House committee weighs H.512 amendment to cap resale prices at 110%; arts groups back cap, platforms warn of enforcement risks
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Summary
The Legislative Counsel presented draft 2.2 to amend H.512 to require reseller disclosures, accuracy of availability claims and a 110% cap (including taxes and fees) on resale prices. The Vermont Arts Council and the Attorney General supported the changes; platform witnesses warned caps could raise fraud and present verification challenges.
The House Commerce & Economic Development Committee considered draft 2.2 of H.512 on Feb. 18, a proposed amendment that would regulate secondary ticket resale markets through consumer disclosures, accuracy requirements and a resale-price cap.
Cameron Wood of the Office of Legislative Council summarized the changes and new language in the bill, saying the amendment seeks to ensure customers know whether they are buying from an original issuer or a reseller and to prevent exchanges from misleading customers about ticket availability. Wood described a proposed price cap provision and recommended clarifying that taxes and fees be included in the cap calculation.
“A ticket reseller shall not charge more than a 110% ... including taxes and fees of the total price of the original ticket,” Wood said while walking members through the draft. He also described new language that would prevent secondary exchanges from authorizing sale of tickets above that 110% threshold.
Susan Evans LaFleur, executive director of the Vermont Arts Council, testified in support of the amendment and emphasized local examples of high markups. She presented data showing large secondary-market markups for Vermont events and cited a compiled StubHub data set for a 2023 show that found average original prices of $55 and average resale prices of $188, which she presented as evidence that secondary-market profits often bypass venues and local economies.
A representative from the Attorney General's Office said the office supports the amendment’s direction and believes the price cap and disclosure elements strengthen consumer protections. “We support the amendment, as legislative council just walked through,” the AG representative stated.
Platform witnesses, including a representative identified as David, said companies are working on improved disclosures but raised technical and enforcement concerns about a statutory price cap. They argued that caps can create incentives for fraud and noted that platforms do not always have access to the original purchase price, which complicates verification and enforcement. The witness also cited the complexity of presales, sponsor allocations and artist presales that leave a substantial portion of tickets outside general on-sale pools.
Committee members and witnesses also debated whether accuracy and disclosure requirements or a price cap would better protect consumers; AG staff said clear disclosure rules are legally defensible for deceptive speech while acknowledging the cap is a powerful consumer-protection tool. The committee did not vote on the measure and planned to continue deliberations in a subsequent session.
