The Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee met on Monday night to discuss AB 1349 and AB 1720. Both bills aim to protect secondhand ticket buyers.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan of Los Angeles authored AB 1349. Bryan says the bill targets websites that deal in fake tickets.
"Tickets [resellers] did not have yet for a concert that had not gone on sale yet at a price greater than what they would eventually go on sale for," said Bryan.
AB 1720 was introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney. It's also known as the California Fans First Act. It seeks to cap the value of a ticket resold online at 10% above the original price. The bill was amended so that it only applies to independent venues with a 3,000 person capacity.
According to Haney, "these independent venues are the competition to Live Nation, and they support this bill, they sponsor this bill, and they desperately need it in order to survive and compete with Live Nation."
Both bills come in the wake of recent lawsuits against Ticketmaster which owns Live Nation.
Supporters of the bills include SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and musicians, the San Francisco Venue Coalition, and independent venues like Harlow’s in Sacramento.
Representatives, like Juanita Martinez, from the California Live Event Equities Alliance or CLEEA oppose both bills. Martinez wants to amend Bryan's bill to speed up the ticket transfer process.
"There's an opportunity to strengthen this section, ensuring tickets are transferred, which is what the state of New York does, and to require this to happen within twenty-four to seventy-two hours of purchase," Martinez said in Monday night's meeting.
Delilah Clay, who is also with CLEEA, spoke against Haney's bill. She says the legislature should wait until the Live Nation/Ticketmaster case is settled.
"CLEA believes addressing broader marketplace concerns and increasing competition for ticket sales is the most effective way to decrease prices," said Clay.
The bills head next to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
