H.R. 3950 — Introduced in House

I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3950 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 9, 2023 Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require sellers of event tickets to disclose comprehensive information to consumers about ticket prices and related fees, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act or the TICKET Act. 2. Ticket transparency requirements (a) Disclosure of pricing information Beginning 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer to offer for sale an event ticket unless the ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer clearly and conspicuously displays the total event ticket price in any advertisement, marketing, or price list wherever the ticket is offered for sale and clearly and conspicuously discloses to any individual who seeks to purchase an event ticket at the beginning of the transaction and prior to the selection by the individual of an event ticket to purchase, the total event ticket price and an itemized list of the base event ticket price and each event ticket fee. (b) Disclosure of speculative ticketing Beginning 90 days after enactment of this Act, it shall be unlawful for a ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer that does not have actual or constructive possession of an event ticket to sell or offer for sale the event ticket unless the ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer displays in a clear and conspicuous manner and prior to the selection by the individual of an event ticket to purchase a statement that the ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer does not possess the ticket at the time the ticket is being sold or offered for sale. (c) Enforcement (1) Unfair or deceptive act or practice A violation of subsection (a) or (b) shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). (2) Powers of commission (A) In general The Commission shall enforce subsections (a) and (b) in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. (B) Privileges and immunities Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). (C) Authority preserved Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Commission The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission. (2) Base event ticket price The term base event ticket price means, with respect to an event ticket, the price of the event ticket excluding the cost of any event ticket fee. (3) Event; event ticket; ticket issuer The terms event, event ticket, and ticket issuer have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–274; 15 U.S.C. 45c note). (4) Event ticket fee The term event ticket fee— (A) means a charge that must be paid in addition to the base event ticket price in order to obtain an event ticket from a ticket issuer or secondary market ticket issuer, including any service fee, charge and order processing fee, delivery fee, facility charge fee, tax, and other charge; and (B) does not include any charge or fee for an optional product or service associated with the event that may be selected by a purchaser of an event ticket. (5) Optional product or service The term optional product or service means a product or service that an individual does not need to purchase to use or take possession of an event ticket. (6) Secondary market ticket issuer The term secondary market ticket issuer means any entity for which it is in the regular course of the trade or business of the entity to resell or make a secondary sale of an event ticket to the general public. (7) Secondary sale The term secondary sale means any sale of an event ticket that occurs after the initial sale of the event ticket by a ticket issuer. (8) Total event ticket price The term total event ticket price means, with respect to an event ticket, the total cost of the event ticket, including the base event ticket price and any event ticket fee.