A group of 16 current and former law enforcement officials has sent Massachusetts lawmakers and Gov. Maura Healey a letter urging them to strip the price-cap portion out of her ticket resale bill, arguing the measure could do more harm than good for concertgoers trying to avoid scams.
The letter, dated Nov. 5, was detailed in a report from the Boston Herald, which reported that law enforcement leaders are pushing back against Healey's ticket resale price cap bill. Among the signatories is Michael McCall, a retired FBI special agent who spent more than 28 years investigating financial crimes and fraud and now serves as president of the Boston chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, according to the Herald's report.
Healey filed the legislation, formally titled An Act Relative to Closing the Great Divide Between Ticket Prices and Affordability, in July, saying it was designed to make live-event tickets more affordable by reforming the secondary market, per the Herald. The bill, known as H.5679, would generally cap concert ticket resale prices at 110% of face value, allowing for a maximum 10% markup, according to the same report — though other outlets have described that reference price differently. TicketNews reported that the bill would cap resale prices for non-sporting live events at 110% of the original ticket price, while WBUR described the cap as 110% of the face value price.
What the Retired Officials Are Warning About
According to the letter as described by the Herald, McCall said price caps tend to push illegal sales toward unregulated channels where consumers lack protection and investigators struggle to pursue cases. The signatories predicted that resale caps would shift ticket transactions toward social media, messaging apps and other anonymous channels that are harder to police.
The letter also pointed to history as a cautionary tale, noting that early fraudulent ticket sales flourished in concert arena parking lots and in the early days of Craigslist, per the Herald's report. The officials said artificial intelligence could soon make fraudulent tickets and counterfeit resale websites nearly impossible for ordinary buyers to detect.
By contrast, the letter argued that established marketplaces like SeatGeek and StubHub record transactions on verified resale platforms, which the signatories said improves transparency and accountability while helping identify scammers and giving victims recourse. In other jurisdictions, the officials said, price caps have simply pushed high-demand ticket sales above the legal limit into less transparent channels rather than eliminating the markup altogether.
Who Signed the Letter
The roster of signatories includes a former DEA professional, former Massachusetts State Police sergeants, and retired police chiefs who led departments in Newton, Braintree and Auburn, according to the Herald's reporting. Despite their objections to the price cap, the law enforcement officials praised other parts of the bill, including provisions banning speculative ticketing and misleading claims about ticket availability.
Those anti-fraud provisions in H.5679 would ban resale listings for tickets a reseller does not actually own at the time of listing, and would prohibit websites designed to mimic official venues or artists, the Herald reported. The bill would also allow exceptions when an artist or host venue authorizes a particular resale arrangement.
Industry Groups Raise Separate Objections
The law enforcement letter adds to a chorus of criticism the bill has faced since its introduction. Gary Adler, executive director of the National Association of Ticketing Professionals, said the legislation overlooks Ticketmaster's dynamic and platinum ticket pricing, and warned it could restrict consumer choice while strengthening Ticketmaster and Live Nation's dominant position in the market, per the Herald. Adler also argued that resale price caps elsewhere have failed to lower ticket prices or improve affordability, and instead have increased fraud risk — concerns his organization first raised when Healey's bill was filed in July.
Consumer advocate John Breyault raised a related warning in October, cautioning that buyers and sellers facing a resale cap may seek alternative ways to transact, including through social media, direct messaging or private exchanges that offer fewer protections, according to TicketNews. Not everyone in the industry opposes the measure, though — the proposal has also drawn organized support from artist, management and venue groups, including the Music Artists Coalition, National Independent Talent Organization and Future of Music Coalition, along with more than 40 artists with New England ties, TicketNews reported.
Where the Bill Stands in the Legislature
The price-cap fight has already played out once on Beacon Hill. Massachusetts lawmakers removed Healey's proposed resale cap from a $2.35 billion supplemental budget bill, and the House voted 152-0 on Oct. 21 to approve that spending package without any ticketing provisions, per TicketNews. A separate, Senate-approved version of ticket resale restrictions remains before a House-Senate conference committee, the outlet reported, meaning the price-cap debate is far from settled even as this latest letter lands.
Massachusetts is not alone in grappling with this question. Similar resale-cap laws have already passed in Maine and Vermont, and comparable bills are under consideration in New York and Tennessee, according to Billboard. In Washington, D.C., a resale law limiting secondary ticket markups to 10% above face value is set to become enforceable in 2027, but the Ticket Policy Forum and member companies including SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, TickPick and Gametime have already sued to block it as unconstitutional, Billboard reported. Ontario, meanwhile, implemented its own restrictions in April barring ticket resales above the original total purchase price, subject to permitted fees and taxes, per TicketNews, while California's Senate Appropriations Committee held a comparable bill, AB 1720, on its suspense file in August, preventing it from advancing.
The Herald reported that it had requested comment from Healey's office on the law enforcement letter.
