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This story originally appeared in the Asbury Park Press on March 1, 1997.
TRENTON – Bruce Springsteen joined the fray over New Jersey’s ticket scalping law yesterday, lending his powerful voice to efforts to put an end to the state’s growing ticket broker industry.
“Fair ticket pricing has always been a concern of mine, which is why I would hate to see the protections that New Jersey ticket buyers have had in the past be lost through any new legislation,” Springsteen said in a statement released by New Jersey Citizen Action.
The day after the Assembly passed a bill that would make permanent a trial law that lets licensed ticket brokers resell tickets for whatever the market will bear, Citizen Action released a report it says proves the prices and availability of tickets have not improved in the 16 months since the trial started.
Until late 1995, New Jersey had one of the nation’s strictest anti-scaping laws. Brokers were allowed to add only $3, or 20 percent of the face value, whichever was higher. The law only applied to New Jersey-based brokers.
That changed in 1995 with an 18-month trial in which ticket brokers had to get state licenses but were freed from pricing restrictions.
“Our study proves that in 1995, Gov. Whitman granted New Jersey ticket brokers a license to gouge and they have been fully taking advantage of the opportunity at the expense of New Jersey’s families, low- and moderate-income citizens, seniors and young people,” said Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, executive director of Citizen Action.
She said Springsteen contacted the group after he read a recent story in the Asbury Park Press that said two sponsors of the fast-moving bill received $5,000 in campaign contributions from East Coast Ticket Brokers Association.
“We should all support the efforts of New Jersey Citizen Action and others who are trying to keep the ticket buying process controlled,” Springsteen said. “Removing the limits on what ticket brokers can charge over the face value of tickets will inevitably lead to price gouging.
“We have had good public policy in the past. Let’s stick with it.”
The Citizen Action report says $18 tickets for a recent college basketball game between Seton Hall and the University of Connecticut were being offered by some ticket brokers for as much as $150 and $250.
The East Coast Ticket Brokers Association shot back with its own report, which predictably showed a much smaller markup on tickets sold.
“The free market has driven down the price,” said Barry Lefkowitz, a lobbyist for the association. “Ticket brokers exist because there is a need. Not everyone can stand in line.”
Neither survey was done scientifically. The Citizen Action survey was done mostly by interns who made calls to ticket brokers. The information distributed by the ticket brokers association only included receipts from a few people who had purchased tickets from different agents.
A more comprehensive study is still being compiled by the state Division of Consumer Affairs. In the past, Whitman has said she would not make any decisions about the law until she reviewed that study. Yesterday, she reiterated that position.
“I want to see that before I make a decision,” Whitman said. “I recognize that there is legislation moving its way. I would urge the Legislature to think very carefully about this until such time that we have the opportunity to fully study it.”
The bill (A-2479) must still be approved by the Senate. Whitman wouldn’t say what would happen if the bill lands on her desk before the Consumer Affairs report. The trial period ends in April, but the governor said it could be extended.
