Bill Text: NY A05881 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts into law components of legislation that relate to live event ticket sales; institutes civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software; institutes new penalties for second offenses for licensees and for any person, firm, corporation or entity who is made aware of the utilization of ticket purchasing software and does not notify the attorney general of such utilization (Part A); establishes an annual professional reseller renewal fee; requires professional ticket resellers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number as a condition of utilizing an online resale marketplace to resell tickets (Part B); provides criteria for when a purchaser may obtain a full refund of the amount paid for a ticket; permits a refund when a purchaser cannot attend an event due to a medical necessity (Part C); relates to resale requirements for tickets; requires that if a licensee or other ticket reseller doesn't have possession of the ticket, then they shall have a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person or entity in possession of the ticket or from a person or entity who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, and tickets to the event have been placed on sale by the venue or entity hosting the event or its authorized agent before the licensee or reseller can advertise the sale of the tickets (Part D); relates to unlawful charges in connection with tickets; permits reasonable charges for costs actually rendered or otherwise in connection to customer support, technological and software infrastructure, and actual operational costs for sales away from the box office; defines terms (Part E); relates to the availability of tickets for sale to the general public; defines a term (Part F); reduces the minimum seating capacity requirement for a professional sports organization membership pass to over thirteen thousand five hundred seats in a venue or stadium (Part G); prohibits exclusivity clauses in contracts between operators of places of entertainment and primary ticket vendors (Part H); relates to the resale of tickets included in a subscription or season ticket package (Part I).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to tourism, parks, arts and sports development [A05881 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05881-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5881 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 23, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development AN ACT to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to insti- tuting civil penalties for utilizing ticket purchasing software (Part A); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to estab- lishing an annual professional reseller renewal fee and requiring professional ticket resellers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number (Part B); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to providing criteria for when a purchaser may obtain a full refund of the amount paid for a ticket (Part C); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to resale requirements for tickets (Part D); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to unlawful charges in connection with tick- ets (Part E); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the availability of tickets for sale to the general public (Part F); to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to minimum seating capacity requirements for a professional sports organization membership pass (Part G); to amend the general obligations law, in relation to prohibiting exclusivity clauses in contracts between oper- ators of places of entertainment and primary ticket vendors (Part H); and to amend the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to the resale of tickets included in a subscription or season ticket package (Part I) The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation that 2 relate to live event ticket sales. Each component is wholly contained 3 within a Part identified as Parts A through I. The effective date for 4 each particular provision contained within such Part is set forth in the 5 last section of such Part. Any provision in any section contained within 6 a Part, including the effective date of the Part, which makes reference 7 to a section "of this act", when used in connection with that particular 8 component, shall be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding 9 section of the Part in which it is found, unless noted otherwise. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09681-01-3A. 5881 2 1 PART A 2 Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 25.24 of the arts and cultural 3 affairs law, as added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to 4 read as follows: 5 10. [Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who is a licensee6under this article who is adjudicated guilty of the following acts may7lose their license and may be barred from licensure under this article8for a period not to exceed three years to be determined by the depart-9ment of state pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if such licen-10see: (a) knowingly utilized ticket purchasing software in order to11purchase tickets; (b) knowingly resold or offered to resell a ticket12that such licensee knew was obtained using ticket purchasing software;13or (c) intentionally maintained any interest in or maintained any14control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick-15ets.] (a) Any person, firm, corporation, or other entity who is a licen- 16 see under this article who is adjudicated guilty of the following acts 17 shall lose their license and shall be permanently barred from licensure 18 under this article pursuant to section 25.31 of this article if such 19 licensee: (i) knowingly utilized ticket purchasing software in order to 20 purchase tickets; (ii) knowingly resold or offered to resell a ticket 21 that such licensee knew was obtained using ticket purchasing software; 22 or (iii) intentionally maintained any interest in or maintained any 23 control of the operation of ticket purchasing software to purchase tick- 24 ets. 25 (b) Failure to notify the attorney general of such acts pursuant to 26 this article shall result in a violation and such person, firm, corpo- 27 ration or other entity who fails to make such notification shall be 28 subject to a civil penalty in an amount of no less than five hundred 29 dollars and no more than one thousand dollars per ticket purchased or 30 resold utilizing such ticket purchasing software. 31 (c) Any person, firm, corporation or other entity who notifies the 32 attorney general of such acts pursuant to this article, where the attor- 33 ney general takes action pursuant to the notification which results in a 34 monetary penalty assessed under a violation pursuant to this article, 35 shall be entitled to five percent of the final penalty collected as a 36 result of such violation. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 38 have become a law. 39 PART B 40 Section 1. Section 25.03 of the arts and cultural affairs law is 41 amended by adding a new subdivision 11 to read as follows: 42 11. "Professional reseller" means a reseller, also referred to as a 43 ticket broker, and includes any person, firm, corporation or other enti- 44 ty that is involved in the business of the resale of tickets. Individ- 45 uals who do not regularly engage in the business of reselling tickets, 46 who resell fewer than thirty tickets per year and who obtain the tickets 47 for such individual's personal use or the use of friends and family, are 48 not deemed professional resellers for the purposes of this article. 49 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 25.13 of the arts and cultural affairs 50 law, as amended by chapter 374 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read 51 as follows: 52 1. (a) No [person, firm or corporation] professional reseller shall 53 resell or engage in the business of reselling any tickets to a place ofA. 5881 3 1 entertainment or operate an internet website or any other electronic 2 service that provides a mechanism for two or more parties to participate 3 in a resale transaction or that facilitates resale transactions by the 4 means of an auction, or own, conduct or maintain any office, branch 5 office, bureau, agency or sub-agency for such business without having 6 first procured a license or certificate for each location at which busi- 7 ness will be conducted from the secretary of state. Any operator or 8 manager of a website that serves as a platform to facilitate resale, or 9 resale by way of a competitive bidding process, solely between third 10 parties and does not in any other manner engage in resales of tickets to 11 places of entertainment shall be exempt from the licensing requirements 12 of this section. The department of state shall issue and deliver to such 13 applicant a certificate or license to conduct such business and to own, 14 conduct or maintain a bureau, agency, sub-agency, office or branch 15 office for the conduct of such business on the premises stated in such 16 application upon the payment by or on behalf of the applicant of a fee 17 of five thousand dollars and shall be renewed upon the payment of [a18like fee annually.] an annual renewal fee pursuant to paragraph (b) of 19 this subdivision. Such license or certificate shall not be transferred 20 or assigned, except by permission of the secretary of state. Such 21 license or certificate shall run to the first day of January next ensu- 22 ing the date thereof, unless sooner revoked by the secretary of state. 23 Such license or certificate shall be granted upon a written application 24 setting forth such information as the secretary of state may require in 25 order to enable him or her to carry into effect the provisions of this 26 article and shall be accompanied by proof satisfactory to the secretary 27 of state of the moral character of the applicant. 28 (b) The annual professional reseller renewal fee shall be: 29 (i) for a professional reseller that resells more than thirty tickets 30 but less than one hundred tickets per year, an annual renewal fee of two 31 thousand dollars to maintain a professional reseller license; 32 (ii) for a professional reseller that resells one hundred or more 33 tickets but less than two hundred tickets per year, an annual renewal 34 fee of three thousand dollars to maintain a professional reseller 35 license; and 36 (iii) for a professional reseller that resells two hundred or more 37 tickets per year, an annual renewal fee of four thousand dollars to 38 maintain a professional reseller license. 39 (c) "Tickets" shall mean, for purposes of paragraph (b) of this subdi- 40 vision: (i) each resold ticket not originally purchased by the profes- 41 sional reseller as part of a season or subscription ticket package; or 42 (ii) a set of resold tickets originally purchased by the professional 43 reseller as part of a season or subscription ticket package. 44 § 3. Section 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by 45 chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 46 § 25.19. Posting of license or certificate. 1. For the purposes of 47 this section, "online resale marketplace" means any operator or manager 48 of a website or other electronic service that resells tickets or serves 49 as a platform to facilitate resale, or resale by way of a competitive 50 bidding process. 51 2. Immediately upon the receipt of the license or certificate issued 52 pursuant to this article by the secretary of state, the licensee named 53 therein shall cause such license to be posted and at all times displayed 54 in a conspicuous place in the principal office of such business for 55 which it is issued, and shall cause the certificate for each branch 56 office, bureau, agency or sub-agency to be posted and at all timesA. 5881 4 1 displayed in a conspicuous place in such branch office, bureau, agency 2 or sub-agency for which it is issued, so that all persons visiting such 3 principal office, branch office, bureau, agency or sub-agency may readi- 4 ly see the same, and if such licensee does business on the internet, 5 including via a retail ticket purchasing platform, to provide a license 6 number displayed in a conspicuous manner or a hyperlink displayed in a 7 conspicuous manner to a scanned copy of such license. Such license or 8 certificate shall at all reasonable times be subject to inspection by 9 the secretary of state or his or her authorized inspectors. It shall be 10 unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation holding such 11 license or certificate to post such license or certificate or to permit 12 such certificate to be posted upon premises other than those described 13 therein or to which it has been transferred pursuant to the provisions 14 of this article or unlawfully to alter, deface or destroy any such 15 license or certificate. For purposes of this section, the term "retail 16 ticket purchasing platform" shall mean a retail ticket purchasing 17 website, application, phone system, or other technology platform used to 18 sell tickets. 19 3. (a) An online resale marketplace shall require professional resell- 20 ers to provide their New York state ticket reseller license number as a 21 condition of utilizing an online resale marketplace to resell tickets. 22 (b) An online resale marketplace shall disclose in a clear and 23 conspicuous manner a notice on the advertisement or offer of a ticket or 24 tickets that such ticket or tickets being purchased are being resold by 25 a licensed New York state professional reseller. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections 28 25.03, 25.13 and 25.19 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by 29 sections one, two and three of this act shall not affect the repeal of 30 such sections and shall be deemed repealed therewith. 31 PART C 32 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 25.07 of the arts and cultural 33 affairs law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 2007, is amended 34 and a new subdivision 5 is added to read as follows: 35 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person, firm or 36 corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under this article, 37 that sells tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets, resells tickets 38 or facilitates the resale or resale auction of tickets between independ- 39 ent parties by any means, must guarantee to each purchaser of such sold 40 or resold tickets that the person, firm or corporation will provide a 41 full refund of the amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not 42 limited to, all fees, regardless of how characterized), unless the 43 purchaser elects to retain such tickets or a credit equal to or in 44 excess of the full amount paid by the purchaser in lieu of a full refund 45 within thirty days of receiving such notice of an opportunity for a 46 refund, if any of the following occurs: (a) the event for which such 47 ticket has been sold or resold is cancelled, provided that if the event 48 is cancelled then actual handling and delivery fees need not be refunded 49 as long as such previously disclosed guarantee specifies that such fees 50 will not be refunded; (b) the ticket received by the purchaser does not 51 grant the purchaser admission to the event described on the ticket, for 52 reasons that may include, without limitation, that the ticket is coun- 53 terfeit or that the ticket has been cancelled by the issuer due to non- 54 payment, or that the event described on the ticket was cancelled for anyA. 5881 5 1 reason prior to purchase of the sold or resold ticket, unless the ticket 2 is cancelled due to an act or omission by such purchaser; [or] (c) the 3 ticket fails to conform to its description as advertised unless the 4 buyer has pre-approved a substitution of tickets; (d) the event for 5 which such ticket has been sold or resold is postponed more than once in 6 a calendar year; (e) the event for which such ticket has been sold or 7 resold has been rescheduled to a subsequent date more than one year from 8 the initial event date; or (f) the event for which such ticket has been 9 sold or resold has been postponed and has not been rescheduled within 10 three months after the initial event date. Upon the occurrence of any 11 of the aforementioned events, the seller or reseller shall notify the 12 purchaser of such tickets and shall provide a thirty-day window during 13 which the purchaser may elect to retain such tickets, receive a credit 14 equal to or in excess of the full amount paid by the purchaser or 15 receive a full refund. If, at the end of the thirty-day window, the 16 purchaser of such tickets does not choose one of the aforementioned 17 options, they shall receive an immediate full refund for the amount paid 18 by the purchaser including but not limited to all fees, regardless of 19 how characterized. The secretary of state shall promulgate rules and 20 regulations regarding notification procedures and shall determine a 21 sufficient refund time period, which shall be no less than thirty days 22 following the occurrence of a triggering event. 23 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person, firm or 24 corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under this article or 25 designated as a professional reseller or an online resale marketplace, 26 that resells tickets or facilitates the resale or resale auction of 27 tickets between independent parties by any means, shall guarantee with- 28 out restriction to each purchaser of such resold tickets that the 29 person, firm or corporation will honor, communicate and facilitate, if 30 so requested by such purchaser, all opportunities for refunds, 31 exchanges, credits or other remedies due to event cancellation or post- 32 ponement that are publicly offered by a primary ticket seller, as 33 defined in subdivision twelve of section 25.03 of this article, to 34 original purchasers of such tickets. 35 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 36 have become a law, provided, however, that the amendments to section 37 25.07 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 38 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed 39 repealed therewith. 40 PART D 41 Section 1. Section 25.10 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as 42 added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 43 § 25.10. Ticket resale requirements. 1. It shall be unlawful for a 44 licensee or other ticket reseller to advertise for the sale of tickets, 45 contract for the sale of tickets, contract to obtain tickets for anoth- 46 er, or accept consideration for payment in full or for a deposit for the 47 sale of tickets unless [such licensee or other ticket reseller meets one48or more of the following requirements] and until: 49 (a) such licensee or other ticket reseller has the offered ticket in 50 its possession or has a written contract to obtain the offered ticket at 51 a certain price from a person or entity in possession of the ticket or 52 from a person or entity who has a contractual right to obtain such tick- 53 et; andA. 5881 6 1 (b) [such licensee or other ticket reseller has a written contract to2obtain the offered ticket at a certain price from a person in possession3of the ticket or from a person who has a contractual right to obtain4such ticket; or5(c) such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the purchaser in a6clear and conspicuous manner and in plain language at the time of offer-7ing such ticket for sale and in a written notice prior to the completion8of the transaction that such licensee or other ticket reseller does not9have possession of the ticket, has no contract to obtain the offered10ticket at a certain price from a person in possession of the ticket or11from a person who has a contractual right to obtain such ticket, may not12be able to supply the ticket at the contracted price or range of prices,13and requires such purchaser to expressly confirm prior to completing the14transaction that the purchaser has read such notice.152. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a licensee or other ticket16reseller from accepting a deposit from a prospective purchaser for a17resale pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section,18provided that such licensee or other ticket reseller informs the19purchaser in writing prior to receipt of consideration of the terms of20the deposit agreement, and includes in the written notice the disclo-21sures otherwise required by this section. If a licensee or ticket22reseller has entered into a contract with or received consideration from23a prospective purchaser for the sale of a ticket or tickets and cannot24supply such ticket or tickets at the contracted price or price range,25such licensee or ticket reseller shall refund any monies paid by such26prospective purchaser within ten business days of receipt of a request27for a refund from such purchaser.283.] tickets to the event have been placed on sale by the venue or 29 entity hosting the event or its authorized agent. For the purposes of 30 this section, "placed on sale" shall mean the date and time when tickets 31 are made available for sale to the general public, excluding any prior 32 sales to fan clubs, businesses, and persons for promotional activities. 33 This paragraph shall not apply to season or subscription ticket holders. 34 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to nullify, expand, 35 restrict, or otherwise amend or modify now existing laws or regulations 36 outside of this article, and nothing in this section shall be construed 37 as making lawful any fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal act or practice 38 that is unlawful pursuant to now existing laws or regulations. 39 [4.] 3. The attorney general shall have jurisdiction to enforce the 40 provisions of this section in accordance with the powers granted to him 41 or her by section sixty-three of the executive law. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 43 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section 44 25.10 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 45 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed 46 repealed therewith. 47 PART E 48 Section 1. Section 25.03 of the arts and cultural affairs law is 49 amended by adding two new subdivisions 12 and 13 to read as follows: 50 12. "Primary ticket seller" means an owner or operator of a venue or 51 sports team, a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of ticket- 52 ing services or an agent of such owner, operator, manager, or provider 53 that engages in the primary sale of tickets for an event or retains the 54 authority to otherwise distribute tickets.A. 5881 7 1 13. "Placed on sale" means the date and time when tickets are made 2 available for sale to the general public, excluding any prior sales to 3 fan clubs, businesses, and persons for promotional activities. 4 § 2. Section 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by 5 section 1 of part E of chapter 358 of the laws of 2022, is amended to 6 read as follows: 7 § 25.29. Unlawful charges in connection with tickets. 1. No operator 8 of any place of entertainment, or his or her agent, representative, 9 employee or licensee shall, if a price be charged for admission thereto, 10 exact, demand, accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any premium or 11 price in excess of the established price plus lawful taxes whether 12 designated as price, gratuity or otherwise; provided, however: (a) noth- 13 ing in this article shall be construed to prohibit a reasonable service 14 charge of fifteen or less percent of the price of a ticket prior to the 15 addition of any charges by [the operator or agents of the operator] any 16 person, firm or corporation, regardless of whether or not licensed under 17 this article, that sells tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets, 18 resells tickets or facilitates the resale or resale auction of tickets 19 between independent parties by any means for special services[, includ-20ing but not limited to,] actually rendered or otherwise in connection to 21 customer support, technological and software infrastructure, and actual 22 operational costs for sales away from the box office[, credit card sales23or delivery]; (b) it shall be an unlawful act for a primary ticket sell- 24 er that earns greater revenue through the primary sale of tickets than 25 the resale of tickets from charging any fee whatsoever to resell tickets 26 originally purchased from such seller; and [(b)] (c) nothing in this 27 article shall be construed to prohibit an operator or its agent from 28 offering for initial sale tickets by means of an auction. 29 2. A reasonable and actual cost for the physical delivery of tickets 30 may be charged by the seller or reseller based on the method of delivery 31 selected by the purchaser; provided, however, that no delivery fee shall 32 be charged by a seller or reseller for tickets delivered electronically 33 or tickets that may be printed independently by the purchaser. 34 3. Any person, firm or corporation, regardless of whether or not 35 licensed under this article, that sells tickets or facilitates the sale 36 of tickets is prohibited from requiring a minimum price for the resale 37 of any tickets purchased from a primary ticket seller. 38 4. Under no circumstances shall any person, firm or corporation, 39 regardless of whether or not licensed under this article, that sells 40 tickets or facilitates the sale of tickets increase displayed prices of 41 tickets while a purchaser: (i) is waiting in a physical or virtual 42 queue, room or similar location or sequence established to await the 43 purchase of tickets; (ii) has the ability to select and review tickets 44 from a physical or virtual list or map but has not yet completed the 45 purchase; or (iii) is completing the physical or virtual checkout proc- 46 ess to purchase tickets. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivi- 47 sion, any person, firm or corporation that sells tickets or facilitates 48 the sale of tickets may place reasonable and uniform restrictions on the 49 length of time allowed for a purchaser of tickets to review and complete 50 each transaction. 51 5. In any prosecution under this section the attorney general shall 52 have concurrent jurisdiction with any district attorney and in any such 53 prosecution he or she or his or her deputy shall exercise all the powers 54 and perform all the duties which the district attorney would otherwise 55 be authorized to exercise or perform therein.A. 5881 8 1 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 2 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections 3 25.03 and 25.29 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by sections 4 one and two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such sections and 5 shall be deemed repealed therewith. 6 PART F 7 Section 1. The arts and cultural affairs law is amended by adding a 8 new section 25.04 to read as follows: 9 § 25.04. Tickets withheld from sale to general public. 1. Primary 10 ticket sellers shall disclose and display on the website, at the box 11 office and any other method of ticket distribution of such primary tick- 12 et seller, the total number of tickets offered for sale to the general 13 public by such primary ticket seller not less than seven days before the 14 date on which tickets shall be available for primary sale. The total 15 number shall be periodically updated by the primary ticket seller if and 16 when additional tickets are subsequently released for sale to the gener- 17 al public. This subdivision shall not apply to: (i) venues with a seat- 18 ing capacity of less than six thousand five hundred guests; or (ii) 19 places of entertainment such as fair grounds, amusement parks, museums, 20 observatories, ski resorts, ice skating rinks and other recreational 21 facilities or events wherein rides, exhibits and displays, games or 22 activities of skill or chance or the sale of food, beverages, toys and 23 souvenirs constitute the main uses. 24 2. It shall be an unlawful practice for a primary ticket seller or any 25 person or entity who has access to tickets to an event prior to the 26 tickets' release for sale to the general public to withhold such tickets 27 from sale to the general public in an amount exceeding ten percent of 28 all available seating for the event. Tickets distributed to bona fide 29 charitable groups or initially reserved due to event production holds, 30 including but not limited to pending seating, lighting, or stage config- 31 urations, that are subsequently released to the general public shall not 32 be included within this amount. This subdivision shall not apply to 33 places of entertainment such as fair grounds, amusement parks, museums, 34 observatories, ski resorts, ice skating rinks and other recreational 35 facilities or events wherein rides, exhibits and displays, games or 36 activities of skill or chance or the sale of food, beverages, toys and 37 souvenirs constitute the main uses. 38 3. It shall be an unlawful practice for an individual employee of any 39 venue, primary ticket seller, team, artist, online resale marketplace, 40 box office or any other entity that is involved in hosting, promoting, 41 performing or ticket selling to resell tickets that have been withheld 42 from the general public for a higher price than the primary sale of the 43 ticket or resell tickets to any third party that may have intentions, 44 actually or constructively known by such employee, to resell the ticket 45 for a higher price than the total cost of the ticket, including all 46 ancillary charges. 47 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 48 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to article 25 49 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this act 50 shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed repealed 51 therewith. 52 PART GA. 5881 9 1 Section 1. Section 25.12 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as 2 added by chapter 110 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 25.12. Professional sports organization membership pass. Notwith- 4 standing section 25.30 of this article, an operator of a place of enter- 5 tainment or such operator's agent may offer paperless tickets which do 6 not allow for independent transferability provided that such tickets are 7 included in a membership pass at a discounted price offered by a profes- 8 sional sports organization for seating in venues or stadiums with a 9 fixed capacity of over [thirty] thirteen thousand five hundred seats 10 that guarantees entry to a specified number of events in a specified 11 time period with seat assignments assigned no more than four hours prior 12 to the commencement of the event and such seat assignment must be vari- 13 able from game to game and not intended for season ticket holders. Tick- 14 ets provided under such membership pass may be restricted from being 15 transferred or resold, including through the operator or operators' 16 agents, and must be clearly marked as such prior to initial offering or 17 sale. Such membership pass shall not mean a subscription or season tick- 18 et package offered for sale and shall not result in the sale of more 19 than five percent of the maximum amount of all seats that will be made 20 available at a venue for a particular event to be sold under this 21 section. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 23 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to section 24 25.12 of the arts and cultural affairs law made by section one of this 25 act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed 26 repealed therewith. 27 PART H 28 Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new 29 section 5-338 to read as follows: 30 § 5-338. Agreements between operators of places of entertainment and 31 primary ticket vendors. 1. For the purposes of this section, the follow- 32 ing terms shall have the following meanings: 33 (a) "Entertainment" means all forms of entertainment including, but 34 not limited to, theatrical or operatic performances, concerts, motion 35 pictures, all forms of entertainment at fairgrounds, amusement parks and 36 all types of athletic competitions including football, basketball, base- 37 ball, boxing, tennis, hockey, and any other sport, and all other forms 38 of diversion, recreation or show. 39 (b) "Operator" means any person who owns, operates, or controls a 40 place of entertainment or who promotes or produces an entertainment. 41 (c) "Place of entertainment" means any privately or publicly owned and 42 operated entertainment facility such as a theatre, stadium, arena, race- 43 track, museum, amusement park, or other place where performances, 44 concerts, exhibits, athletic games or contests are held for which an 45 entry fee is charged. 46 (d) "Primary ticket seller" means an owner or operator of a venue or 47 sports team, a manager or provider of an event, or a provider of ticket- 48 ing services or an agent of such owner, operator, manager, or provider 49 that engages in the primary sale of tickets for an event or retains the 50 authority to otherwise distribute tickets. 51 (e) "Ticket" means any evidence of the right of entry to any place of 52 entertainment. 53 2. A contract between an operator of places of entertainment and a 54 primary ticket vendor shall not provide for the primary ticket vendor toA. 5881 10 1 be the exclusive and sole primary ticket vendor for the operator of 2 places of entertainment. 3 3. It shall be unlawful to threaten or to seek to enforce a provision 4 made unlawful under this section or to otherwise penalize an operator of 5 a place of entertainment for entering into an agreement with another 6 primary ticket seller. 7 4. Any waiver of the provisions of this section is contrary to public 8 policy and thus is void and unenforceable. 9 5. This section shall not require an operator of a place of enter- 10 tainment to enter into an agreement with a primary ticket seller or 11 require that an operator of a place of entertainment have an agreement 12 with multiple primary ticket sellers. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 14 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall apply to 15 contracts entered into on or after such date. 16 PART I 17 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 25.30 of the arts 18 and cultural affairs law, as amended by chapter 151 of the laws of 2010, 19 is amended to read as follows: 20 (a) restrict by any means the resale of any tickets included in a 21 subscription or season ticket package to or via a licensee under section 22 25.13 of this article or via a website that serves as a platform to 23 facilitate resale as defined under section 25.13 of this article as a 24 condition of purchase, as a condition to retain such tickets for the 25 duration of the subscription or season ticket package agreement, or as a 26 condition to retain any [contractually agreed upon] rights to purchase 27 future subscription or season ticket packages that are otherwise 28 conferred in the subscription or season ticket agreement or extended to 29 subscribers not engaged in the resale market as a general policy of the 30 team, promoter, or venue. Further, it shall be unlawful to charge a 31 different rate to any such subscriber solely because the subscriber has 32 resold or may resell tickets; 33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 34 have become a law, provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph 35 (a) of subdivision 1 of section 25.30 of the arts and cultural affairs 36 law made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such 37 section and shall be deemed repealed therewith. 38 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 39 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 40 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 41 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 42 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 43 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 44 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 45 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 46 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 47 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 48 the applicable effective date of Parts A through I of this act shall be 49 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
