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1 | AN ACT concerning criminal law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Ticket Scalping Act is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Sections 0.01, 1, and 1.5 as follows:
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6 | (720 ILCS 375/0.01) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 157.30)
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7 | Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Ticket | ||||||
8 | Sale and Resale
Scalping Act.
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9 | (Source: P.A. 86-1324.)
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10 | (720 ILCS 375/1) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 157.31)
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11 | Sec. 1. Sale of tickets other than at box office | ||||||
12 | prohibited; exceptions.
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13 | (a) It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, | ||||||
14 | owner, lessee,
manager, trustee, or any of their employees or | ||||||
15 | agents, owning, conducting,
managing or operating any theater, | ||||||
16 | circus, baseball park, place of public
entertainment or | ||||||
17 | amusement where tickets of admission are sold for any such
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18 | places of amusement or public entertainment to sell or permit | ||||||
19 | the sale,
barter or exchange of such admission tickets at any | ||||||
20 | other place than in the
box office or on the premises of such | ||||||
21 | theater, circus, baseball park, place
of public entertainment | ||||||
22 | or amusement, but nothing herein prevents such
theater, circus, | ||||||
23 | baseball park, place of public entertainment or amusement
from | ||||||
24 | placing any of its admission tickets for sale at any other | ||||||
25 | place at
the same price such admission tickets are sold by such | ||||||
26 | theater, circus,
baseball park or other place of public | ||||||
27 | entertainment or amusement at its
box office or on the premises | ||||||
28 | of such places, at the same advertised price
or printed rate | ||||||
29 | thereof. | ||||||
30 | (b) Any term or condition of the original sale of a ticket | ||||||
31 | to any theater, circus, baseball park, or place of public |
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1 | entertainment or amusement where tickets of admission are sold | ||||||
2 | that purports to limit the terms or conditions of resale of the | ||||||
3 | ticket (including but not limited to the resale price of the | ||||||
4 | ticket) is unenforceable, null, and void if the resale | ||||||
5 | transaction is carried out by any of the means set forth in | ||||||
6 | subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Section 1.5 of this Act. | ||||||
7 | This subsection shall not apply to a term or condition of the | ||||||
8 | original sale of a ticket to any theater, circus, baseball | ||||||
9 | park, or place of public entertainment or amusement where | ||||||
10 | tickets of admission are sold that purports to limit the terms | ||||||
11 | or conditions of resale of a ticket specifically designated as | ||||||
12 | seating in a special section for a person with a physical | ||||||
13 | disability.
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14 | (Source: Laws 1923, p. 322.)
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15 | (720 ILCS 375/1.5) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 157.32)
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16 | Sec. 1.5. Sale of tickets at more than face value | ||||||
17 | prohibited; exceptions.
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18 | (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b), (c), | ||||||
19 | (d), and (e)
subsection
(b) of this Section and in Section 4, | ||||||
20 | it is unlawful for any person,
persons, firm or corporation to | ||||||
21 | sell tickets for baseball games, football
games, hockey games, | ||||||
22 | theatre entertainments, or any other amusement for a
price more | ||||||
23 | than the price printed upon the face of said ticket, and the
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24 | price of said ticket shall correspond with the same price shown | ||||||
25 | at the box
office or the office of original distribution.
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26 | (b) This Act does not apply to the resale
sale of tickets | ||||||
27 | of admission to a
sporting event, theater, musical performance, | ||||||
28 | or place of public
entertainment or amusement of any kind for a | ||||||
29 | price in excess of the printed
box office ticket price by a | ||||||
30 | ticket broker who meets all of the following
requirements:
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31 | (1) The ticket broker is duly registered with the | ||||||
32 | Office of the
Secretary of State on a registration form | ||||||
33 | provided by that Office. The
registration must contain a | ||||||
34 | certification that the ticket broker:
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35 | (A) engages in the resale of tickets on a regular
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1 | and ongoing basis from one or more permanent or fixed | ||||||
2 | locations located
within
this State;
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3 | (B) maintains as the principal business activity | ||||||
4 | at those locations
the resale of tickets;
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5 | (C) displays at those locations the ticket | ||||||
6 | broker's registration;
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7 | (D) maintains at those locations a listing of the | ||||||
8 | names and addresses of
all persons employed by the | ||||||
9 | ticket broker;
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10 | (E) is in compliance with all applicable federal, | ||||||
11 | State, and local laws
relating to its ticket selling | ||||||
12 | activities, and that neither the ticket broker
nor any | ||||||
13 | of its employees within the preceding 12 months have | ||||||
14 | been convicted of
a violation of this Act; and
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15 | (F) that the ticket broker meets the following | ||||||
16 | requirements:
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17 | (i) the ticket broker maintains a statewide | ||||||
18 | toll free number specifically dedicated for | ||||||
19 | Illinois
for consumer complaints and
inquiries | ||||||
20 | concerning ticket sales ;
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21 | (ii) the ticket broker has adopted a code that | ||||||
22 | advocates consumer protection that
includes, at a | ||||||
23 | minimum:
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24 | (a-1) consumer protection guidelines;
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25 | (b-1) a standard refund policy . In the | ||||||
26 | event a refund is due, the ticket broker shall | ||||||
27 | provide that refund without charge other than | ||||||
28 | for reasonable delivery fees for the return of | ||||||
29 | the tickets ; and
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30 | (c-1) standards of professional conduct;
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31 | (iii) the ticket broker has adopted a | ||||||
32 | procedure for the binding resolution of consumer
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33 | complaints by an independent, disinterested third | ||||||
34 | party and thereby submits to the jurisdiction of | ||||||
35 | the State of Illinois ; and
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36 | (iv) the ticket broker has established and |
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1 | maintains a consumer protection rebate fund
in | ||||||
2 | Illinois in an amount in excess of $100,000, at | ||||||
3 | least 50% of which must be cash
available for | ||||||
4 | immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid | ||||||
5 | consumer
complaints.
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6 | Alternatively, the ticket broker may fulfill the | ||||||
7 | requirements of
subparagraph (F) of this paragraph (1)
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8 | subsection (b) if the ticket broker certifies that he
or | ||||||
9 | she belongs to a professional association
organized under | ||||||
10 | the laws of this State, or organized under the laws of
any
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11 | other state and authorized to conduct business in Illinois, | ||||||
12 | that has been in
existence for at least 3 years prior to | ||||||
13 | the date of that broker's registration
with the Office of | ||||||
14 | the Secretary of State, and is specifically
dedicated, for | ||||||
15 | and on behalf of its members, to provide and
maintain the | ||||||
16 | consumer protection requirements of subparagraph (F) of | ||||||
17 | this paragraph (1)
subsection
(b) to maintain the integrity | ||||||
18 | of the ticket brokerage industry.
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19 | (2) (Blank).
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20 | (3) The ticket broker and his employees must not engage | ||||||
21 | in the
practice of selling, or attempting to sell, tickets | ||||||
22 | for any event while
sitting or standing near the facility | ||||||
23 | at which the event is to be held or
is being held unless | ||||||
24 | the ticket broker or his or her employees are on property | ||||||
25 | they own, lease, or have permission to occupy .
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26 | (4) The ticket broker must comply with all requirements | ||||||
27 | of the
Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collect and remit
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28 | all other applicable federal, State and
local taxes
laws in | ||||||
29 | connection with the ticket broker's
his ticket selling | ||||||
30 | activities.
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31 | (5) Beginning January 1, 1996, no ticket broker shall | ||||||
32 | advertise for
resale any tickets within this State unless | ||||||
33 | the advertisement contains the
name of the ticket broker | ||||||
34 | and the Illinois registration number issued by the
Office | ||||||
35 | of the Secretary of State under this Section.
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36 | (6) Each ticket broker registered under this Act shall |
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1 | pay an annual
registration fee of $100. | ||||||
2 | (c) This Act does not apply to the sale of tickets of | ||||||
3 | admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or | ||||||
4 | place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a | ||||||
5 | price in excess of the printed box office ticket price by a | ||||||
6 | reseller engaged in interstate or intrastate commerce on an | ||||||
7 | Internet auction listing service duly registered with the | ||||||
8 | Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the | ||||||
9 | Auction License Act and with the Office of the Secretary of | ||||||
10 | State on a registration form provided by that Office. This | ||||||
11 | subsection (c) applies to both sales through an online bid | ||||||
12 | submission process and sales at a fixed price on the same | ||||||
13 | website or interactive computer service as an Internet auction | ||||||
14 | listing service registered with the Department of Financial and | ||||||
15 | Professional Regulation. | ||||||
16 | This subsection (c) applies to resales described in this | ||||||
17 | subsection only if the operator of the Internet auction listing | ||||||
18 | service meets the following requirements: | ||||||
19 | (1) the operator maintains a listing of the names and | ||||||
20 | addresses of its corporate officers; | ||||||
21 | (2) the operator is in compliance with all applicable | ||||||
22 | federal, State, and local laws relating to ticket selling | ||||||
23 | activities, and the operator's officers and directors have | ||||||
24 | not been convicted of a violation of this Act within the | ||||||
25 | preceding 12 months;
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26 | (3) the operator maintains, either itself or through an | ||||||
27 | affiliate, a toll free number dedicated for consumer | ||||||
28 | complaints; | ||||||
29 | (4) the operator provides consumer protections that | ||||||
30 | include at a minimum: | ||||||
31 | (A) consumer protection guidelines; | ||||||
32 | (B) a standard refund policy that guarantees to all | ||||||
33 | purchasers that it will provide and in
fact provides a | ||||||
34 | full refund of the amount paid by the purchaser | ||||||
35 | (including, but not limited to, all fees, regardless of | ||||||
36 | how characterized) if the following occurs: |
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1 | (i) the ticketed event is cancelled and the | ||||||
2 | purchaser returns the tickets to the seller or | ||||||
3 | Internet auction listing service; however, | ||||||
4 | reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded if | ||||||
5 | the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that | ||||||
6 | the fees will not be refunded if the event is | ||||||
7 | cancelled; | ||||||
8 | (ii) the ticket received by the purchaser does | ||||||
9 | not allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event | ||||||
10 | for reasons that may include, without limitation, | ||||||
11 | that the ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket | ||||||
12 | has been cancelled by the issuer due to | ||||||
13 | non-payment, unless the ticket is cancelled due to | ||||||
14 | an act or omission by such purchaser; | ||||||
15 | (iii) the ticket fails to conform to its | ||||||
16 | description on the Internet auction listing | ||||||
17 | service; or | ||||||
18 | (iv) the ticket seller willfully fails to send | ||||||
19 | the ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the | ||||||
20 | ticket seller attempted to deliver the ticket or | ||||||
21 | tickets to the purchaser in the manner required by | ||||||
22 | the Internet auction listing service and the | ||||||
23 | purchaser failed to receive the ticket or tickets; | ||||||
24 | and
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25 | (C) standards of professional conduct;
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26 | (5) the operator has adopted an independent and | ||||||
27 | disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows | ||||||
28 | resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the | ||||||
29 | other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a | ||||||
30 | third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to | ||||||
31 | submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for | ||||||
32 | complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois; | ||||||
33 | (6) the operator either: | ||||||
34 | (A) complies with all applicable requirements of | ||||||
35 | the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and | ||||||
36 | remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes; |
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1 | or
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2 | (B) publishes a written notice on the website after | ||||||
3 | the sale of one or more tickets that automatically | ||||||
4 | informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's | ||||||
5 | potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local | ||||||
6 | amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of | ||||||
7 | tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other | ||||||
8 | government tax officials, without subpoena, the name, | ||||||
9 | city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID | ||||||
10 | history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing | ||||||
11 | history of any specifically identified reseller or | ||||||
12 | purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from | ||||||
13 | law enforcement or other government tax officials | ||||||
14 | relating to a criminal investigation or alleged | ||||||
15 | illegal activity; and
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16 | (7) the operator either: | ||||||
17 | (A) has established and maintains a consumer | ||||||
18 | protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in | ||||||
19 | excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for | ||||||
20 | immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid | ||||||
21 | consumer complaints; or | ||||||
22 | (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors | ||||||
23 | and omissions insurance policy that provides at least | ||||||
24 | $100,000 in coverage and proof that the policy has been | ||||||
25 | filed with the Department of Financial and | ||||||
26 | Professional Regulation.
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27 | (d) This Act does not apply to the resale of tickets of | ||||||
28 | admission to a sporting event, theater, musical performance, or | ||||||
29 | place of public entertainment or amusement of any kind for a | ||||||
30 | price in excess of the printed box office ticket price | ||||||
31 | conducted at an auction solely by or for a not-for-profit | ||||||
32 | organization for charitable purposes under clause (a)(1) of | ||||||
33 | Section 10-1 of the Auction License Act. | ||||||
34 | (e) This Act does not apply to the resale of a ticket for | ||||||
35 | admission to a baseball game, football game, hockey game, | ||||||
36 | theatre entertainment, or any other amusement for a price more |
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1 | than the price printed on the face of the ticket and for more | ||||||
2 | than the price of the ticket at the box office if the resale is | ||||||
3 | made through an Internet website whose operator meets the | ||||||
4 | following requirements: | ||||||
5 | (1) the operator has a business presence and physical | ||||||
6 | street address in the State of Illinois and clearly and | ||||||
7 | conspicuously posts that address on the website; | ||||||
8 | (2) the operator maintains a listing of the names of | ||||||
9 | the operator's directors and officers, and is duly | ||||||
10 | registered with the Office of the Secretary of State on a | ||||||
11 | registration form provided by that Office;
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12 | (3) the operator is in compliance with all applicable | ||||||
13 | federal, State, and local laws relating to its ticket | ||||||
14 | reselling activities regulated under this Act, and the | ||||||
15 | operator's officers and directors have not been convicted | ||||||
16 | of a violation of this Act within the preceding 12 months;
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17 | (4) the operator maintains a toll free number | ||||||
18 | specifically dedicated for consumer complaints and | ||||||
19 | inquiries regarding ticket resales made through the | ||||||
20 | website; | ||||||
21 | (5) the operator either: | ||||||
22 | (A) has established and maintains a consumer | ||||||
23 | protection rebate fund in Illinois in an amount in | ||||||
24 | excess of $100,000, which must be cash available for | ||||||
25 | immediate disbursement for satisfaction of valid | ||||||
26 | consumer complaints; or | ||||||
27 | (B) has obtained and maintains in force an errors | ||||||
28 | and omissions policy of insurance in the minimum amount | ||||||
29 | of $100,000 for the satisfaction of valid consumer | ||||||
30 | complaints; | ||||||
31 | (6) the operator has adopted an independent and | ||||||
32 | disinterested dispute resolution procedure that allows | ||||||
33 | resellers or purchasers to file complaints against the | ||||||
34 | other and have those complaints mediated or resolved by a | ||||||
35 | third party, and requires the resellers or purchasers to | ||||||
36 | submit to the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois for |
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1 | complaints involving a ticketed event held in Illinois; | ||||||
2 | (7) the operator either: | ||||||
3 | (A) complies with all applicable requirements of | ||||||
4 | the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and collects and | ||||||
5 | remits all applicable federal, State, and local taxes; | ||||||
6 | or | ||||||
7 | (B) publishes a written notice on the website after | ||||||
8 | the sale of one or more tickets that automatically | ||||||
9 | informs the ticket reseller of the ticket reseller's | ||||||
10 | potential legal obligation to pay any applicable local | ||||||
11 | amusement tax in connection with the reseller's sale of | ||||||
12 | tickets, and discloses to law enforcement or other | ||||||
13 | government tax officials, without subpoena, the name, | ||||||
14 | city, state, telephone number, e-mail address, user ID | ||||||
15 | history, fraud complaints, and bidding and listing | ||||||
16 | history of any specifically identified reseller or | ||||||
17 | purchaser upon the receipt of a verified request from | ||||||
18 | law enforcement or other government tax officials | ||||||
19 | relating to a criminal investigation or alleged | ||||||
20 | illegal activity; and
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21 | (8) the operator guarantees to all purchasers that it | ||||||
22 | will provide and in fact provides a full refund of the | ||||||
23 | amount paid by the purchaser (including, but not limited | ||||||
24 | to, all fees, regardless of how characterized) if any of | ||||||
25 | the following occurs: | ||||||
26 | (A) the ticketed event is cancelled and the | ||||||
27 | purchaser returns the tickets to the website operator; | ||||||
28 | however, reasonable delivery fees need not be refunded | ||||||
29 | if the previously disclosed guarantee specifies that | ||||||
30 | the fees will not be refunded if the event is | ||||||
31 | cancelled; | ||||||
32 | (B) the ticket received by the purchaser does not | ||||||
33 | allow the purchaser to enter the ticketed event for | ||||||
34 | reasons that may include, without limitation, that the | ||||||
35 | ticket is counterfeit or that the ticket has been | ||||||
36 | cancelled by the issuer due to non-payment, unless the |
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1 | ticket is cancelled due to an act or omission by the | ||||||
2 | purchaser; | ||||||
3 | (C) the ticket fails to conform to its description | ||||||
4 | on the website; or | ||||||
5 | (D) the ticket seller willfully fails to send the | ||||||
6 | ticket or tickets to the purchaser, or the ticket | ||||||
7 | seller attempted to deliver the ticket or tickets to | ||||||
8 | the purchaser in the manner required by the website | ||||||
9 | operator and the purchaser failed to receive the ticket | ||||||
10 | or tickets.
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11 | Nothing in this subsection (e) shall be deemed to imply any | ||||||
12 | limitation on ticket sales made in accordance with subsections | ||||||
13 | (b), (c), and (d) of this Section or any limitation on sales | ||||||
14 | made in accordance with Section 4.
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15 | (f) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of
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16 | this Section apply only to the resale of a ticket after the | ||||||
17 | initial sale of that ticket.
No reseller of a ticket may refuse | ||||||
18 | to sell tickets to another ticket reseller solely on the basis | ||||||
19 | that the purchaser is a ticket reseller or ticket broker | ||||||
20 | authorized to resell tickets pursuant to this Act.
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21 | (g) The provisions of Public Act 89-406
this amendatory Act | ||||||
22 | of 1995 are severable under Section
1.31 of the Statute on | ||||||
23 | Statutes. | ||||||
24 | (h) The provisions of this amendatory Act of the 94th | ||||||
25 | General Assembly are severable under Section
1.31 of the | ||||||
26 | Statute on Statutes.
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27 | (Source: P.A. 89-406, eff. 11-15-95.)
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28 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
29 | becoming law.
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