HOLDBACKS Act

This bill regulates the transparency of ticket sales and prohibits the withholding of information on ticket availability. Such regulation falls squarely within the power of Congress to regulate commerce among the several states, as ticket sales are transactions in interstate commerce. The measure is a proper exercise of the commerce power to prevent deceptive practices that distort markets and harm consumers, and it is a necessary and proper means to carry into execution the enumerated power over commerce.

This bill, if it merely requires honest disclosure of ticket quantities and prices to prevent fraud, may be permissible under the Commerce Clause as a regulation of interstate commerce. However, if it extends to intrastate sales or imposes burdensome mandates on small sellers, it would violate the Tenth Amendment by exceeding the enumerated powers of Congress. The condition is that the bill must be strictly limited to interstate transactions and avoid any commandeering of state authority.

The proposed legislation seeks to regulate commercial transactions in ticket sales, which falls under Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). However, the Constitution requires that such regulation be necessary and proper for executing that power, and must not infringe upon the rights of the states or the people. The bill's requirement of transparency and prohibition of withholding information may be a valid exercise of commerce power if it addresses deceptive practices that substantially affect interstate commerce. Yet, if the bill extends to purely …

This bill regulates the sale of tickets, which is a form of commerce. Under the Commerce Clause, Congress has the power to regulate commerce among the several states. As established in Gibbons v. Ogden, commerce includes all commercial intercourse, and the power to regulate it is plenary. The bill's requirement for transparency and prohibition on withholding ticket availability to inflate prices is a proper exercise of that power, as it seeks to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices that burden interstate commerce. The Necessary and Proper Clause further supports this legislation as a mea…