Photo Credit: Chris Appano
New York Senator James Skoufis has now amended a bill that failed to pass last year with several consumer-friendly reforms. But can ticket scalping really be banned?
On Friday, New York Senator James Skoufis (D) launched a new take on a bill that failed to pass in 2025. The “Affordable Concerts Act” is a modified version that adds consumer-friendly reforms as well as a concert ticket resale cap. The amended bill comes on the heels of California’s proposed Fans First Act, which would cap live event ticket resale prices at no more than 10% above face value.
Skoufis’ new version of the bill would add several major changes to New York’s Arts & Cultural Affairs Law, including transparency requirements around ticket allocations and tighter restrictions on speculative tickets. It would also expand refund triggers for postponed events, as well as add a disclosure requirement aimed specifically at professional resellers.
The modified legislation arrives as New York’s existing ticketing rules are set to expire at the end of June this year. While this version of the bill is certainly different from Skoufis’ previous attempt back in May, it doesn’t omit any of the controversial inclusions from its successor. The hard cap on resale prices for live music would restrict the resale price to what the initial buyer paid—including fees and taxes.
This, its supporters say, is an essential aspect of the bill and of curbing gouging and fraud in general. But critics posit that it risks putting a nail in the coffin of competition. But even those opposed to price caps seem to agree that the new provisions in this iteration of the bill could bring about meaningful change for consumers.
Among those is a “holdback” disclosure requirement that would force primary ticket sellers to publicly disclose how many tickets are actually on offer to the general public at least seven days before the onsale. This number must also be updated as additional tickets are released.
It’s a move to curb consumer frustration over the apparent lack of tickets available during initial sales, a feeling that has only been amplified by presales, sponsor allotments, VIP holds, and more releases that keep inventory from the general onsale pool.
