C.S.H.B. 432 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 432
By: Bonnen
State Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, consumers wishing to purchase tickets for livestock
shows or rodeos sponsored by nonprofit organizations may be shut out of
the regular purchasing process and forced to pay highly inflated prices.
Consumers trying to purchase tickets for such events from a ticket agent
may find that tickets have "sold out" shortly after going on sale, and
then, a few days later, find tickets for that event being resold at prices
well above the listed ticket price.  The purpose of C.S.H.B. 432 is to
address this problem by making it an offense for a person to resell or
offer to resell a ticket to such an event for a price that is more than
$10 over the price authorized to be offered to the public by the nonprofit
organization. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 432 amends Subchapter D, Chapter 35, of the Business & Commerce
Code to prohibit a person from reselling a ticket to a livestock show or
rodeo sponsored by a nonprofit organization that raises money to provide
scholarships to Texas youth at a price that is more than $10 more than the
price authorized to be offered to the public by the nonprofit
organization.  The bill provides that a violation of this provision is a
misdemeanor punishable by: 

_a fine not to exceed $100 for a first offense;
_a fine not to exceed $2,000 for a second offense; or
_a fine not to exceed $5,000 for a third or subsequent offense. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 432 narrows the scope of the original by creating an offense only
for persons who resell tickets to livestock shows or rodeos sponsored by
certain nonprofit organizations at a price in excess of $10 over the
authorized ticket price.  The original bill created an offense for persons
who resell tickets to any event of public entertainment or amusement at a
price in excess of $5 over the authorized ticket price.  The substitute
also modifies the type of offense and the sum of the fines for such an
offense.