94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB0873

 

Introduced 02/02/05, by Rep. Angelo Saviano

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
720 ILCS 375/1.5   from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 157.32

    Amends the Ticket Scalping Act. Provides that the Act does not prohibit a ticket holder from selling a ticket for admission to a baseball game, football game, hockey game, theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for a price more than the price printed on the face of the ticket and for more than the price of the ticket at the box office if the sale is made through an Internet website and certain specified conditions are met. Effective immediately.


LRB094 04214 RLC 36256 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0873 LRB094 04214 RLC 36256 b

1     AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Ticket Scalping Act is amended by changing
5 Section 1.5 as follows:
 
6     (720 ILCS 375/1.5)  (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 157.32)
7     Sec. 1.5. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections
8 subsection (b) and (c) of this Section and in Section 4, it is
9 unlawful for any person, persons, firm or corporation to sell
10 tickets for baseball games, football games, hockey games,
11 theatre entertainments, or any other amusement for a price more
12 than the price printed upon the face of said ticket, and the
13 price of said ticket shall correspond with the same price shown
14 at the box office or the office of original distribution.
15     (b) This Act does not apply to the sale of tickets of
16 admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
17 place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
18 price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a
19 ticket broker who meets all of the following requirements:
20         (1) The ticket broker is duly registered with the
21     Office of the Secretary of State on a registration form
22     provided by that Office. The registration must contain a
23     certification that the ticket broker:
24             (A) engages in the resale of tickets on a regular
25         and ongoing basis from one or more permanent or fixed
26         locations located within this State;
27             (B) maintains as the principal business activity
28         at those locations the resale of tickets;
29             (C) displays at those locations the ticket
30         broker's registration;
31             (D) maintains at those locations a listing of the
32         names and addresses of all persons employed by the

 

 

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1         ticket broker;
2             (E) is in compliance with all applicable federal,
3         State, and local laws relating to its ticket selling
4         activities, and that neither the ticket broker nor any
5         of its employees within the preceding 12 months have
6         been convicted of a violation of this Act; and
7             (F) that the ticket broker meets the following
8         requirements:
9                 (i) maintains a statewide toll free number for
10             consumer complaints and inquiries;
11                 (ii) has adopted a code that advocates
12             consumer protection that includes, at a minimum:
13                     (a-1) consumer protection guidelines;
14                     (b-1) a standard refund policy; and
15                     (c-1) standards of professional conduct;
16                 (iii) has adopted a procedure for the binding
17             resolution of consumer complaints by an
18             independent, disinterested third party; and
19                 (iv) has established and maintains a consumer
20             protection rebate fund in an amount in excess of
21             $100,000, at least 50% of which must be cash
22             available for immediate disbursement for
23             satisfaction of valid consumer complaints.
24             Alternatively, the ticket broker may fulfill the
25         requirements of subparagraph (F) of this subsection
26         (b) if the ticket broker certifies that he or she
27         belongs to a professional association organized under
28         the laws of this State, or organized under the laws of
29         any other state and authorized to conduct business in
30         Illinois, that has been in existence for at least 3
31         years prior to the date of that broker's registration
32         with the Office of the Secretary of State, and is
33         specifically dedicated, for and on behalf of its
34         members, to provide and maintain the consumer
35         protection requirements of subparagraph (F) of
36         subsection (b) to maintain the integrity of the ticket

 

 

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1         brokerage industry.
2         (2) (Blank).
3         (3) The ticket broker and his employees must not engage
4     in the practice of selling, or attempting to sell, tickets
5     for any event while sitting or standing near the facility
6     at which the event is to be held or is being held.
7         (4) The ticket broker must comply with all requirements
8     of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and all other
9     applicable federal, State and local laws in connection with
10     his ticket selling activities.
11         (5) Beginning January 1, 1996, no ticket broker shall
12     advertise for resale any tickets within this State unless
13     the advertisement contains the name of the ticket broker
14     and the Illinois registration number issued by the Office
15     of the Secretary of State under this Section.
16         (6) Each ticket broker registered under this Act shall
17     pay an annual registration fee of $100.
18     (c) This Act does not prohibit a ticket holder from selling
19 a ticket for admission to a baseball game, football game,
20 hockey game, theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for
21 a price more than the price printed on the face of the ticket
22 and for more than the price of the ticket at the box office if
23 the sale is made through an Internet website:
24         (1) whose operator has received from the sponsor of
25     that baseball game, football game, hockey game, theatre
26     entertainment, or other amusement written permission to
27     allow that sale via the website;
28         (2) whose operations are consistent with all pricing
29     and other ticket resale restrictions the sponsor imposes,
30     if any, in the written permission;
31         (3) whose pages where the sale is conducted have
32     prominently posted on them a message that indicates that
33     the website has been authorized by the event sponsor;
34         (4) whose operator has a business presence and physical
35     street address in the State of Illinois and clearly and
36     conspicuously posts that address on the website; and

 

 

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1         (5) whose operator guarantees to all purchasers that it
2     will provide and in fact provides a full refund of the
3     amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not limited
4     to, all fees, regardless of how characterized) if any of
5     the following occurs:
6             (A) the ticketed event is cancelled; provided,
7         that if the event is cancelled then reasonable handling
8         and delivery fees need not be refunded as long as such
9         previously disclosed guarantee specifies that such
10         fees will not be refunded;
11             (B) the ticket received by the purchaser does not
12         allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event for
13         reasons that may include, without limitation, that the
14         ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket has been
15         cancelled by the issuer due to non-payment, unless the
16         ticket is cancelled due to an act or omission by such
17         purchaser; or
18             (C) the ticket fails to conform to its description
19         on the website.
20     The website operator may not charge the purchaser any fees
21 for refund processing.
22     Nothing in this subsection (c) shall be deemed to imply any
23 limitation on ticket brokers' abilities to make sales in
24 accordance with subsection (b) or any limitation on sales made
25 in accordance with Section 4.
26     The provisions of Public Act 89-406 this amendatory Act of
27 1995 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on
28 Statutes.
29 (Source: P.A. 89-406, eff. 11-15-95.)
 
30     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
31 becoming law.