Committee debates deceptive-pricing, ticket-resale and disclosure bills; members table several measures for redrafting

Committee staff presented analyses of several related bills (LD 913, LD 414 and LD 992) that would adopt aspects of the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) rule on unfair or deceptive fees (16 CFR part 464) for event tickets and short-term lodging, and would add Maine-specific provisions governing ticket transfers, resale exemptions and total price disclosures.

LD 913 (sponsor: President Daughtry) had been reworked into existing ticket-resale language in Title 8, chapter 37 and would incorporate FTC-style total-price disclosure requirements for live-event tickets while adding state-specific provisions. Key additions included a provision that a ticket seller may not disallow admission to a valid ticket holder solely because the ticket was resold, and a carve-out for ticket sellers that are not majority owned or operated by large national entities (the amendment listed criteria such as issuing securities on a national exchange, operating venues in more than 10 states, or employing more than 500 full-time employees). The committee noted ambiguity over the sentence that prohibits a ticket seller from disallowing admission "solely because the ticket has been resold" (members asked whether the rule should instead state that any holder of a valid ticket may not be denied admission by anyone). Representative Collamore asked for clearer language and a definition of what makes a ticket "valid." The sponsor's amendment and subsequent drafting questions led members to table LD 913 so a cleaner amendment could be drafted.

Representative Collamore's proposed amendment to LD 414 sought to align Maine law with the FTC rule on total-price disclosures and to move enforcement to the Attorney General's authority in Title 10; it would also include exceptions requested by regulated industries (PUC, FCC, communications providers) and would not include one of LD 992's prohibited practices (an explicit clause about excluding mandatory fees from advertised prices without disclosure). Committee members explored whether combining elements of multiple amendments (price-disclosure language, mandatory-fee definitions, third-party violations language to protect sellers from third-party platforms' pricing) was feasible; staff said they could draft combined language for the committee to consider.

LD 992, the earlier bill that served as a reference for FTC parity, was discussed; Representative Collamore moved an "ought not to pass" recommendation on LD 992 on the grounds that related provisions would be covered by the revised LD 414 and LD 913 drafts. The committee proceeded with additional drafting work. Members asked staff to prepare a combined amendment that (1) adopts FTC-style total-price and mandatory-fee disclosure for tickets and short-term lodging, (2) includes exceptions for regulated entities, (3) defines "valid ticket," (4) adds a provision addressing third-party platforms that show different prices (so sellers are not held liable for third-party platform pricing), and (5) clarifies the permitted enforcement mechanism (Attorney General enforcement vs. private right of action). Several bills were tabled pending those redrafts; LD 913 and LD 414 were tabled while staff prepared combined language and Representative Curry/Collamore offered to draft committee amendments for the next work session.