduled performance at a specific date, time, and location, including, but not limited to, a theatrical or operatic performance, concert, or sporting event, including, but not limited to, football, basketball, baseball, boxing, tennis, hockey, or any other sport.
(c) “Entertainment venue” means a publicly or privately owned place that holds entertainment events, including, but not limited to, an arena, auditorium, concert hall, live performance venue, racetrack, stadium, theater, or other place where entertainment events are presented for a price of admission. “Entertainment venue” does not include an amusement park, fairground, museum, or other venue where the primary purpose is to provide interactive entertainment that allows the consumer to engage with different exhibits and activities.
(d) “Proof of purchase” means a receipt for the purchase of a ticket that is delivered electronically in a manner that allows it to be downloaded, copied, or saved in an electronic wallet and that contains a unique identifier linking it to the ticket purchased by the consumer.
(e) “Ticket seller” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 22503 and includes both the primary and secondary sale of tickets. “Ticket seller” includes a primary contractor, as defined in Section 22503.5, an agent of a ticket seller, and an online ticket selling marketplace where consumers are able to sell and purchase tickets for an entertainment event.
(f) “Venue operator” means any person who owns, operates, manages, or controls an entertainment venue.

22513.1.
 (a) Immediately upon selling a ticket to an entertainment event, a ticket seller shall deliver a proof of purchase to the consumer.
(b) A venue operator shall honor a proof of purchase for entrance to an entertainment event in lieu of the ticket if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The consumer cannot access the ticket they purchased.
(2) The proof of purchase provided is legitimate.
(3) The proof of purchase provided is linked to a ticket for the event.
(4) The ticket to which the proof of purchase is linked has not already been used to gain admission to the event.

22513.2.
 A person who violates this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation, which may be assessed and recovered in an action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel, a city attorney, or a city prosecutor. In addition, the court shall award a prevailing public prosecutor reasonable costs and attorney’s fees. For purposes of this section, each ticket sold without a proof of purchase or each proof of purchase not honored by a venue operator in violation of this section shall constitute a separate violation. The remedies provided by this section are in addition to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this state.

SECTION 1.Section 22502.4 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:
22502.4.

Notwithstanding Section 22504, it shall be unlawful for a ticket seller to sell the same ticket to more than one person on the secondary market.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.