| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to resale of tickets; amending s. 817.36, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing restrictions on the resale of event |
| 4 | tickets by or benefiting a tax-exempt charitable |
| 5 | organization; allowing a charitable organization as an |
| 6 | original ticket issuer or seller to have the choice to |
| 7 | prohibit ticket purchases for resale or to require |
| 8 | contractual agreements with ticket resellers; providing |
| 9 | for a civil penalty equal to treble the amount for which |
| 10 | tickets were sold in violation of s. 817.36, F.S.; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 817.36, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 16 | read: |
| 17 | 817.36 Resale of tickets.-- |
| 18 | (1) A person who offers Whoever shall offer for resale or |
| 19 | resells resell any ticket may only charge $1 above the admission |
| 20 | price charged therefor by the original ticket seller of the said |
| 21 | ticket for the following transactions: |
| 22 | (a)(1) Passage or accommodations on any common carrier in |
| 23 | this state.; however, the provisions of This paragraph does |
| 24 | subsection shall not apply to travel agencies that have an |
| 25 | established place of business in this state, which place of |
| 26 | business is required to pay state, county, and city occupational |
| 27 | license taxes. |
| 28 | (b)(2) Multiday or multievent tickets to a park or |
| 29 | entertainment complex or to a concert, entertainment event, |
| 30 | permanent exhibition, or recreational activity within such a |
| 31 | park or complex, including an entertainment/resort complex as |
| 32 | defined in s. 561.01(18). |
| 33 | (c) Tickets for events sponsored by or benefiting a |
| 34 | charitable organization exempt from taxation under s. 501(c)(3) |
| 35 | of the Internal Revenue Code. |
| 36 | (d)(3) Any tickets, other than the tickets in paragraphs |
| 37 | (a), (b), and (c) subsections (1) and (2), that are resold or |
| 38 | offered through an Internet website, unless such website is |
| 39 | authorized by the original ticket seller or makes and posts the |
| 40 | following guarantees and disclosures through Internet web pages |
| 41 | on which are visibly posted, or links to web pages on which are |
| 42 | posted, text to which a prospective purchaser is directed before |
| 43 | completion of the resale transaction: |
| 44 | 1.(a) The website operator guarantees a full refund of the |
| 45 | amount paid for the ticket, including any servicing, handling, |
| 46 | or processing fees, if such fees are not disclosed, when: |
| 47 | a.1. The ticketed event is canceled; |
| 48 | b.2. The purchaser is denied admission to the ticketed |
| 49 | event, unless such denial is due to the action or omission of |
| 50 | the purchaser; |
| 51 | c.3. The ticket is not delivered to the purchaser in the |
| 52 | manner requested and pursuant to any delivery guarantees made by |
| 53 | the reseller and such failure results in the purchaser's |
| 54 | inability to attend the ticketed event. |
| 55 | 2.(b) The website operator discloses that it is not the |
| 56 | issuer, original seller, or reseller of the ticket or items and |
| 57 | does not control the pricing of the ticket or items, which may |
| 58 | be resold for more than their original value. |
| 59 | (2)(4) Nothing in This section does not authorize |
| 60 | authorizes any individual or entity to sell or purchase tickets |
| 61 | at any price on property where an event is being held without |
| 62 | the prior express written consent of the owner of the property. |
| 63 | (3) Any not-for-profit organization as an original ticket |
| 64 | issuer or seller of tickets subject to paragraph (1)(c) shall |
| 65 | have the choice to prohibit ticket purchases for the purposes of |
| 66 | remarketing or reselling by any other person or firm or to |
| 67 | require binding contractual agreements with registered ticket |
| 68 | resellers for the purposes of purchasing, remarketing, or |
| 69 | reselling the event or entertainment tickets. |
| 70 | (4)(5) Any sales tax due for resales under this section |
| 71 | shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue in accordance |
| 72 | with s. 212.04. |
| 73 | (5) A person who resells a ticket or tickets in violation |
| 74 | of this section is liable to the state for a civil penalty equal |
| 75 | to treble the amount for which the ticket or tickets were sold |
| 76 | for in violation of this section. |
| 77 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |