The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill aimed at scalpers who sell or use software designed to circumvent the “security measures” and “control systems” of online ticket vendors. HB 2420, as amended, would make such activity a criminal offense punishable by a fine of $500, or “any profits made or tickets acquired in the course of the violation,” whichever is greater.

The legislation is a ham-handed response to complaints from parents who balked at the market value of tickets to Hannah Montana’s concert tour last year, exacerbated by some resellers’ high-tech “ticket sniping,” bypassing Ticketmaster’s queue.

While it may provide some psychological comfort to a few middle-class malcontents, the bill’s dubious necessity is matched by its uncertain enforceability. The issue is already being confronted by Ticketmaster, both internally and in court. And since the bill can only be enforced with the assistance of Ticketmaster and other ticket vendors, the state’s involvement makes little difference. Not to mention the fact that the majority of its targets operate outside of the state, and may quite possibly reside in other countries.

Fortunately we appear to have dodged, at least for now, a much worse version of the bill, which would have made it “unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell any ticket to any music entertainment event at a price above” face value. That version appears to have failed in the House on a 49-39 vote, largely along party lines. My representative, Curry Todd (R-Collierville), sided with the Democrats and voted for both versions, as expected.

Meanwhile, Rep. Todd is sponsoring another bill that would allow cities and counties to regulate and restrict ticket sales; HB 2612 would require a $200 quarterly or $500 annual license in order to resell tickets, and would confine such transactions to a “Reselling Zone” defined by local governments.

Another bill, HB 3099, would limit the sale of tickets to face value and also make it a criminal offense to sell more than 10 tickets to any single public event.

Thank you, big government.