Bill Text: CA AB329 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Ticket sellers: equitable online ticket buying process: sale or use of circumventing software.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Passed) 2013-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 325, Statutes of 2013. [AB329 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB329-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 329	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 21, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Pan
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Fong and Wieckowski)
   (Coauthors: Senators Beall and Cannella)

                        FEBRUARY 13, 2013

   An act to  amend Sections 22501, 22502, 22502.1, 22502.2,
22502.3, and 22507 of, to amend the heading of Chapter 21 (commencing
with Section 22500) of Division 8 of, to amend and renumber Section
22500 of, to  add Section  22500 to, to repeal
Sections 22503.5, 22503.6, and 22511 of, and to repeal and add
Sections 22503,   22504, 22506, 22508, 22509, and
22510 of,   22505.5 to  the Business and
Professions Code, relating to business.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 329, as amended, Pan. Ticket  issuers and resellers.
  sellers: equitable online ticket buying process: sale
or use of circumventing software. 
   Existing law provides for the comprehensive regulation of ticket
sellers, and, among other things, requires disclosure of specified
information to consumers and the maintenance of records and a
permanent business address. Existing law provides that a violation of
the laws regulating ticket sellers is a misdemeanor.
   This bill would  revise and recast these provisions to
regulate ticket issuers and extend certain requirements to ticket
resellers, as defined, regarding, among other things, restrictions
placed on the resale of event tickets, as defined, consumer
protection requirements, and the imposition of civil penalties for a
violation of specified requirements. The bill would further 
 additionally  provide that a person who intentionally uses
software to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or
other control or measure on a ticket  issuer's or ticket
reseller's   seller's  Internet Web site that is
used to ensure an equitable ticket buying process is guilty of a
misdemeanor.  The bill would authorize the Department of
Consumer Affairs to issue regulations to implement these provisions,
as specified. 
   Because this bill would create a new crime  and expand the
scope of an existing crime  , it 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    The heading of Chapter 21
(commencing with Section 22500) of Division 8 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
      CHAPTER 21.  TICKET ISSUERS AND TICKET RESELLERS

 
  SEC. 2.    Section 22500 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22500.  For purposes of this chapter:
   (a) "Event" means any concert, theatrical performance, sporting
event, exhibition, show, or similar scheduled activity taking place
in the state that is open to the general public, for which an
admission fee is charged, and that is held in a venue accommodating
more than 1,000 people, including, but not limited to, venues for
which public funding has been provided for the construction,
maintenance, or operation of the venue or any infrastructure related
thereto or that are located on property owned by a municipality or
other government entity.
   (b) "Event ticket" means any physical, electronic, or other form
of a certificate, document, voucher, token, or other evidence
indicating that the bearer, possessor, or person entitled to
possession through purchase or otherwise has either a revocable or
irrevocable right, privilege, or license to enter an event venue or
occupy a particular seat or area in a venue with respect to one or
more events or an entitlement to purchase that right, privilege, or
license with respect to one or more future events.
   (c) "Online marketplace" means an Internet Web site that provides
a forum for the resale of event tickets. "Online marketplace" does
not include the Internet Web site of a reseller or ticket issuer,
unless that reseller or ticket issuer provides a forum for the resale
of event tickets on its Internet Web site.
   (d) "Person" means any natural person, partnership, corporation,
association, or other legal entity.
   (e) "Public funding" means the provision by the state, any county,
city and county, municipality, or other subdivision of the state, or
by any local development corporation or similar instrumentality
whose creation was authorized by the state or by any county, city and
county, municipality, or other subdivision of the state, of funding,
grants, payments, or financial support, including the use of public
funds through or from the use of the issuance of tax-exempt bonds,
payments in lieu of taxes, property tax abatements, lotteries, sales
taxes, or levies on parking, hotels, alcohol, car rentals,
cigarettes, or other goods or services.
   (f) "Resale" includes any form of transfer or alienation, or
offering for transfer or alienation, of possession or entitlement to
possession of an event ticket from one person to another, with or
without consideration, whether in person or by means of telephone,
mail, delivery service, facsimile, Internet, email, or other
electronic means. "Resale" does not include the initial sale of an
event ticket by a ticket issuer.
   (g) "Ticket issuer" means any person that makes event tickets
available, directly or indirectly for initial sale, to the general
public, and may include the operator of a venue, the sponsor or
promoter of an event, a sports team participating in an event or a
league whose teams are participating in an event, a theater company,
musical group, or similar participant in an event, or an agent of any
such person. "Ticket issuer" does not include a person involved in,
or facilitating, event ticket resale, an officially appointed agent
of an air carrier, ocean carrier, or motor coach carrier who
purchases or sells event tickets in conjunction with a tour package
accomplished through a primary event promoter or his or her agent by
written agreement, or a nonprofit charitable organization that is
exempt from tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

   (h) "Ticket reseller" means any person engaging in the resale of
event tickets. "Ticket reseller" does not include a person who
resells no more than 80 event tickets in any 12-month period.
   (i) "Venue" means the theater, stadium, field, hall, or other
facility where an event takes place.  
  SEC. 3.    Section 22500 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended and renumbered to read:
   22500.5.  (a) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall have a
permanent business address from which tickets may only be sold and
that address shall be included in any advertisement or solicitation.
A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall be duly licensed as may be
required by any local jurisdiction.
   (b) A violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months,
or by fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500),
or by both.
   (c) Any person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in
a violation of this section 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 a civil action
brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the
Attorney General, or a district attorney, or a city attorney of a
city having a population in excess of 750,000, and, with the consent
of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in any city, county,
or city and county having a full-time prosecutor in any court of
competent jurisdiction. Payment of the civil penalty shall be made
pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 17206. For
the purposes of this section, each event ticket sold or offered for
sale in violation of this section shall constitute a separate
violation. The remedies provided by this section are cumulative to
each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all other
laws of this state.  
  SEC. 4.    Section 22501 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22501.  A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall maintain records
of event ticket sales, deposits, and refunds.  
  SEC. 5.    Section 22502 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22502.  (a) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall, prior to
sale, disclose to the purchaser by means of description or a map the
location of the seat or seats represented by the event ticket or
tickets.
   (b) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall disclose that a
service charge is imposed by the ticket issuer or ticket reseller and
is added to the actual event ticket price by the issuer or ticket
reseller in any advertisement or promotion for any event by the
ticket issuer or ticket reseller.
   (c) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller who includes tickets to an
event in conjunction with the sale of a tour or event package,
including, among other things, transportation, meals, lodging, or
beverages, shall disclose in any advertisements or promotional
materials the price charged or allotted for the event tickets.
 
  SEC. 6.    Section 22502.1 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22502.1.  (a) It shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer or ticket
reseller to contract for the sale of event tickets or accept
consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for the sale of
event tickets unless the ticket issuer or ticket reseller meets one
or more of the following requirements:
   (1) The ticket issuer or ticket reseller has the event ticket in
his or her possession.
   (2) The ticket issuer or ticket reseller has a written contract to
obtain the offered event ticket at a certain price from a person in
possession of the event ticket or from a person who has a contractual
right to obtain the event ticket from the primary contractor.
   (3) The ticket issuer or ticket reseller informs the purchaser
orally at the time of the contract or receipt of consideration,
whichever is earlier, and in writing within two business days, that
the seller does not have possession of the event tickets, has no
contract to obtain the offered event ticket at a certain price from a
person in possession of the event ticket or from a person who has a
contractual right to obtain the event ticket from the primary
contractor, and may not be able to supply the event ticket at the
contracted price or range of prices.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a ticket issuer or
ticket reseller from accepting a deposit from a prospective purchaser
as part of an agreement that the ticket issuer or ticket reseller
will make best efforts to obtain an event ticket at a specified price
or price range and within a specified time, provided that the ticket
issuer or ticket reseller informs the purchaser orally at the time
of the contract or receipt of consideration, whichever is earlier,
and in writing within two days, of the terms of the deposit
agreement, and includes in the oral and written notice the
disclosures otherwise required by this section.  
  SEC. 7.    Section 22502.2 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22502.2.  It shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer or ticket
reseller to represent that he or she can deliver or cause to be
delivered an event ticket at a specific price or within a specific
price range and to fail to deliver within a reasonable time or by a
contracted time the event tickets at or below the price stated or
within the range of prices stated.  
  SEC. 8.   Section 22502.3 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22502.3.  In addition to other remedies, a ticket issuer or ticket
reseller who violates Section 22502.1 or 22502.2 and fails to supply
an event ticket at or below a contracted price or within a
contracted price range shall be civilly liable to the event ticket
purchaser for two times the contracted price of the event ticket, in
addition to any sum expended by the purchaser in nonrefundable
expenses for attending or attempting to attend the event in good
faith reliance on seat or space availability, and reasonable attorney'
s fees and court costs.  
  SEC. 9.    Section 22503 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 10.    Section 22503 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22503.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it shall
be unlawful for any ticket issuer or its authorized agent to do any
of the following:
   (1) Impose any terms or conditions restricting the transferability
of an event ticket or otherwise prohibit a person from reselling the
event ticket on an online marketplace not owned or operated by the
ticket issuer or its authorized agent.
   (2) Impose any terms or conditions restricting the printing or
forwarding of the event ticket, or impose any other pickup or
transfer restrictions, for the purpose or with the foreseeable effect
of prohibiting the resale or gratuitous transfer of an event ticket.

   (3) Employ technological measures for the purpose or with the
foreseeable effect of prohibiting or restricting the resale or
gratuitous transfer of an event ticket, including, but not limited
to, issuing an event ticket in an electronic form that is not readily
transferrable to a subsequent purchaser or user, or conditioning
entry into the venue on presentation of a token, like the original
purchaser's credit card or state-issued identification card, that
cannot be readily transferred to a subsequent purchaser or user.
   (4) Seek to limit or restrict the price, or to impose a minimum or
maximum price, at which an event ticket may be resold.
   (b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it shall be
unlawful for a ticket issuer or reseller to fail to meet the
requirements of Section 22504.  
  SEC. 11.    Section 22503.5 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 12.    Section 22503.6 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 13.    Section 22504 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 14.    Section 22504 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22504.  (a) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall maintain a
toll-free telephone number for complaints and inquiries regarding its
activities in the sale or resale of event tickets.
   (b) A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall implement and
reasonably publicize a standard refund policy that meets, at the
minimum, the requirements of Section 22506. A standard refund policy
may condition entitlement to a refund upon timely return of the event
ticket purchased and may include reasonable safeguards against abuse
of the policy.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any
person subject to this section from implementing consumer protection
policies that exceed the minimum standards set forth in this section
and that are otherwise in compliance with this chapter. 

  SEC. 15.    Section 22506 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 16.    Section 22506 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22506.  A ticket issuer or ticket reseller shall do all of the
following:
   (a) Provide a consumer who purchases an event ticket a full refund
if the event is canceled before the scheduled occurrence of the
event and is not rescheduled, the event ticket received by the
purchaser is counterfeited, the event ticket is canceled by the
ticket issuer for nonpayment by the original purchaser or for any
reason other than an act or omission of the consumer, the event
ticket materially, and to the detriment of the consumer, fails to
conform to the description provided by the seller or reseller, or the
event ticket was not delivered to the consumer prior to the
occurrence of the event, unless the failure of delivery was due to
any act or omission of the consumer.
   (b) Include in the full refund required under subdivision (a) the
full price paid by the consumer for the event ticket, together with
any fees charged in connection with that purchase, including, but not
limited to, convenience fees, processing fees, at-home printing
charges, shipping and handling charges, and delivery fees. 

  SEC. 17.    Section 22507 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   22507.  (a) Any local jurisdiction may require a ticket issuer or
ticket reseller to provide a bond of not more than fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000) to provide for any refunds that may be required by
this section.
   (b) Nothing in this chapter prohibits any local agency from
imposing any local fees or taxes.  
  SEC. 18.    Section 22508 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed. 
   SEC. 19.   SECTION 1.   Section 
22508   22505.5  is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:
    22508.   22505.5.   A person who
intentionally uses or sells software to circumvent a security
measure, access control system, or other control or measure on a
ticket  issuer's or ticket reseller's   seller's
 Internet Web site that is used to ensure an equitable ticket
buying process is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
  SEC. 20.    Section 22509 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 21.    Section 22509 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22509.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to invalidate
restrictions on the resale of event tickets imposed by either of the
following:
   (a) Sponsors or promoters of events intended solely to benefit
charitable endeavors for which all event tickets are distributed free
of charge.
   (b) Nonprofit educational institutions with respect to athletic
events involving athletes or teams of those institutions, to the
extent the restrictions apply to event tickets initially distributed
to students, faculty, staff members, or alumni without charge or to
members of a bona fide booster organization consisting of those
making substantial financial contributions to the institution.
 
  SEC. 22.    Section 22510 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 23.    Section 22510 is added to the Business
and Professions Code, to read:
   22510.  The Department of Consumer Affairs may issue regulations
to implement the provisions of this chapter, including, but not
limited to, regulations that do both of the following:
   (a) Prescribe allowable methods for marking of public sales
tickets, including, but not limited to, the marking of event tickets
that are not tangible.
   (b) Define categories of persons otherwise subject to this chapter
who are temporarily or indefinitely excluded from the provisions of
this chapter, or against whom the Attorney General determines to
forbear the enforcement of this chapter in whole or in part, if the
Attorney General determines the activities of those persons have a
relatively insignificant impact on commerce in event tickets.
 
  SEC. 24.    Section 22511 of the Business and
Professions Code is repealed. 
   SEC. 25.   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.