COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina would
set up an organized ticket scalping market under legislation heading to
the House floor.
The bill the House Judiciary Committee approved Tuesday lets people
resell tickets at a markup by working through the entertainment and
sports venues and the companies that handle their ticket sales.
For instance, if a ticket originally sold for $50 and the purchaser
wants to resell it for $100, the company could charge $10, or 20 percent
of the markup.
The fee would be split between the ticket company and the venue, said
Warren Tompkins, a lobbyist who helped push the bill.
"It's legalized scalping," Tompkins says. He says 25 states now have
similar laws and that they're common in locations with professional
sports teams.
The bill's move to the House floor came two months after complaints
abounded when tickets to an Oprah Winfrey visit to North Charleston sold
out in minutes and showed up immediately on the Web well-above their
face value.
The legislation does nothing to keep people from buying up blocks of
tickets.
And it does nothing to increase policing or penalties for the state's
existing scalping law that says tickets can sell for no more than $1
over the face value. Current law has a $100 fine or 30 days in jail for
each ticket scalped.
But the Judiciary Committee did add language to the bill that takes a
swipe at people who sell bogus tickets through Internet sites. They
would face $10,000 civil fines and attorney fees, said Rep. Murrell
Smith, R-Sumter.
The first time those charges are brought and a conviction comes,
"they won't be offering to resell tickets in South Carolina anymore,"
Smith said.
The organized market for tickets over face value also helps
consumers. "If you want to buy a ticket, you know you're getting a
legitimate ticket," Tompkins said.
