[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 857 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 857

To require the disclosure of service and other charges on tickets, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 1995

  Mr. Dingell (for himself, Mr. Condit, Mr. Moorhead, and Mr. Oxley) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the disclosure of service and other charges on tickets, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ticket Fee Disclosure Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) sellers and resellers of entertainment and sporting 
        event tickets often impose service charges and fees or other 
        additional fees and charges, in excess of the face amount of 
        such tickets, to consumers who purchase such tickets;
            (2) consumers who desire to purchase entertainment and 
        sporting event tickets are entitled to full, complete, and 
        clear disclosure of any such additional charges or fees;
            (3) the failure by sellers and resellers of entertainment 
        and sporting event tickets to provide full, complete, and clear 
        disclosure of any such additional charges or fees constitutes 
        an unfair and deceptive act or practice in or affecting 
        commerce within the meaning of section 5 of the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45);
            (4) sellers and resellers of entertainment and sporting 
        event tickets should be required to disclose to potential 
        purchasers of such tickets the amount of any additional fees 
        and charges beyond the face amount of such tickets, and to have 
        the amount of such charges or fees imprinted on the ticket or 
        on a receipt evidencing any such ticket sale; and
            (5) the Federal Trade Commission should conduct a study and 
        issue a report to the Congress concerning practices by and 
        relationships between persons involved in entertainment and 
        sporting events (such as promoters, facility owners and 
        operators, performers, and sellers and resellers of tickets) 
        and to make recommendations based on such study to achieve 
        better disclosure, information, access, and value for consumers 
        who seek to purchase entertainment or sporting event tickets.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF SERVICE CHARGES OR ADDITIONAL TICKET FEES.

    It is unlawful for any seller or reseller (including any ticket 
broker) of entertainment or sporting event tickets--
            (1) to fail to disclose to a purchaser of an entertainment 
        or sporting event ticket, prior to any purchase of such ticket, 
        any fee, charge, or assessment (other than a tax or other levy 
        imposed pursuant to Federal, State, or local law) to be imposed 
        in excess of the face amount of the ticket, and
            (2) to fail to have the amount of any such fee, charge, or 
        assessment imprinted on the ticket or on a receipt evidencing 
        any such ticket sale.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 shall be enforced by the Federal Trade 
Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 
seq.). Consequently, no activity which is outside the jurisdiction of 
that Act shall be affected by this Act.
    (b) Actions by the Federal Trade Commission.--The Federal Trade 
Commission shall prevent any person from violating section 3 in the 
same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, 
and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and 
made a part of this Act. Any person who violates section 3 shall be 
subject to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade 
Commission Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
jurisdiction, power, and duties, as though all applicable terms and 
provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into 
and made a part of this Act.
    (c) Treatment of Violations.--Any violation of section 3 shall be 
treated as a violation of a rule under section 18 of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices.
    (d) Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing contained in this Act shall be 
construed to limit the authority of the Federal Trade Commission under 
any other provision of law.

SEC. 5. ACTIONS BY STATES.

    Whenever an attorney general of any State has reason to believe 
that the interests of the residents of that State have been or are 
being threatened or adversely affected because any person has engaged 
or is engaging in an act or practice in violation of section 3, the 
State may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in an 
appropriate district court of the United States to enjoin such act or 
practice, to enforce compliance of section 3, to obtain damages, 
restitution, or other compensation on behalf of residents of such 
State, or to obtain such further and other relief as the court may deem 
appropriate.

SEC. 6. STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Federal Trade Commission shall conduct a study of 
practices of persons involved in the sale and resale of entertainment 
and sporting event tickets. The study shall--
            (1) include, at a minimum, an examination of relevant 
        practices by, and relationships between, the following persons: 
        promoters of entertainment and sporting events; owners and 
        operators of venues, arenas, stages, and other facilities where 
        such events are staged; artists, athletes, and other 
        performers; and sellers and resellers of entertainment and 
        sporting event tickets,
            (2) identify charges, fees, or assessments imposed by such 
        persons that purchasers of tickets pay,
            (3) include an evaluation of unique or exclusive 
        contractual relationships between any such persons and their 
        effect on consumer ticket prices and additional charges, fees, 
        and assessments imposed thereon,
            (4) include a review of the practice of combining fees, 
        assessments, and other charges with the price of the ticket so 
        that the face amount of the ticket includes such fees, 
        assessments, and other charges,
            (5) include an analysis of the effects on consumer ticket 
        prices and on additional fees, assessments, and other charges 
        imposed thereon of consolidations, purchases, and other 
        acquisitions by and between such persons, and
            (6) include an examination of the extent to which 
        entertainment and sporting event tickets are withheld or 
        otherwise not provided for public sale, including an 
        identification of persons who withhold such tickets from public 
        sale, identification of persons (including ticket brokers) who 
        purchase or otherwise acquire tickets that are withheld from 
        public sale, and the effect of any such practices on the 
        ability of consumers to have reasonable access to tickets at 
        publicly available prices.
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall submit to the 
Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a written report 
based on the study under subsection (a). Such report shall include 
findings relating to practices that fail to provide consumers with 
adequate disclosure or information concerning fees, assessments, and 
other charges imposed on entertainment and sporting event tickets and 
practices that lead to higher consumer prices for such tickets and 
shall include recommendations to achieve better disclosure, 
information, access, and value for consumers of such tickets.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``attorney general'' means the chief legal 
        officer of a State.
            (2) The term ``State'' means any State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, and any territory or possession of the United 
        States.
                                 <all>