With a 20-20 vote, a bill that would set rules for entertainment ticket sales died in the judiciary committee Monday.
It was a tie vote even after the committee amended the bill, deleting its most controversial provision.
The original version of the bill would have required entertainment ticket venues with more than 3,000 seats to share with the public the total number of tickets available for an event, the number of tickets released to the public and the number of unavailable tickets.
That was the provision that was deleted, and it was the part of the bill that entertainment venues loudly opposed.
The state’s venues said that entertainment choices in Connecticut would be limited because the hottest stars would not come to the state. Venues said the stars would not want to report how they distribute tickets.
The venues, and the state’s economy as a whole, would suffer, opponents said.
The secondary ticket market, however, supported the bill. They say the bill, particularly the section that lawmakers deleted, would better protect consumers and provide industry transparency.
The amended bill kept language that would require venues to allow season ticket holders to resell their tickets without penalty. It also included a ban on the use or sale of software designed to circumvent security measures used to ensure equitable purchasing. Under the bill, violating the ban would have been a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.