SB1160 would prohibit the resale or offering for resale of event tickets for events held in Hawaii at a price above the original price charged by the primary venue ticket provider. The bill is aimed at curbing ticket scalping and the use of automated software or other secondary-market practices that drive up prices for popular events. It includes a narrow exception for charitable organizations, and their employees or volunteers, when tickets are resold through raffles, auctions, or similar fundraising activities for charitable purposes.
The bill also repeals existing Hawaii Revised Statutes section 481B-15, which currently addresses ticket brokers’ disclosure of credit card fees and refunds of service fees when an event is canceled. The new prohibition would be added to chapter 481B, the state’s consumer protection laws, and would apply broadly to ticket sales for events held in the state. The measure is set to take effect on July 1, 2050, and includes standard severability and non-retroactivity provisions.
Impact
If enacted, SB1160 would significantly change Hawaii law governing event ticket sales by making above-face-value resale unlawful for events held in the state. It would shift the focus of chapter 481B from regulating certain ticket broker practices to directly banning ticket scalping, while also eliminating the current statutory provisions on broker fee disclosure and cancellation refunds. The bill would affect resellers, brokers, secondary-market platforms, event promoters, venues, sports teams, and charitable organizations conducting fundraising ticket sales.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill has been received positively in committee, with unanimous or near-unanimous passage at each stage and amendments adopted along the way. The committee pattern indicates broad support for the consumer-protection goal of limiting scalping and protecting Hawaii residents from inflated ticket prices. No committee transcript is available here, so the sentiment can be inferred mainly from the favorable votes and lack of recorded opposition.
Contention
The main policy tension is between consumer protection and the secondary ticket market. Supporters appear to favor a strict ban on resale above the original ticket price to deter scalpers and automated bulk purchasing, while potential opponents would likely be ticket brokers, resale platforms, and others who rely on the secondary market. Another point of possible concern is the bill’s repeal of existing ticket-broker fee and cancellation protections, which could be viewed as removing consumer safeguards even as it adds a new anti-scalping rule. The charitable fundraising exception also suggests an effort to avoid sweeping in nonprofit activities.