HCS HB 587 -- RESALE OF TICKETS

SPONSOR:  Hubbard (Tilly)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Urban Issues by a vote of 5 to 0.

This substitute specifies that no law or ordinance of any city,
county, or other political subdivision can prohibit a person,
firm, limited liability company, or corporation from reselling or
offering to resell via the Internet any admission ticket at any
price or charging any fee in connection with the resale or
offering of an admission ticket to any athletic contest, dance,
theater, concert, circus, or other amusement if the web site's
operator guarantees a full refund or future credit upon the
cancellation of the event or the denied admission to the event by
no fault of the purchaser.

Refunds issued under the provisions of the substitute must
include any service, handling, or processing fees unless the fees
are declared nonrefundable in the terms of the guarantee.

The provisions of the substitute will not apply to student or
other discounted tickets issued by institutions of higher
education or any other state or federal not-for-profit
institution.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say this is good consumer protection for
fans and allows for a secondary market on the Internet.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Tilly; Ticketmaster;
and Michael Naughton, St. Louis Rams Ticket Operations.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that no state has been
able to enforce any ticket sales by persons from out of state.
The bill gives some ticket marketers an unfair advantage.

Testifying against the bill were Ticket Solutions; National
Association of Ticket Brokers; Ebay, Incorporated; and Randall
Sigel, Ticket Guys.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that they are
concerned about the physical location regarding the collection of
state sales tax.

Others testifying on the bill was Kansas City Chiefs Football
Club.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:19 am