Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit

Filed: 5/6/2014

 

 


 

 


 
09800HB3958ham004LRB098 15517 JLS 58865 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3958

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3958 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Ticket Sale and Resale Act is amended by
5changing Section 1.5 as follows:
 
6    (815 ILCS 414/1.5)  (was 720 ILCS 375/1.5)
7    Sec. 1.5. Sale of tickets at more than face value
8prohibited; exceptions.
9    (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b), (c),
10(d), and (e), and (f-5) of this Section and in Section 4, it is
11unlawful for any person, persons, firm or corporation to sell
12tickets for baseball games, football games, hockey games,
13theatre entertainments, or any other amusement for a price more
14than the price printed upon the face of said ticket, and the
15price of said ticket shall correspond with the same price shown
16at the box office or the office of original distribution.

 

 

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1    (b) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of
2admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
3place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
4price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a
5ticket broker who meets all of the following requirements:
6        (1) The ticket broker is duly registered with the
7    Office of the Secretary of State on a registration form
8    provided by that Office. The registration must contain a
9    certification that the ticket broker:
10            (A) engages in the resale of tickets on a regular
11        and ongoing basis from one or more permanent or fixed
12        locations located within this State;
13            (B) maintains as the principal business activity
14        at those locations the resale of tickets;
15            (C) displays at those locations the ticket
16        broker's registration;
17            (D) maintains at those locations a listing of the
18        names and addresses of all persons employed by the
19        ticket broker;
20            (E) is in compliance with all applicable federal,
21        State, and local laws relating to its ticket selling
22        activities, and that neither the ticket broker nor any
23        of its employees within the preceding 12 months have
24        been convicted of a violation of this Act; and
25            (F) meets the following requirements:
26                (i) the ticket broker maintains a toll free

 

 

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1            number specifically dedicated for Illinois
2            consumer complaints and inquiries concerning
3            ticket sales;
4                (ii) the ticket broker has adopted a code that
5            advocates consumer protection that includes, at a
6            minimum:
7                    (a-1) consumer protection guidelines;
8                    (b-1) a standard refund policy. In the
9                event a refund is due, the ticket broker shall
10                provide that refund without charge other than
11                for reasonable delivery fees for the return of
12                the tickets; and
13                    (c-1) standards of professional conduct;
14                (iii) the ticket broker has adopted a
15            procedure for the binding resolution of consumer
16            complaints by an independent, disinterested third
17            party and thereby submits to the jurisdiction of
18            the State of Illinois; and
19                (iv) the ticket broker has established and
20            maintains a consumer protection rebate fund in
21            Illinois in an amount in excess of $100,000, which
22            must be cash available for immediate disbursement
23            for satisfaction of valid consumer complaints.
24        Alternatively, the ticket broker may fulfill the
25    requirements of subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (1) if
26    the ticket broker certifies that he or she belongs to a

 

 

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1    professional association organized under the laws of this
2    State, or organized under the laws of any other state and
3    authorized to conduct business in Illinois, that has been
4    in existence for at least 3 years prior to the date of that
5    broker's registration with the Office of the Secretary of
6    State, and is specifically dedicated, for and on behalf of
7    its members, to provide and maintain the consumer
8    protection requirements of subparagraph (F) of this
9    paragraph (1) to maintain the integrity of the ticket
10    brokerage industry.
11        (2) (Blank).
12        (3) The ticket broker and his employees must not engage
13    in the practice of selling, or attempting to sell, tickets
14    for any event while sitting or standing near the facility
15    at which the event is to be held or is being held unless
16    the ticket broker or his or her employees are on property
17    they own, lease, or have permission to occupy.
18        (4) The ticket broker must comply with all requirements
19    of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collect and remit
20    all other applicable federal, State and local taxes in
21    connection with the ticket broker's ticket selling
22    activities.
23        (5) Beginning January 1, 1996, no ticket broker shall
24    advertise for resale any tickets within this State unless
25    the advertisement contains the name of the ticket broker
26    and the Illinois registration number issued by the Office

 

 

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1    of the Secretary of State under this Section.
2        (6) Each ticket broker registered under this Act shall
3    pay an annual registration fee of $100.
4    (c) This Act does not apply to the sale of tickets of
5admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
6place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
7price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a
8reseller engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce on an
9Internet auction listing service duly registered with the
10Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the
11Auction License Act and with the Office of the Secretary of
12State on a registration form provided by that Office. This
13subsection (c) applies to both sales through an online bid
14submission process and sales at a fixed price on the same
15website or interactive computer service as an Internet auction
16listing service registered with the Department of Financial and
17Professional Regulation.
18    This subsection (c) applies to resales described in this
19subsection only if the operator of the Internet auction listing
20service meets the following requirements:
21        (1) the operator maintains a listing of the names and
22    addresses of its corporate officers;
23        (2) the operator is in compliance with all applicable
24    federal, State, and local laws relating to ticket selling
25    activities, and the operator's officers and directors have
26    not been convicted of a violation of this Act within the

 

 

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1    preceding 12 months;
2        (3) the operator maintains, either itself or through an
3    affiliate, a toll free number dedicated for consumer
4    complaints;
5        (4) the operator provides consumer protections that
6    include at a minimum:
7            (A) consumer protection guidelines;
8            (B) a standard refund policy that guarantees to all
9        purchasers that it will provide and in fact provides a
10        full refund of the amount paid by the purchaser
11        (including, but not limited to, all fees, regardless of
12        how characterized) if the following occurs:
13                (i) the ticketed event is cancelled and the
14            purchaser returns the tickets to the seller or
15            Internet auction listing service; however,
16            reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded if
17            the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that
18            the fees will not be refunded if the event is
19            cancelled;
20                (ii) the ticket received by the purchaser does
21            not allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event
22            for reasons that may include, without limitation,
23            that the ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket
24            has been cancelled by the issuer due to
25            non-payment, unless the ticket is cancelled due to
26            an act or omission by such purchaser;

 

 

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1                (iii) the ticket fails to conform to its
2            description on the Internet auction listing
3            service; or
4                (iv) the ticket seller willfully fails to send
5            the ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the
6            ticket seller attempted to deliver the ticket or
7            tickets to the purchaser in the manner required by
8            the Internet auction listing service and the
9            purchaser failed to receive the ticket or tickets;
10            and
11            (C) standards of professional conduct;
12        (5) the operator has adopted an independent and
13    disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows
14    resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the
15    other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a
16    third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to
17    submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for
18    complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
19        (6) the operator either:
20            (A) complies with all applicable requirements of
21        the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and
22        remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes;
23        or
24            (B) publishes a written notice on the website after
25        the sale of one or more tickets that automatically
26        informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's

 

 

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1        potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local
2        amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of
3        tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other
4        government tax officials, without subpoena, the name,
5        city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID
6        history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing
7        history of any specifically identified reseller or
8        purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from
9        law enforcement or other government tax officials
10        relating to a criminal investigation or alleged
11        illegal activity; and
12        (7) the operator either:
13            (A) has established and maintains a consumer
14        protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in
15        excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for
16        immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid
17        consumer complaints; or
18            (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors
19        and omissions insurance policy that provides at least
20        $100,000 in coverage and proof that the policy has been
21        filed with the Department of Financial and
22        Professional Regulation.
23    (d) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of
24admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or
25place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a
26price in excess of the printed box office ticket price

 

 

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1conducted at an auction solely by or for a not-for-profit
2organization for charitable purposes under clause (a)(1) of
3Section 10-1 of the Auction License Act.
4    (e) This Act does not apply to the resale of a ticket for
5admission to a baseball game, football game, hockey game,
6theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for a price more
7than the price printed on the face of the ticket and for more
8than the price of the ticket at the box office if the resale is
9made through an Internet website whose operator meets the
10following requirements:
11        (1) the operator has a business presence and physical
12    street address in the State of Illinois and clearly and
13    conspicuously posts that address on the website;
14        (2) the operator maintains a listing of the names of
15    the operator's directors and officers, and is duly
16    registered with the Office of the Secretary of State on a
17    registration form provided by that Office;
18        (3) the operator is in compliance with all applicable
19    federal, State, and local laws relating to its ticket
20    reselling activities regulated under this Act, and the
21    operator's officers and directors have not been convicted
22    of a violation of this Act within the preceding 12 months;
23        (4) the operator maintains a toll free number
24    specifically dedicated for consumer complaints and
25    inquiries regarding ticket resales made through the
26    website;

 

 

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1        (5) the operator either:
2            (A) has established and maintains a consumer
3        protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in
4        excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for
5        immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid
6        consumer complaints; or
7            (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors
8        and omissions policy of insurance in the minimum amount
9        of $100,000 for the satisfaction of valid consumer
10        complaints;
11        (6) the operator has adopted an independent and
12    disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows
13    resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the
14    other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a
15    third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to
16    submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for
17    complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
18        (7) the operator either:
19            (A) complies with all applicable requirements of
20        the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and
21        remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes;
22        or
23            (B) publishes a written notice on the website after
24        the sale of one or more tickets that automatically
25        informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's
26        potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local

 

 

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1        amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of
2        tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other
3        government tax officials, without subpoena, the name,
4        city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID
5        history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing
6        history of any specifically identified reseller or
7        purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from
8        law enforcement or other government tax officials
9        relating to a criminal investigation or alleged
10        illegal activity; and
11        (8) the operator guarantees to all purchasers that it
12    will provide and in fact provides a full refund of the
13    amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not limited
14    to, all fees, regardless of how characterized) if any of
15    the following occurs:
16            (A) the ticketed event is cancelled and the
17        purchaser returns the tickets to the website operator;
18        however, reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded
19        if the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that
20        the fees will not be refunded if the event is
21        cancelled;
22            (B) the ticket received by the purchaser does not
23        allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event for
24        reasons that may include, without limitation, that the
25        ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket has been
26        cancelled by the issuer due to non-payment, unless the

 

 

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1        ticket is cancelled due to an act or omission by the
2        purchaser;
3            (C) the ticket fails to conform to its description
4        on the website; or
5            (D) the ticket seller willfully fails to send the
6        ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the ticket
7        seller attempted to deliver the ticket or tickets to
8        the purchaser in the manner required by the website
9        operator and the purchaser failed to receive the ticket
10        or tickets.
11    Nothing in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to imply any
12limitation on ticket sales made in accordance with subsections
13(b), (c), and (d) of this Section or any limitation on sales
14made in accordance with Section 4.
15    (f) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of
16this Section apply only to the resale of a ticket after the
17initial sale of that ticket. No reseller of a ticket may refuse
18to sell tickets to another ticket reseller solely on the basis
19that the purchaser is a ticket reseller or ticket broker
20authorized to resell tickets pursuant to this Act.
21    (f-5) In addition to the requirements imposed under
22subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this Section, ticket
23brokers and resellers must comply with the requirements of this
24subsection. A ticket broker, reseller, or Internet auction
25listing service may not use a URL or domain name that contains
26the name of any venue that sells tickets for admission to a

 

 

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1sporting event, theater, musical performance, or place of
2public entertainment or amusement of any kind without the
3consent of that venue. Nothing is this subsection prohibits the
4use of a geographical place name in a URL or domain name.
5Nothing in this subsection prohibits an entity from using a
6registered federal trade or service mark owned by the licensed
7entity as part of that entity's URL or domain name.
8    (g) The provisions of Public Act 89-406 are severable under
9Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
10    (h) The provisions of this amendatory Act of the 94th
11General Assembly are severable under Section 1.31 of the
12Statute on Statutes.
13(Source: P.A. 94-20, eff. 6-14-05.)".