STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2608

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3019

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 3019 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit the sale of tickets at a higher price than the original price charged by the primary venue ticket provider for events held in the State;

(2) Authorize the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to adopt rules to impose fines for violations; and

(3) Repeal provisions relating to ticket brokers.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Rick Bartalini Presents, National Independent Venue Association, and thirty-six individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, SeatGeek, Ticket Policy Forum, and StubHub.

Your Committee finds that popular events held in the State quickly sell out because these events attract secondary market profiteers, known as scalpers. Scalpers regularly deploy computer software to navigate ticket-selling platforms to complete multiple transactions within a fraction of the time that it may take a human being to complete a single transaction. Consequently, events quickly sell out and scalpers holding multiple tickets resell them at ludicrously inflated prices. Your Committee notes that Rhode Island has enacted legislation similar to this measure. This measure will deter scalpers from purchasing and reselling tickets, ensuring that consumers may purchase tickets at a reasonable price.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to specify that the resale price of an event ticket for any event in the State shall not be greater than three dollars more than the original price as charged by the primary venue ticket provider;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3019, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3019, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair