Committee backs bill to give Michigan enforcement power against ticket-resale bots

The House Judiciary Committee voted to report Senate Bill 158, a measure that would give Michigan enforcement tools to combat automated ticket-resale "bots" that buy large quantities of event tickets for resale at steep markups.

Grace Rowley, legislative director for Senator Kavanaugh, told the committee SB 158 would create an "Event Online Ticket Sales Act" prohibiting resellers from circumventing technological protections such as electronic queues, presale codes, or purchase limits. Rowley cited industry figures and past incidents, saying bots can "purchase up to 15,000 event tickets in as little as 2 minutes" and resell them "for as much as 70 times their original price," and referenced 2023 examples where resellers made large profits in targeted attacks on high-demand ticket sales.

Rowley said federal law has criminalized certain bot activity since 2016 but that state enforcement is necessary to give Michigan "the authority and tools to take on these bad actors when they target ticket sales in our state." The committee chair moved to report SB 158 with recommendation; the clerk recorded the vote as 10 yays, 0 nays, 0 pass.

What happens next: SB 158 was reported to the House floor with recommendation and will be scheduled for further consideration according to the House calendar.