Senate Committee Kills CA Ticket Resale Cap

The high-stakes battle for fair ticket pricing in California has hit a significant snag, leaving the fight to curb the power of ticket scalpers temporarily paused. California’s attempt to implement a hard cap on ticket resale prices, known as AB 1720, ultimately stalled when the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee declined to advance the measure during the current legislative session.

Introduced by Assembly member Matt Haney of San Francisco, the legislation aimed to establish a framework that would prevent ticket resellers from profiting excessively from secondary markets. The core idea was to cap resale prices at no more than 10% above the original purchase price, including mandatory fees to regulate the market.

To make the bill more focused, an amendment narrowed the scope, targeting events held at independent venues with capacities of 3,000 people or fewer, as well as certain nonprofit spaces. This focus made the legislation particularly relevant to California’s thriving independent live music sector, seeking to protect smaller entities from the volatility of the ticket market.

Supporters of the measure included major organizations like the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), the Future of Music Coalition, and the Music Artists Coalition, alongside industry players like Live Nation Entertainment. They argued that price controls could successfully reduce the incentives for large-scale scalping, allowing more value to remain within the live entertainment ecosystem.

However, the effort faced stiff opposition from secondary ticketing companies and consumer groups. Their argument was that regulating the resale market without addressing primary market prices could inadvertently reduce competition and strengthen the dominance of major ticketing platforms like Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

The legislative fight was accompanied by significant financial maneuvering. Companies heavily invested in the ticketing ecosystem poured money into lobbying efforts. For instance, StubHub reported spending nearly $2.6 million in California lobbying expenses during the second quarter of 2026, bringing their state spending to about $3.4 million for the year. The Ticket Policy Forum, which includes major players like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats, also contributed over $1 million to this effort, underscoring the considerable stakes involved.

Furthermore, the Department of Finance raised concerns about the projected state enforcement costs, which contributed to the overall hesitation to advance the bill.

Despite the setback with AB 1720, the push for ticketing reform continues. Companion legislation, AB 1349, remains active and has been released from the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. This second bill approaches the issue from a different angle, targeting practices such as speculative ticketing—where sellers list tickets they don’t yet own—as well as deceptive websites and bot-driven purchasing methods.

Assembly member Haney has indicated that the legislative fight is far from over, planning to continue collaborating with artists, fans, and venues on this crucial issue. While the specific resale-price protections for independent venues were not achieved in this session, the broader battle over who controls the value of a concert ticket after its initial sale remains fiercely underway.