Senate committee adopts amendment and advances HB 3167A to curb ticket-resale software abuses

The Senate Committee on Labor and Business adopted a replacement amendment to House Bill 3167A on May 15 and moved the amended bill out of committee with a due-pass recommendation to the Senate floor.

The committee adopted the A11 substitute, which, according to staff summary, replaces the underlying measure with provisions that prohibit willful sale or use of software designed to circumvent ticketing controls and requires resellers to disclose specified information to purchasers.

A committee staff member summarized the amendment on the record: the A11 would “prohibit willfully selling or using software that has the purpose to circumvent, thwart, interfere with, or evade a control or measure, including a security measure or an access control system that a ticket seller establishes or uses to ensure equitable distribution, sale, or resale” of event admission tickets. The staff explanation also said the amendment requires certain disclosures to purchasers and bars a reseller from offering tickets for resale unless they have possession of the ticket or a written contract to obtain it.

Senators suspended the rules to consider the amendment and then to move the bill to the floor without a fiscal or revenue-impact statement available for committee review. Vice Chair Bonham moved to adopt the A11 amendment and later moved to suspend rules so the committee could send HB 3167A as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motions passed without objection. Senator Taylor announced he will be the bill carrier to the floor.

The amendment applies to offers to sell or resale transactions that occur on or after Jan. 1, 2026, and expands enforcement and disclosure requirements for resellers and resale platforms.

Committee members thanked staff and outside stakeholders for negotiating the language. The committee adopted the amendment and advanced the bill in the same hearing day.