Panel debates ticket resale price caps and non‑compete language as committee weighs business impacts
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Summary
Members of the Vermont House Commerce & Economic Development Committee discussed a proposed price cap on ticket resales and work to refine non‑compete legislation (bill 205), with members voicing concerns about access, platform responses and carve‑outs for contractually authorized resellers.
The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development spent part of Friday’s morning session debating whether to cap ticket resale prices and how to refine non‑compete legislation.
One member worried a strict price cap could reduce ticket availability: "If you say a 110% cap price cap, the worst worst case scenario to me is these companies just say, we're just not gonna carry the tickets there because it's just not profitable," an unidentified committee member said, expressing concern that visitors and local consumers might lose access to secondary-market tickets.
The chair responded by distinguishing resellers from original sellers and urged members to be mindful that resale platforms do not create the original tickets. "So we're talking about reselling. They're not the sellers of the tickets," the chair said, adding that online search tools make tickets discoverable even if some resellers decline to list them.
Separately, members described progress on bill 205, a non‑compete reform effort. A member said drafters are working on language to define when a non‑compete is "reasonable," and that the working group had circulated new draft language and was awaiting feedback from stakeholders including a person named Jamie and other counsel before forwarding the changes to Sophie.
Committee members also said they would reach out to the Vermont Broadcasters Association and local broadcasters (WCAX) to determine how non‑compete changes might affect broadcasters and their employees.
No formal motion or vote was recorded on either the ticket‑resale question or non‑compete language during the morning session; members indicated they would continue discussion and follow up with stakeholder feedback in the coming week.