By Alfred Branch, Jr.
Government officials in Tennessee and Colorado, like sharks sensing blood in the water, are circling around proposals to add new legislation to the ticketing industry in those states. The two states would join a growing number of jurisdictions that are considering legislation in light of the Hannah Montana ticketing controversy.
In Tennessee, Republican State Rep. Curry Todd is planning to propose a bill this month aimed at restricting the actions of ticket brokers and others who are reselling tickets to entertainment events, according to published reports. Among the new restrictions the state legislator is considering include outlawing brokers from using software programs such as those sold by RMG Technologies that utilize “bots” to scoop up large blocks of tickets; a four-ticket limit on the number of tickets a broker can sell for an event (which would not apply to sporting events); a $500 licensing fee for brokers that would also require a $10,000 bond. The bond would be required for brokers who utilize surrogates to stand in lines at venues to buy large quantities of tickets.
“We’re doing some research and will introduce the bill and try to work on it, smoothing it out after the session starts,” Todd told the Germantown News. “We’re looking at what other states have done, and we will try to come up with something that will work.”
In Colorado, Republican Attorney General John Suthers is looking to stop the type of cyber attack that crippled ticket sales during the World Series that featured the Colorado Rockies.
Suthers is recommending the state criminalize the use of similar software programs and categorize that use as “a deceptive trade practice” under Colorado law. Violators could face civil penalties, fines and possible misdemeanor prosecution under the proposal, according to published reports. He is also proposing a four-ticket limit on sales.
The Colorado AG is joining Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and others in attempts to corral ticket brokers and discourage them from charging what the officials believe are exorbitant resale prices for tickets.
