HF 1989

2nd Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/22/2024 03:40pm

A bill for an act
relating to consumer protection; regulating ticket sales to places of entertainment;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325F.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [325F.676] TICKET SALES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.
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new text begin (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of commerce.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Entertainment" means all forms of entertainment, including but not limited to
theatrical or operatic performances, concerts, motion pictures, entertainment at fairgrounds,
amusement parks, athletic competitions and other sports, and all other forms of diversion,
recreation, or show.
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new text begin (d) "Internet domain name" means a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an Internet
host or service, which is assigned through a centralized Internet naming authority, and which
is composed of a series of character strings separated by periods with the rightmost string
specifying the top of the hierarchy.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Established price" means the price fixed at the time of original sale by the operator
of any place of entertainment for admission thereto, exclusive of any fee or surcharge to a
purchaser.
new text end

new text begin (f) "Online ticket marketplace" means the administrator of a website or other electronic
service, including an agent, employee, or assignee of such administrator, that sells tickets
or maintains a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets.
new text end

new text begin (g) "Operator" means a person, including an agent, employee, or assignee of such person,
who:
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new text begin (1) owns, operates, or controls a place of entertainment;
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new text begin (2) produces entertainment; or
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new text begin (3) sells a ticket to an entertainment for original sale.
new text end

new text begin (h) "Person" means a party, individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other
legal entity.
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new text begin (i) "Place of entertainment" means an entertainment facility, including but not limited
to an amphitheater, theater, stadium, arena, racetrack, museum, amusement park, venue,
club, or other place where performances, concerts, exhibits, athletic games, contests, or
other forms of entertainment are held.
new text end

new text begin (j) "Ticket" means any evidence of the right of entry to any place of entertainment.
new text end

new text begin (k) "Ticket reseller" means a person that offers or sells tickets for resale after the original
sale by the operator to an entertainment event located in this state and includes an operator
to the extent that the operator offers or sells tickets for resale. Sales by a ticket reseller
includes sales by any means, including but not limited to in-person, or by telephone, mail,
delivery service, facsimile, Internet, email or other electronic means. A ticket reseller does
not include a person that purchases a ticket solely for their own use or the use of their
invitees, employees, or agents or who purchases a ticket on behalf of others and resells the
ticket to invitees, employees, or agents.
new text end

new text begin (l) "URL" means a uniform resource locator for a website on the Internet.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Disclosures. new text end

new text begin (a) An operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace must,
at all times during the ticket listing and purchasing process, disclose in an easily readable
and conspicuous manner and in dollars:
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new text begin (1) the total cost of the ticket, inclusive of all fees and surcharges that must be paid in
order to purchase the ticket;
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new text begin (2) the portion of the ticket price that represents a service charge;
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new text begin (3) any other fee or surcharge to the purchaser; and
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new text begin (4) the established price disclosure of subtotals, fees, charges, and all other components
of the total price must not be false or misleading, and shall not be presented more prominently
or in the same or larger size than the total price. The price of a ticket must not increase with
respect to a particular purchaser after the ticket is first displayed to such purchaser, excluding
reasonable fees for the delivery of nonelectronic tickets based on the delivery method
selected by the purchaser, which must be disclosed prior to accepting payment.
new text end

new text begin (b) A ticket reseller must disclose in an easily readable and conspicuous manner on its
website:
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new text begin (1) that the website is a ticket reseller and that the price of the ticket offered for sale may
be higher or lower than the original purchase price;
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new text begin (2) the refund policy of the ticket reseller in connection with the cancellation or
postponement of an entertainment;
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new text begin (3) that the website is associated with a ticket reseller; and
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new text begin (4) that the purchaser is responsible for checking with the place of entertainment for
information on changes to the event or cancellations prior to the events start time.
new text end

new text begin A ticket reseller must require a purchaser to confirm having read the disclosures required
by this paragraph before completing a transaction.
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new text begin (c) A ticket reseller must provide proof of purchase to the purchaser which must include
all event and ticket information within 24 hours of the purchase.
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new text begin (f) An online ticket marketplace must not use any combination of text, images, trademark,
copyright, web designs, or Internet addresses that is identical or substantially similar to text,
images, trademark, copyright, web designs, or Internet addresses associated with an operator
or a place of entertainment without the written permission of the operator of such place of
entertainment duly authorized to provide such permission.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Prohibitions. new text end

new text begin (a) A ticket reseller must not:
new text end

new text begin (1) sell more than one copy of the same ticket to a place of entertainment;
new text end

new text begin (2) employ another person directly or indirectly to wait in line to purchase tickets for
the purpose of reselling the tickets if the practice is prohibited by an operator or if the place
of entertainment has posted a policy prohibiting the practice;
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new text begin (3) sell a ticket without first informing the purchaser of the location of the place of
entertainment and the ticket's assigned seat, including but not limited to the seat number,
row, and section number of the seat;
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new text begin (4) sell a ticket for which there is no assigned seat without first informing the purchaser
of the general admission area to which the ticket corresponds;
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new text begin (5) advertise, offer for sale, or contract for the sale of a ticket before the ticket has been
made available to the public, including via presale, without first obtaining permission from
the operator, and having actual or constructive possession of such ticket, unless the ticket
reseller owns the ticket pursuant to a season ticket package purchased by the ticket reseller.
new text end

new text begin (b) A person must not use or cause to be used an Internet domain name or subdomain
thereof in an operator, ticket reseller, or online ticket marketplace website's URL that contains
any of the following, unless acting on behalf of the place of entertainment, event, or person
scheduled to perform or appear at the event:
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new text begin (1) the name of a place of entertainment;
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new text begin (2) the name of an event, including the name of a person scheduled to perform or appear
at the event; or
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new text begin (3) a name substantially similar to those described in clause (1) or (2).
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new text begin (c) A person must not:
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new text begin (1) circumvent any portion of the process for purchasing a ticket on the Internet or
facilitate unauthorized entry for admission to a place of entertainment, including but not
limited to security or identity validation measures or an access control system; or
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new text begin (2) disguise the identity of a purchaser for the purpose of purchasing a number of tickets
for admission to a place of entertainment that exceeds the maximum number of tickets
allowed for purchase by a person.
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new text begin (d) A person must not sell a ticket obtained in violation of paragraph (c) if the person:
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new text begin (1) participated in or had the ability to control the conduct committed in violation of
paragraph (c); or
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new text begin (2) knew that the ticket was acquired in violation of paragraph (c).
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new text begin (e) An operator or ticket reseller must not sell a ticket unless:
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new text begin (1) the ticket is in the possession or constructive possession of the operator or ticket
reseller; or
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new text begin (2) the ticket reseller has a written contract with the operator to obtain the ticket.
new text end

new text begin (f) Pursuant to United States Code, title 15, section 45c, circumvention of a security
measure, access control system, or other technological control measure used by an online
ticket marketplace to enforce posted event ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity
of posted online ticket purchasing order rules is prohibited.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Exceptions. new text end

new text begin The obligations and prohibitions of this section do not apply to
any person, unless the person engaged in aggregate transactions that were equal to or greater
than $5,000.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Commissioner data requests; data practices. new text end

new text begin Upon request by the
commissioner, an online ticket marketplace must disclose to the commissioner information
about technology and methods used in a violation of subdivision 3, paragraph (f). Data
collected or maintained by the commissioner under this subdivision are civil investigative
data under section 13.39, and the commissioner may share with the attorney general any
not public data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 8a, received under this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2024, and applies to tickets sold
on or after that date.
new text end