SCR173 SD1

WHEREAS, live entertainment, cultural performances, and sporting events contribute to the social, cultural, and economic vitality of the State and provide shared community experiences for residents and visitors alike; and

WHEREAS, residents must often travel between islands or to the mainland to attend many events, raising the costs for local residents to begin with; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, ticket resellers have begun intentionally purchasing large quantities of event tickets within seconds of their release, dramatically driving up the cost by as much as ten to twenty times the original ticket price, and then forcing local residents who wish to attend that were unable to purchase a ticket within the first few seconds of release to purchase tickets through the ticket resellers at significantly inflated, exploitive prices; and

WHEREAS, ticket resellers have also begun to resell event tickets at significantly inflated prices even before the tickets were made available for sale in the first place, frequently leaving ticket buyers who thought they had purchased a ticket without an actual ticket to the event; and

WHEREAS, the supermajority of all tickets purchased for resale are resold by only a few large ticket resellers on the mainland, such as StubHub, SeatGeek, and Vivid Seats; and

WHEREAS, the automated purchasing practices of ticket resellers that limit fair access to event tickets by local residents and allow the tickets to be rapidly relisted on secondary marketplaces at significantly inflated prices are commonly referred to as a form of ticket scalping; and

WHEREAS, consumers may be unaware that tickets offered for sale online are resale tickets priced substantially higher than the original face value established by artists, promoters, or primary venue ticket providers; and

WHEREAS, ticket scalping places an unfair financial burden on families and residents who wish to attend events within the State; and

WHEREAS, the State's geographic isolation and limited number of large entertainment venues make the State uniquely vulnerable to ticket scalping because residents do not have alternative event locations within reasonable travel distance; and

WHEREAS, when ticket resellers practice ticket scalping, residents are often forced to pay excessive markups or forgo attending events entirely; and

WHEREAS, revenues generated through ticket scalping frequently flow to out-of-state or offshore resale operators, rather than circulating within the State's local economy and supporting local businesses, workers, and event-related industries; and

WHEREAS, fair ticketing practices benefit local residents, enable cheaper and easier access to entertainment, and ensure revenues remain within the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, the House of Representatives concurring, that a task force is convened to address event ticket scalping in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Evaluate the impacts of ticket scalping and inflated ticket resales on the State;

(2) Examine and recommend solutions to minimize and prevent the impacts of ticket resale and scalping practices that drive up event ticket costs and limit event ticket accessibility for local residents;

(3) Engage Hawaii stakeholders, including local families, artists, venues, and the general public, and submit an initial report to the Legislature, including any findings and recommendations, to identify and analyze the impact of ticket scalping in Hawaii;

(4) Engage with government regulators and stakeholders, such as consumer protection agencies in Hawaii and other states and jurisdictions, and submit a subsequent report to the Legislature, including any findings and recommendations, on policy options and successes to address the impacts of ticket scalping and resale on local families, artists, venues, and the general public; and

(5) Engage with industry ticket resellers and entities profiting from ticket resale or scalping, and submit a final report to the Legislature, including any findings and recommendations, for the best options to minimize and prevent the impacts of ticket resale and scalping practices that drive up event ticket costs and limit event ticket accessibility for local residents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to be co-chaired by the Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate Standing Committees with primary jurisdiction over culture and the arts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the membership of the task force is requested to consist of invited members, including:

(1) Hawaii producers and promoters of events, or their representatives;

(2) Hawaii artists and performers, or their representatives;

(3) Hawaii event venues, or their representatives;

(4) Hawaii patrons of events, or their representatives; and

(5) Other relevant stakeholders as may be invited by the Chairs of the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Report Title:

Task Force; Ticket Scalping; Report

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	173
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII