Albany, NY - May 16, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issues the following statement regarding ticket resale legislation:
"Recent reports, including findings from the Attorney General's Office, document a series of unfair and illegal ticket selling and reselling practices that deceive New York State consumers and leave them paying prices well above face value for tickets to concerts and other events. These include the withholding of huge portions of ticket inventory from primary sale, and the use of specialized computer software that allow ticket speculators to purchase large chunks of premium tickets, which they then resell at huge markups.
I was disappointed these issues were not addressed in the legislation (S7181/ A9773), passed by the Assembly and the Senate. However, vetoing this legislation would cause significant market disruption, inconvenience to consumers, and could potentially cost jobs. For these reasons, I was compelled to sign the bill.
It is clear steps must be taken to properly inform consumers about ticket availability, and protect them against the intrusion of unfair technology employed by unscrupulous speculators for profit.
I will be forming a working group representing stakeholders, including advocates, regulators, and industry representatives, to study and make recommendations to be acted on before the law next expires on June 30, 2017.
Absent these reforms, I will not be signing similar legislation next year."