House committee advances bill requiring ticket price transparency, limits bots and speculative resales

The House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection on April 8 voted to adopt an amendment and advance House Bill 3167, a measure that tightens rules on ticket resale and requires clearer price disclosures for consumers.

The bill's sponsor, state Representative Pam Marsh (District 5), said the dash-6 amendment expands Oregon's anti-bot statutes to cover all phases of ticket sales and creates all-in pricing and transparency requirements that must appear "from the point of first selection through the entire purchasing process." Marsh said the amendment also prohibits deceptive marketing that impersonates venues or artists and makes it unlawful for resellers to offer tickets they do not possess or have a contract to acquire.

Why it matters: Marsh said the bill addresses long-standing consumer complaints about hidden fees, automated purchases that deny fans fair access, and fraudulent or misleading reseller listings. She said enforcement would be through existing unfair trade practice statutes and would allow private rights of action and enforcement by the attorney general.

Key provisions and discussion - Anti-bot expansion: The amendment explicitly prohibits using software to circumvent ticket purchase limits at any sale phase, including presales. Marsh said this closes a loophole that allowed automated purchases during early ticket windows. - All-in pricing and disclosures: Sellers must show both the initial base price and the total price with all fees at the time a ticket is first selected, and the total price must be displayed as prominently as the initial price. The amendment also requires disclosure, before financial information is entered, of refund terms, whether a purchaser is dealing with a reseller and whether price may differ from the original issuer, seat-use conditions, and transferability. - Deceptive marketing: The amendment prohibits URLs, text, or graphics that falsely imply affiliation with a venue or artist unless authorized. Committee testimony noted a technical fix would narrow the restriction to domains and subdomains rather than entire URIs. - Speculative resales and delivery: Resellers may not market tickets they do not possess or have contracted to acquire; disclosure of delivery timelines, seat location and inventory is required. If a seat is not delivered, a full refund including fees and taxes must be issued within 10 days after the event. - Enforcement: Violations are classified as unfair trade practices under ORS 646.608 and enforcement mechanisms include private rights of action and the attorney general's enforcement authority under ORS 646.638 and ORS 646.632.

Committee action and vote: The committee adopted the dash-6 amendment and voted to send HB 3167 as amended to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation. The roll-call for the final motion recorded: Representative Simpson (Aye); Representative Gumbert (Aye); Representative Murrow (Aye); Representative Rushdie (No); Representative Bollinger (No); Representative Wolters (Aye); Vice Chair Chai Chung (Aye); Vice Chair Osborne (No); Chair Sosa (Aye). Representative Kate was excused. The motion passed.

Remaining issues: Marsh said ticket transferability was deliberately left outside the bill because stakeholders differ, and the sponsor expects separate work on that issue. Committee members also requested technical refinements to the deceptive-marketing language; an expert witness said those changes will be made before the Senate.

The bill is scheduled to be carried to the House floor by Representative Pam Marsh.