NetChoice Support Testimony for LA HB 684 – Tickets

Carl Szabo, Vice President & General Counsel
1401 K St NW, Ste 502
Washington, DC 20005
netchoice.org

Support: HB 684 Sale of Event Tickets. 

Sen. Rick Ward, Chair
Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee

April 22, 2022

Chair Ward and members of the committee,

NetChoice enthusiastically supports HB 684 and asks for its passage.

HB 684 would update Louisiana’s event ticket laws and make its resale laws match those of virtually every other state in the US as HB 684 eliminates an antiquated law that restricts Louisiana fans’ ability to sell at market prices.

Today, Louisiana fans cannot resell their tickets above face value without permission from the event organizer or venue owner. In fact, to do so can result in jail time.

HB 684 moves Louisiana into parity with most of the nation by allowing fans to resell at market-rates. By passing
HB 684, Louisiana will finally allow fans paying a transaction fee for their tickets to easily be made whole. And HB 684 recognizes that educational institutions are different and provides necessary exemptions for them.

At the same time, HB 684 retains important consumer protection requirements.

The bill retains existing requirements that ticket resellers guarantee ticket purchasers a full refund if:

• The event is canceled;
• The purchaser is denied admission to the ticketed event, unless such denial is due to the action or omission of the purchaser;
• The ticket is not delivered to the purchaser in the manner described on the website.

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For these reasons, NetChoice respectfully asks that you vote for HB 684.