Public Act 099-0431
 
HB3103 EnrolledLRB099 10338 JLS 30565 b


  
    AN ACT concerning business.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  




 
    Section 5. The Ticket Sale and Resale Act is amended  by 
changing Section 1.5 as follows:
 



    (815 ILCS 414/1.5)  (was 720 ILCS 375/1.5)



    Sec. 1.5. Sale of tickets at more than face value 
prohibited; exceptions.

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b), (c), 
(d), and (e), and (f-5) of this Section and in Section 4, it is 
unlawful for any person,
persons, firm or corporation to sell 
tickets for baseball games, football
games, hockey games, 
theatre entertainments, or any other amusement for a
price more 
than the price printed upon the face of said ticket, and the

price of said ticket shall correspond with the same price shown 
at the box
office or the office of original distribution.

    (b) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of 
admission to a
sporting event, theater, musical performance, or 
place of public
entertainment or amusement of any kind for a 
price in excess of the printed
box office ticket price by a 
ticket broker who meets all of the following
requirements:


        (1) The ticket broker is duly registered with the 
    Office of the
Secretary of State on a registration form 
    provided by that Office.  The
registration must contain a 
    certification that the ticket broker:


            (A) engages in the resale of tickets on a regular

        and ongoing basis from one or more permanent or fixed 
        locations located
within
this State;


            (B) maintains as the principal business activity 
        at those locations
the resale of tickets;


            (C) displays at those locations the ticket 
        broker's registration;


            (D) maintains at those locations a listing of the 
        names and addresses of
all persons employed by the 
        ticket broker;


            (E) is in compliance with all applicable federal, 
        State, and local laws
relating to its ticket selling 
        activities, and that neither the ticket broker
nor any 
        of its employees within the preceding 12 months have 
        been convicted of
a violation of this Act; and


            (F) meets the following requirements:


                (i) the ticket broker maintains a toll free 
            number specifically dedicated for Illinois 
            consumer complaints and
inquiries concerning 
            ticket sales;


                (ii) the ticket broker has adopted a code that 
            advocates consumer protection that
includes, at a 
            minimum:


                    (a-1) consumer protection guidelines;


                    (b-1) a standard refund policy.  In the 
                event a refund is due, the ticket broker shall 
                provide that refund without charge other than 
                for reasonable delivery fees for the return of 
                the tickets; and


                    (c-1) standards of professional conduct;


                (iii) the ticket broker has adopted a 
            procedure for the binding resolution of consumer

            complaints by an independent, disinterested third 
            party and thereby submits to the jurisdiction of 
            the State of Illinois; and


                (iv) the ticket broker has established and 
            maintains a consumer protection rebate fund
in 
            Illinois in an amount in excess of $100,000, which 
            must be cash
available for immediate disbursement 
            for satisfaction of valid consumer
complaints.


        Alternatively, the ticket broker may fulfill the 
    requirements of
subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (1) if 
    the ticket broker certifies that he
or she belongs to a 
    professional association
organized under the laws of this 
    State, or organized under the laws of
any
other state and 
    authorized to conduct business in Illinois, that has been 
    in
existence for at least 3 years prior to the date of that 
    broker's registration
with the Office of the Secretary of 
    State, and is specifically
dedicated, for and on behalf of 
    its members, to provide and
maintain the consumer 
    protection requirements of subparagraph (F) of this 
    paragraph (1) to maintain the integrity of the ticket 
    brokerage industry.


        (2) (Blank).


        (3) The ticket broker and his employees must not engage 
    in the
practice of selling, or attempting to sell, tickets 
    for any event while
sitting or standing near the facility 
    at which the event is to be held or
is being held unless 
    the ticket broker or his or her employees are on property 
    they own, lease, or have permission to occupy.


        (4) The ticket broker must comply with all requirements 
    of the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collect and remit

    all other applicable federal, State and
local taxes in 
    connection with the ticket broker's ticket selling 
    activities.


        (5) Beginning January 1, 1996, no ticket broker shall 
    advertise for
resale any tickets within this State unless 
    the advertisement contains the
name of the ticket broker 
    and the Illinois registration number issued by the
Office 
    of the Secretary of State under this Section.


        (6) Each ticket broker registered under this Act shall 
    pay an annual
registration fee of $100.
    (c)  This Act does not apply to the sale of tickets of 
admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or 
place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a 
price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a 
reseller engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce on an 
Internet auction listing service duly registered with the 
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the 
Auction License Act and with the Office of the Secretary of 
State on a registration form provided by that Office.  This 
subsection (c) applies to both sales through an online bid 
submission process and sales at a fixed price on the same 
website or interactive computer service as an Internet auction 
listing service registered with the Department of Financial and 
Professional Regulation.
    This subsection (c) applies to resales described in this 
subsection only if the operator of the Internet auction listing 
service meets the following requirements:
        (1) the operator maintains a listing of the names and 
    addresses of its corporate officers;
        (2) the operator is in compliance with all applicable 
    federal, State, and local laws relating to ticket selling 
    activities, and the operator's  officers and directors have 
    not been convicted of a violation of this Act within the 
    preceding 12 months;

        (3) the operator maintains, either itself or through an 
    affiliate, a toll free number dedicated for consumer 
    complaints;
        (4) the operator provides consumer protections that 
    include at  a minimum:
            (A) consumer protection guidelines;
            (B) a standard refund policy that guarantees to all 
        purchasers that it will provide and in

fact provides a 
        full refund of the amount paid by the purchaser 
        (including, but not limited to, all fees, regardless of 
        how characterized) if the following occurs:
                (i)  the ticketed event is cancelled and the 
            purchaser returns the tickets to the seller or 
            Internet auction listing service; however, 
            reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded if 
            the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that 
            the fees will not be refunded if the event is 
            cancelled;
                (ii)  the ticket received by the purchaser does 
            not allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event 
            for reasons that may include, without limitation, 
            that the ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket 
            has been cancelled by the issuer due to 
            non-payment, unless the ticket is cancelled due to 
            an act or omission by such purchaser;
                (iii)  the ticket fails to conform to its 
            description on the Internet auction listing 
            service; or
                (iv) the ticket seller willfully fails to send  
            the ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the 
            ticket seller attempted to deliver the ticket or 
            tickets to the purchaser  in the manner required by 
            the Internet auction listing service and the 
            purchaser failed to receive the ticket or tickets; 
            and

            (C) standards of professional conduct;

        (5) the operator has adopted an independent and 
    disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows 
    resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the 
    other and  have those complaints mediated or resolved by a 
    third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to 
    submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for 
    complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
        (6) the  operator either:
            (A) complies with all applicable requirements of 
        the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and 
        remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes; 
        or

            (B) publishes a written notice on the website after 
        the sale of one or more tickets that automatically 
        informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's 
        potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local 
        amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of 
        tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other 
        government tax officials, without subpoena, the name, 
        city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID 
        history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing 
        history of any specifically identified reseller or 
        purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from 
        law enforcement or other government tax officials 
        relating to a criminal investigation or alleged 
        illegal activity; and

        (7) the operator either:
            (A) has established and maintains a consumer 
        protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in 
        excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for 
        immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid 
        consumer complaints; or
            (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors 
        and omissions insurance policy that provides at least 
        $100,000 in coverage and proof that the policy has been 
        filed with the Department of Financial and 
        Professional Regulation.

    (d)  This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of 
admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or 
place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a 
price in excess of the printed box office ticket price 
conducted at an auction solely by or for a not-for-profit 
organization for charitable purposes under clause (a)(1) of 
Section 10-1 of the Auction License Act.
    (e)  This Act does not apply to the resale of  a ticket for 
admission to a baseball game, football game, hockey game, 
theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for a price more 
than the price printed on the face of the ticket and for more 
than the price of the ticket at the box office if the resale is 
made through an Internet website whose operator meets the 
following requirements:
        (1) the operator has a business presence and physical 
    street address in the State of Illinois and clearly and 
    conspicuously posts that address on the website;
        (2) the operator maintains a listing of the names of 
    the operator's directors and officers, and is duly 
    registered with the Office of the Secretary of State on a 
    registration form provided by that Office;

        (3) the operator is in compliance with all applicable 
    federal, State, and local laws relating to its ticket 
    reselling activities regulated under this Act, and the 
    operator's  officers and directors have not been convicted 
    of a violation of this Act within the preceding 12 months;

        (4) the operator maintains a toll free number 
    specifically dedicated for consumer complaints and 
    inquiries regarding ticket resales made through the 
    website;
        (5) the operator either:
            (A) has established and maintains a consumer 
        protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in 
        excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for 
        immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid 
        consumer complaints; or
            (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors 
        and omissions policy of insurance in the minimum amount 
        of $100,000 for the satisfaction of valid consumer 
        complaints;
        (6) the operator has adopted an independent and 
    disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows 
    resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the 
    other and  have those complaints mediated or resolved by a 
    third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to 
    submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for 
    complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois;
        (7) the  operator either:
            (A) complies with all applicable requirements of 
        the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and 
        remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes; 
        or
            (B) publishes a written notice on the website after 
        the sale of one or more tickets that automatically 
        informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's 
        potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local 
        amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of 
        tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other 
        government tax officials, without subpoena, the name, 
        city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID 
        history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing 
        history of any specifically identified reseller or 
        purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from 
        law enforcement or other government tax officials 
        relating to a criminal investigation or alleged 
        illegal activity; and

        (8) the operator guarantees to all purchasers that it 
    will provide and in fact provides a full refund of the 
    amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not limited 
    to, all fees, regardless of how characterized) if any of 
    the following occurs:
            (A)  the ticketed event is cancelled and the 
        purchaser returns the tickets to the website operator; 
        however, reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded 
        if the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that 
        the fees will not be refunded if the event is 
        cancelled;
            (B)  the ticket received by the purchaser does not 
        allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event for 
        reasons that may include, without limitation, that the 
        ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket has been 
        cancelled by the issuer due to non-payment, unless the 
        ticket is cancelled due to an act or omission by the 
        purchaser;
            (C)  the ticket fails to conform to its description 
        on the website; or
            (D) the ticket seller willfully fails to send the 
        ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the ticket 
        seller attempted to deliver the ticket or tickets to 
        the purchaser in the manner required by the website 
        operator and the purchaser failed to receive the ticket 
        or tickets.

    Nothing in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to imply any 
limitation on ticket sales made in accordance with subsections 
(b), (c), and (d) of this Section or any limitation on sales 
made in accordance with Section 4.

    (f) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of

this Section apply only to the resale of a ticket after the 
initial sale of that ticket.

No reseller of a ticket may refuse 
to sell tickets to another ticket reseller solely on the basis 
that the purchaser is a ticket reseller or ticket broker 
authorized to resell tickets pursuant to this Act.


    (f-5) In addition to the requirements imposed under 
subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this Section, ticket 
brokers and resellers must comply with the requirements of this 
subsection. Before accepting any payment from a purchaser, a 
ticket broker or reseller must disclose to the purchaser in a 
clear, conspicuous, and readily noticeable manner the 
following information: 
        (1) the registered name and city of the event venue;
        (2) that the ticket broker or reseller is not the event 
    venue box office or its licensed ticket agent, but is, 
    instead, a ticket broker or reseller and that lost or 
    stolen tickets may be reissued only by ticket brokers or 
    resellers;
        (3) whether it is registered under this Act; and
        (4) its refund policy, name, and contact information. 
    Before selling and accepting payment for a ticket, a ticket 
broker or reseller must require the purchaser to acknowledge by 
an affirmative act the disclosures required under this 
subsection. The disclosures required by this subsection must be 
made in a clear and conspicuous manner, appear together, and be 
preceded by the heading "IMPORTANT NOTICE" which must be in 
bold face font that is larger than the font size of the 
required disclosures.
    Ticket brokers and resellers must guarantee a full refund 
of the amount paid by the purchaser, including handling and 
delivery fees, if any of the following occurs:
        (1) the ticket received by the purchaser does not grant 
    the purchaser admission to the event described on the 
    ticket, unless it is due to an act or omission by the 
    purchaser;
        (2) the ticket fails to conform substantially to its 
    description as advertised; or
        (3) the event for which the ticket has been resold is 
    cancelled and not rescheduled. 
    This subsection (f-5) does not apply to an Internet auction 
listing service registered with the Department of Financial and 
Professional Regulation as required under the Auction License 
Act.
    (g) The provisions of Public Act 89-406 are severable under 
Section
1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
    (h) The provisions of this amendatory Act of the 94th 
General Assembly are severable under Section
1.31 of the 
Statute on Statutes.


(Source: P.A. 94-20, eff. 6-14-05.)