Bots Jacking Up Ticket Prices? Swift House Action May Mean We Don't Need To 'Tolerate It' Anymore

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 06/25/2025) Legislation designed to prevent the cost of tickets for events from being artificially driven up both passed the House Tuesday, 104-1.

HB 4262 and HB 4263 aim to address the issue in the online ticket-buying world in which ticket bots buy up retail-priced tickets and resell them on third-party websites for however much a fan is willing to buy them for. In some cases, it's thousands of dollars.

Rep. Mike Harris (R-Clarkston)’ HB 4262 would allow the Department of Attorney General (AG) to investigate violations and the offender could be fined up to $5,000 for each ticket acquired, which would be deposited into the General Fund. Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park)’s HB 4263 establishes the Event Online Ticket Sales Act (EOTSA) to ban ticket bots that work around and negate the effects of security measures or access control systems.

That means if an individual worked around a ticket purchasing limit, electronic queue, presale code, or validity measures, they’d be in violation of the act.

In his floor speech, Harris said it’s time to take “Swift” action on this issue, referencing the 2022 sale of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and the scalping that followed as long as she was on tour.

“This isn’t just about Taylor Swift, although ‘The Great War’ over Eras Tour ticket was ‘The Moment I Knew,’ as so many others did, that we need to act on the ticket bot problem,” Harris said, making references to some of Swift’s discography.

In committee, both Live Nation and Stub Hub wrote cards of support for the bills.

The House also adopted Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford)'s HR 128 which encourages Michigan's law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allow local law enforcement agencies to enforce certain federal immigration policies.

During Schriver's floor speech, House Democrats called a point of order that was dismissed and banged their hands on their desks in opposition and, of course, shouted “nay” during the voice vote.

The House also passed HB 4493 that exempts concession stands licensed under the Blind and Visually Impaired Act from additional food licensure standards.