Minnesota Senate passes ticket transparency bill
A bill dubbed the “‘T-Swift’ Ticket Bill” will soon be headed to the governor’s desk.
The Minnesota Senate approved the ticket transparency bill on Monday. The Minnesota House of Representatives passed it earlier this month but will have to repass the amended version from the Senate before it heads to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk.
Taylor Swift’s 2022 tour highlighted issues with ticket price transparency, bots, and misleading sales practices as Ticketmaster struggled with the high demand for tickets, leaving many customers waiting online for hours and shocked by high prices. That has led lawmakers across the country, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and others in Congress, to pursue changes to regulations.
RELATED: House committee hears testimony on bills to ban ‘junk fees’ for tickets, other purchases
The legislation at the Minnesota Capitol would ban online marketplaces and resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket and from selling tickets before they’re actually available for sale. It also aims to crack down on resale sites that look like primary sellers and seeks to cut down on the impact of bots.
Also on Monday, the Senate approved a bill allowing digital images for proof of possession of certain passes and licenses, like a driver’s or fishing license, if a person doesn’t have a paper license on them. That bill was also returned to the House to be repassed and then will head to the governor.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS continues to follow the developments at the Capitol with less than three weeks left in the legislative session.
See the status of several other high-interest bills with KSTP’s Legislative Tracker.