An act relating to the regulation of the event ticketing market

The short-form introductory section was removed, including the list of sponsoring representatives, committee referral line, subject heading, and the multi-paragraph statement of purpose summarizing the bill's provisions.

The session year in the header changed from 2025 to 2026, and page numbering was renumbered (from 9 pages to 5 pages) due to the removal of the short-form section.

The definition of 'ticket' now includes the phrase 'within the State,' limiting the bill's applicability to events held in Vermont only.

'Reseller' is redefined as a 'business entity engaged in the sale or resale of tickets' and explicitly excludes an individual reselling a ticket purchased for personal use, removing casual individual sellers from most regulatory obligations.

New definition of 'independent venue' added: an event space deriving majority revenue from ticket events, not majority owned by a publicly traded company, and not operating venues in more than 10 states.

The 110 percent price cap on resale is dramatically narrowed. The House version applied broadly with only a written-contract exception. The enacted version limits the cap to events at independent venues that are (A) 3,000 seats or fewer, (B) nonprofit venues hosting agricultural fairs or community events, or (C) primarily used for collegiate or amateur sports. Most large and corporate-owned venues are now exempt from the price cap.

New requirement that ticket issuers must print the total original ticket price on the face of the ticket in a clear and conspicuous manner.

The speculative ticket prohibition is broadened from applying only to 'a reseller' to applying to 'a person,' meaning any individual or entity is covered by the ban on selling tickets not yet in their possession.

A new sunset provision (Section 2) repeals the entire subchapter on July 1, 2028, making this a two-year temporary measure rather than permanent law.

A price cap limits ticket resale to no more than 110 percent of the original ticket price, with an exception if the reseller has a written contract with the ticket issuer allowing a higher price.

Secondary ticket exchanges must clearly disclose to customers whether they are buying from the original ticket issuer or a reseller, and must inform customers that resale prices are subject to the 110 percent cap.

The introduced version proposed prohibiting speculative ticket sales unless the reseller gave clear notice to the purchaser. The passed version imposes a flat ban on speculative ticket sales with no notice exception.

The introduced version proposed prohibiting the use of software or other methods to bypass online sales limits or security measures (a bot ban). This is not included in the passed version.

The introduced version proposed requiring resellers to guarantee full refunds under certain circumstances and to maintain records of resale transactions. Neither appears in the passed version.

A new prohibition makes it unlawful for secondary ticket exchanges, resellers, or linked websites to use deceptive URLs or imply endorsement by a venue, team, or artist without explicit written authorization.

The introduced version proposed detailed Attorney General enforcement powers including audits, administrative penalties, and license revocation. The passed version simply classifies violations as unfair and deceptive acts in commerce under existing law (9 V.S.A. 2453).

The introduced version proposed requiring annual licensing for ticket resellers and a minimum surety bond to cover consumer losses. Neither appears in the passed version.

The bill sets an effective date of July 1, 2026.

The legislative session year in the header was corrected from 2026 to 2025.

Added a list of introducing representatives (Harrison, Bosch, Canfield, Howard, Howland, Keyser, Maguire, Malay, McCoy, Pinsonault, Pritchard, and Winter) and committee referral information.

Added a subject classification line: 'Commerce and trade; consumer protection; musical performances' and a statement of purpose summarizing the bill's key provisions including refund guarantees, price transparency, speculative ticket prohibition, bot prohibition, licensing, surety bonds, record-keeping, and Attorney General enforcement authority.

The document format changed from a full-text unofficial layout to an official short-form layout with '(TEXT OMITTED IN SHORT-FORM BILLS)' notation, though the full text is still included below that marker.