Consumer protection: ticket sellers.

Existing law provides comprehensive regulation of ticket sellers, defined as a person who, for compensation, commission, or otherwise, sells admission tickets to a 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. If an event is canceled, existing law requires that the ticket price be fully refunded to the consumer whether by an original seller, event presenter, ticket reseller, or ticket resale marketplace, as specified. If an event is postponed, rescheduled, or replaced with another event at the same date and time, existing law requires the ticket seller to fully refund the purchaser upon request, as provided. Existing law makes a violation of those provisions a misdemeanor, and imposes civil penalties for certain violations. This bill would generally revise and recast those provisions to impose similar requirements, as applicable, to original sellers, event presenters, ticket resellers, and ticket resale marketplaces, as defined. Among other changes, the bill would require that the consumer of a ticket for a canceled event, if the event presenter or venue operator is a nonprofit, be provided with the choice of a full refund for the ticket price or at least one of 3 options, including receiving a gift certificate, exchanging the ticket, or donating the ticket value, as specified. The bill would require the ticket price of an event that is postponed, rescheduled, or replaced with another event on the same date and time, at the option of the consumer, to be fully refunded or credited to the account of the consumer by the person who processed the sale of the ticket, as provided. The bill would increase the amount of the civil penalty that may be imposed upon a ticket seller for failing to have a permanent business address, to include that address in any advertisement or solicitation, or to be duly licensed as may be required by any local jurisdiction by specifying that a violation of any of the provisions regulating ticket sellers is punishable by a civil fine of up to $10,000. The bill would require ticket sellers to maintain records of ticket sales, deposits, and refunds for a minimum of 12 months. The bill would require an original ticket seller or a ticket reseller, before listing, marketing, or selling a ticket, to have actual or constructive possession, as defined, of the ticket, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket. The bill would require a ticket resale marketplace to impose a similar requirement before accepting a ticket listing, as specified. The bill would also make it unlawful for an original seller or a ticket reseller to advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket if they do not have actual or constructive possession of the ticket, or have the contractual right to sell the ticket. The bill would make certain intentional acts unlawful, including purchasing tickets in excess of posted limits for an online event ticket sale and circumventing or disabling certain sales volume limitation systems. The bill would also prohibit a ticket reseller from using certain internet website displays that are substantially similar to the internet website of an event presenter, rights holder, or original seller, or any of their authorized agents, without their written consent. The bill would revise and recast various disclosure requirements on the advertisement of tickets for sale, including requiring ticket resellers and ticket resale marketplaces to disclose the location within the entertainment venue that the ticket will permit the purchaser consumer to occupy. The bill would delete the requirement that a ticket seller disclose that a service charge is added to the price of the ticket. By expanding the scope of certain requirements related to selling those tickets, the violation of which is 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.