Today, ranking member Rep. Rebimbas and the democratic co-chairs of the General Law Committee announced their intention to set aside a bill concerning ticket sales in Connecticut, House Bill 6298, and to ask the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) to conduct an analysis of related consumer issues.
“Today’s decision was bipartisan, and reached after many hours of meetings and deliberation. In this economic environment, we do not want to act without fully assessing the potential impact of this legislation, as it would affect both businesses and consumers of tickets in Connecticut. Holding the bill this year to conduct an objective analysis of the issue will enable us to make a better decision in the future,” said Rep. Rebimbas.
The highly contested ticket sales bill- House Bill 6298, An Act Concerning the Fair Sale of Tickets to Entertainment Events- would have prohibited the restriction of resale of entertainment event tickets originally sold in subscriptions or season ticket packages. It would also have prohibited denying access to an event to the holder of a resold ticket, and the use of a ticketing system that does not give the purchaser an option of acquiring transferrable (likely paper) tickets.
In a letter to Commissioner William Rubenstein of DCP, the legislators asked the department to conduct an analysis on how consumers are currently impacted by the manner in which tickets are sold in Connecticut. The analysis would include all relevant complaints received by DCP, in addition to information from the state Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau and advocates and opponents of ticket legislation.
To watch a video of the announcement click here.
