Washington, D.C. — Today, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) made the following statement on the passage of H.R. 3950, the “Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act” or “TICKET Act” out of the Committee by a vote of 45-0: 

“The bipartisan TICKET Act that unanimously passed 45-0 out of committee yesterday, as amended with the ‘STOP Act’ led by Rep. Kelly Armstrong, will transform the experience of buying event tickets online. It ends practices that frustrate people who simply want to enjoy a concert, show, or sporting event and will restore fairness and transparency to the ticketing marketplace. 

“We would like to thank our colleagues, both on and off committee, for their collaboration. This bipartisan achievement is the result of months and years of hard work by Members on both sides of the aisle. Our committee will continue to lead the way on this effort as we further our work to bring this solution to the House floor.” 

The bill passed out of committee combines H.R. 3950, the “TICKET Act,” and H.R. 6568, the “Speculative Ticketing Oversight and Prohibition Act” or the “STOP Act.” The combined bill: 

• Requires the total price of an event ticket be displayed upfront, inclusive of all fees 
• Bans the sale of a ticket that a seller does not have (“speculative ticketing”) 
• Guarantees refunds for event cancellations and postponements 
• Requires clear disclosures and bans deceptive URLS to protect consumers from fraudulent ticketing websites 
• Requires the Federal Trade Commission study and report on enforcement of the BOTS Act (Pub.L. 114-274)