A legislation that would bring requirements for ticket price transparency and better clarity for consumers has been introduced in Colorado, where a Ticketmaster-friendly bill was vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis a year ago. This new bill, HB 1378, jettisoned many of the controversial aspects which caused the veto in the last session.
“This is a new bill. I actually did not support last year’s bill because I thought it should be more consumer-oriented, and this bill is more focused on consumers,” says Rep. William Lindstedt (D-Broomfield), who introduced the bill. “We’ve worked on it with consumer groups, venues, and ticket sellers, both primary and secondary, to try to set some basic rules: if a concert gets canceled, you get a refund. Prices need to be clear and transparent. You can’t use deceptive URLs to make people think they’re buying tickets from venues.”
Beyond the “all-in” ticket pricing requirement that has general agreement from both primary ticketing companies and secondary ticket marketplaces, this new bill includes provisions that would require refunds on cancelled events, and prohibit an event operator from denying entry to consumers who purchased tickets on resale marketplaces. It also expands the state’s definition on what constitutes a deceptive trade practice to include websites designed to mimic venue or competitor websites.
The legislation was introduced on March 19 and is co-sponsored by Rep. Alex Valdez, Senator Tom Sullivan and Senator Bob Gardner. It is currently under consideration in Colorado’s House Business Affairs & Labor Committee, which has it scheduled to be discussed at a committee meeting on April 11.
“I think the odds of this bill passing are very good,” he said. “We have been working since last year, trying to take a different approach. I think there’s things in here that both sides of this debate would want to have included.”
Rep. Lindstedt says that the bill has support from consumer groups, though primary ticket marketplace lobbyists from companies like Ticketmaster and AXS are not as quick to throw their support behind the measure.
That is the opposite from what happened with last year’s bill, which drew applause from the venue and promoter lobby and fierce resistance from consumer advocates. This was largely over its inclusion of language that would have made it possible for companies like Ticketmaster and AXS, their parent companies Live Nation and AEG, or venues to effectively regulate their own competition by declaring competing marketplaces illegal and invalidating tickets listed on them.
FURTHER READING | Colorado Go. Polis Vetos Controversial Ticketmaster-Backed Bill
“Throughout my administration, consumer protection and the right to a fair, competitive marketplace have been paramount,” Gov. Polis wrote at the time he issued his veto of SB 060. “I am concerned that consumer advocacy groups such as the National Consumers League and Consumer Federation of America have asked for a veto of this legislation because of its potential to discourage competition in the sector, ultimately harming consumers. I am also concerned that this legislation strengthens an existing entity with too much market power.”
