BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1497

By: Guerra

Business & Industry

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There are concerns about the lack of transparency when purchasing tickets for concerts and similar events. Hidden fees often drive up prices for events, catching consumers off guard. Consumers should be made aware of these fees without needing to read fine print or waiting until checkout. C.S.H.B. 1497 seeks to address this issue by requiring ticket websites to post all ticket fees in an easily accessible location.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1497 amends the Business & Commerce Code to require a person that sells or resells tickets for a concert or other event in Texas, including the operator of a ticket website, to disclose in a clear and conspicuous manner to a potential ticket purchaser before the purchaser selects the ticket for purchase, the following information:

· the total cost of the ticket purchase, including all taxes and fees charged in connection with the sale of a ticket for the event and a disclosure of who ultimately receives money from each tax or fee; and

· the portion of the total cost, stated in dollars and as a percentage, of the ticket purchase that is represented by taxes and fees.

The bill defines "event" as a concert, theatrical performance, sporting event, exhibition, show, or similar scheduled activity that is open to the public, held in a public or private venue, and requires payment of an admission fee to attend the activity.

C.S.H.B. 1497 requires the total price of event tickets made available on a ticket website, including taxes and fees charged in connection with the sale and the disclosure of who ultimately receives money from a tax or fee, to be posted on the website in a location easily accessible by a ticket purchaser or potential ticket purchaser before that purchaser or potential purchaser selects a ticket for purchase. The bill requires a print or electronic advertisement for a ticket for an event in Texas to include the total cost of the ticket, including all taxes and fees charged in connection with the sale of the ticket, and display any taxes and fees charged in the same size and with equal prominence as the cost of the ticket, excluding any taxes or fees charged. The bill's provisions expressly may not be construed to nullify, expand, or otherwise affect any other law relating to the sale of a ticket for an event.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1497 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes the following requirements that were absent in the provisions of the introduced requiring the disclosure of taxes and fees by a person that sells or resells tickets for an event:

· a requirement that the disclosure be made in a clear and conspicuous manner to a potential ticket purchaser before the purchaser selects the ticket for purchase;

· a requirement that the required disclosure of the total cost of the ticket purchase include a disclosure of who ultimately receives money from each tax or fee; and

· a requirement that the disclosure include the portion of the total cost, stated in dollars and as a percentage, of the ticket purchase that is represented by taxes and fees.

The substitute revises the requirement in the introduced for a ticket website to post in a location easily accessible by purchasers or potential purchasers the total price of event tickets by also including among the information required to be posted on the website a disclosure of who ultimately receives money from a tax or fee and by specifying that the required information is accessible to the purchaser or potential purchaser before that person selects a ticket for purchase, which was not specified in the introduced.

The substitute omits a prohibition in the introduced against a person that sells or resells tickets for an event in Texas charging fees in connection with the sale of a ticket that in total exceed 10 percent of the ticket price before applicable taxes and fees.

The substitute includes the following provisions that were not in the introduced:

· a requirement for a print or electronic advertisement for a ticket for an event in Texas to include the total cost of the ticket, including all taxes and fees charged in connection with the sale of the ticket and to display any taxes and fees charged in the same size and with equal prominence as the cost of the ticket, excluding any taxes or fees charge; and

· a prohibition against the bill's provisions being construed to nullify, expand, or otherwise affect any other law relating to the sale of a ticket for an event.