Latest news with #DeMora
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would cap ‘junk fees' on tickets for concerts, sporting events
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – When purchasing a ticket for a concert or sporting event, customers may notice a plethora of fees added onto the original price. An Ohio bill introduced last week is hoping to lower those extra costs for residents. Senate Bill 196, sponsored by Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), would prohibit ticket sellers from charging more than a total of $5 in extra fees for a purchase containing one or more tickets. Ohio family pleads for better treatment of mother detained in ICE facility 'We need to do something to help regular everyday families in Ohio that want to do something fun, whether a concert, whether it's a sporting event, and it's not fair that they are overburdened with these fees,' DeMora said. 'Budgets are tight now, people are struggling to make ends meet, but they ought to be able to have some fun in their lives.' The bill deems violating this rule an unfair and deceptive business practice under Ohio law. Violators would be referred to the state attorney general for enforcement, who could take legal action by ordering the company to amend its fees or seeking restitution for consumers, among other options. Service fees average about 27% to 31% of total ticket prices, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. The added costs, which DeMora calls 'junk fees,' have been a longstanding frustration among consumers. 'The fees are outrageous,' DeMora said. 'I mean, if the face value of tickets is $100, you pay $150.' Last year, the United States Department of Justice, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, including Ohio's, filed a civil lawsuit against Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation Entertainment. The ongoing suit alleges the company holds a monopoly on the ticket market, resulting in fans paying more in fees. Mayor: Village won't replace non-working tornado sirens This month, the Federal Trade Commission began enforcing a new rule that requires ticket-sellers to disclose any extra fees upfront, instead of springing them on customers during checkout. Companies also must now avoid 'vague phrases' such as convenience fees, service fees or processing fees and clearly state the purpose of the charges. The new guidelines, however, do not put a price limit on or ban extra fees. DeMora called the new FTC rule a 'good step in the right direction' but said the fees are still too high and need to be addressed. Ticket fees for entertainment events may go to the ticket-seller, venue or event promoter for various costs associated with running the event, as well as maintaining the facility or services offered by the ticket company. NBC4 reached out to Ticketmaster and other entertainment companies for comment on the bill. The only reply came from SeatGeek, which stated that while the company appreciates and respects DeMora's efforts to make live events more affordable, caps on fees can 'distort the market' and have 'unintended consequences.' Columbus officer confronts school board after being denied access to school 'We believe the best way to protect and empower consumers is through transparent pricing, not caps,' Joe Freeman, vice president of government affairs, said. 'That's why we fully support the FTC's new rule, which took effect last week, requiring ticketing platforms to show the full, all-in price upfront.' SB 196 has been referred to the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, where it awaits its first hearing. Two Democrat state senators, Hearcel Craig (Columbus) and Casey Weinstein (Hudson), are cosponsoring the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senators advance ranked choice prohibition, mull proof of citizenship bill
A poll worker helps guide a voter at the Franklin County early voting center. (Photo by Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal.) Voting legislation is advancing in the Ohio Senate. Last week, a committee approved a measure prohibiting ranked choice voting and heard from proponents of a plan to require proof of citizenship for voting. Both bills are retreads of proposals that didn't make the cut last session. The measure banning ranked choice voting, Senate Bill 63, has the backing of well-known conservative lobbying outfits like the Heritage Foundation and a few lesser-known ones, too. Honest Elections Project Action is one of a several a 501(c) organization connected with former Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo. The Opportunity Solutions Project is a Florida thinktank that lobbies state and federal governments on issues like restricting food assistance and loosening child labor laws. When state lawmakers proposed raising the threshold for approving constitutional amendments, OSP was the only group to show up. Opportunity Solutions Projects' parent organization got more than $2 million from Leonard Leo's Concord Fund. But for all that conservative backing, the measure itself is bipartisan. State Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, is co-sponsoring the bill, calling ranked choice a 'disaster waiting to happen.' Supporters believe ranked choice will give voters more options, but that's precisely the problem for DeMora. He warned about races in Oregon with 50-plus candidates for city council and described a hypothetical four-person race where the top two finishers got 45% and 30% of the vote. 'I'd expect each of us to agree that the first candidate with 45% of the vote won — that's a clear victory,' DeMora argued. 'No one here today would be upset if they won their next election by 15%, but using ranked choice voting, that candidate could very easily lose.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Denise Riley from the organization Rank the Vote Ohio, pushed back on DeMora's horror stories. Making an allusion to Baskin Robbins, she argued DeMora and other supporters want to reduce voting to a binary choice — chocolate or vanilla. 'I'm here to tell you that the public really wants and likes more choices and having more say in their government,' she wrote. 'You should give them that say. It is your job to represent the people you serve.' The measure also got pushback from the conservative perspective as well. Marcell Strbich is a retired Air Force veteran and grassroots 'election integrity' activist. He regularly testifies in favor more restrictive elections policies, and submitted testimony in opposition of the bill in March along with 60-plus others. He noted — as several others have — that lawmakers actually can't ban ranked choice voting. The state supreme court determined more than 70 years ago that local elections are a local matter. The sponsors attempt to sidestep that ruling by withholding state funding if a municipality approves a ranked choice voting system. 'If Ohio's Republicans and Democrats want to ban RCV, amend the Ohio Constitution,' Strbich argued. 'That's the transparent, democratic way to respect our legal framework. Instead, S.B. 63 takes a shortcut, using state funds to coerce counties and granting the Secretary of State vague, unchecked power. This isn't reform — it's a power grab.' Last week, though, the Senate committee approved the bill as-is. It's awaiting a floor vote. The Senate measure, S.B. 153, would require every voter to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. Under current law only citizens may vote, and officials regularly comb through the rolls looking for individuals improperly registered. The only deterrent against registering and voting illegally is the threat of prosecution. That's worked remarkably well. Nearly every registration flagged by the secretary of state has turned out to be a false positive. A rigorous review by the attorney general found just six cases of illegal voting. In an electorate of 8.1 million voters that's .00007%, or less than one ten thousandth of 1%. The bill, sponsored by state Sens. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, tosses in a few other conservative wish list items alongside the citizenship provisions. They place new strictures on the petition process, including requiring paid canvassers wear a badge identifying themselves as such, and they eliminate the use of ballot drop boxes. The only group to show up in support of the idea was the Foundation for Government Accountability Action — the new name for Opportunity Solutions Project. The organization submitted testimony under both names for the ranked choice measure. Rather than sending their own staffers, the organization hired local lobbyists like Harrison Siders. Siders praised the measure for closing a 'loophole' when it comes to potentially illegal registrations — already a felony offense — and the requirement of monthly voter roll audits — a likely violation of federal law prohibiting any systematic removal of a voter within 90 days of a federal election. He argued the bill 'respects the rights of lawful voters while putting in place practical, achievable safeguards that will fortify our election system against fraud.' Notably, University of Maryland researchers have found more than 21.3 million Americans — more than 9% of voting age citizens — don't have ready access to the documents required under the bill. DeMora pressed Siders on the ballot drop boxes and he brought up highly publicized fire-bombings in the Portland, OR area, but acknowledged no ballots in Ohio have been compromised. 'If someone wants to fire-bomb a ballot drop off box, they can fire-bomb a post box,' DeMora continued. 'How is this going to protect the integrity of ballots, of absentee ballots and stuff, when if someone wants to bomb something, they're going to bomb something?' Siders said a ballot drop box likely has more ballots he argued than a home or public post box and lawmakers should focus on 'critical points' in the voting system. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would ban exclusive streaming contracts for college sports
Ohio State Buckeyes football helmet.(Photo by) A bill proposed in the Ohio Senate would ban exclusive streaming contracts for college sports, stopping fans from needing to pay for numerous services to watch their favorite teams. The national championship-winning Ohio State University football team played Michigan State University last season. But it was a game you could only watch on Peacock, NBC's streaming service — something that OSU fan and state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, was angry about. 'I don't have streaming services because, again, I can't afford to spend all that on the streaming service,' he said. 'The fact that I wasn't able to watch an Ohio State game about killed me.' In recent years, streaming services have been getting exclusive contracts to broadcast college athletics. If you don't pay for the services, you don't get to watch. DeMora said this adds up, since the Big 10 has a deal with Peacock and the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has one with ESPN subsidiaries ESPN+ and ESPNU. This could be especially difficult for people who can't access or don't have high-speed internet, he said. 'They can't watch streaming TV even if they wanted to pay the extra money for it,' he continued. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Since DeMora is not only a fan, but also a state senator, he introduced Senate Bill 94, which would prohibit public universities from giving exclusive broadcasting rights to a streaming service. 'The streams were lagging, pixelated, out of sync and plagued by poor audio quality,' DeMora said during recent testimony on the bill. 'People were paying for something that was horrible quality to start.' WEWS/OCJ reached out to both the BIG 10 and MAC conferences, the different streaming services and their owners — as well as OSU, Kent State and the University of Akron. Akron said they didn't have a comment yet, and Kent declined to comment. But Ohio State did chime in. 'Media rights agreements are negotiated by the Big Ten on behalf of all conference members, and broadcast rights for specific athletic events are controlled by the designated media partner in accordance with the larger media rights agreement,' OSU spokesperson Ben Johnson said. State Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) said this was a 'kind of stupid' bill. 'Imagine the Buckeyes not being part of the Big 10 anymore because a simple piece of legislation said you can't sign up to a streaming deal,' Williams said. 'I think it's ill-advised, ill-conceived and it won't get any support.' This bill could hurt the schools, he added. 'You're going to stop universities from a revenue stream that they can generate off of their athletic programs that they use to reinvest into their athletic facilities,' the Republican said. The legislation would also allow students to watch broadcasts for free. The legislation would require state universities to provide enrolled students access, but it is up to the school's discretion how that is implemented. Johnson explained that Peacock does give a student discount. Right now, the premium subscription for students is $2.99 per month for a year, down from $7.99. Once a year passes, students will have to pay $7.99 per month. 'Having to pay extra to watch their teammates and classmates' sporting events isn't fair to them,' DeMora argued. Williams disagreed with this argument and the Democrat's frustration with the cost in general. 'That's like saying someone can't afford the purchase of a television, so therefore games shouldn't be televised,' Williams said. The general public is with him on what he calls the streaming epidemic, DeMora said. 'It's not fair to the everyday fan,' he said. The bill will be subject to more hearings in the coming weeks. Both DeMora and Williams have proposed football-related legislation. The Democrat proposed a bill that would prevent state money from going towards professional sports teams that have losing records. Williams, in the last General Assembly, introduced a bill that would make planting a flag in the center of the Ohio Stadium football field illegal. He proposed this after a brawl broke out when University of Michigan players tried to plant a flagpole after they beat OSU. Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New bill makes effort to change how college sports are streamed
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW) — A state lawmaker said watching teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes has become a frustrating experience for many fans, complicated by the emergence of streaming services that now carry certain games each season. 'There are a dozen different streaming services and if you want to watch Big Ten football or Big Ten basketball, if you don't pay for all the services, you're going to miss your team's game because it switches from one week to the next, one game to the next, what streaming service they're actually going to be on,' said State Senator and OSU graduate Bill DeMora. Holistic pet care: How it's helping some animals live longer lives The Democrat from Columbus is proposing a bill that would ban exclusive streaming contracts for college sports in the Buckeye State. Senate Bill 94 would also require that enrolled students be given access to broadcasts of athletic events. During a hearing held by the Senate's Higher Education Committee on Tuesday, Demora told fellow lawmakers, 'I was disheartened the last two years to have Ohio State football games on streaming only services, which I don't pay for.' DeMora said fans are being unfairly gouged by the streaming-only model. 'True fans have to pay for this service and that service and that service, an extra $50, $60 every time they want to watch their team play every month,' he said. Lorain woman Sharon Matusiak, 64, killed by train at Leavitt Road crossing When asked why the state should have any say on which platforms air the games, DeMora responded, 'Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green, Toledo, Akron, Kent State and Cleveland State are all funded by public tax dollars, so they should not be allowed into a contract that says that only the games will be watched on a streaming service.' A spokesman for Ohio State told FOX 8, 'Media rights agreements are negotiated by the Big Ten on behalf of all conference members'. DeMora responded, 'They can say that but we all know that if Ohio State told the Big Ten, 'we're going to get our own network and not participate in the Big Ten Network,' that the Big Ten would do whatever it took to keep Ohio State because that's their money maker.' DeMora said he has received positive feedback from sports fans, but says the political reality is that there is no chance that his proposal will become law. Families share story that brought them together for Donate Life Month 'None of the bills that I sponsor ever get passed because I'm in the minority party,' he said. DeMora said his only hope is that the Republican majority will pick up the torch on behalf of college sports fans across the state and ban exclusive streaming contracts. 'It doesn't cost the taxpayers any money, and it's something that saves taxpayers money because right now, if you want to see sports, you're shelling out money hand over fist,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio bill would ban poorly performing sports teams from getting public funds
April 8 (UPI) -- An Ohio lawmaker introduced a bill that would prevent poorly performing professional sports teams from receiving public funds -- a potential roadblock for NFL's Cleveland Browns, who want $1.2 billion for a new stadium. State Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, announced Monday that he would introduce the "Public Access to Professional Sports Act." The bill would ban public funds from going to professional sports franchises if they don't achieve a winning record in three of the last five seasons. The bill also would require teams that decide to leave the city in which they play to repay taxpayers for any funds they received. "For too long, Ohioans have been held hostage by these professional sports teams and their billionaire owners," DeMora said in a news release. "I am tired of hearing year after year that if the government doesn't fork over taxpayer money, then the team is going to move out of state! "This legislation would stop that cycle. If a team wants to get taxpayer money, then the least they can do is have a winning season, and if they decide that they want to move, then the people of Ohio deserve their money back." The bill would require a team to post at least a .500 record three times in a five-year span to be eligible for public funding. New teams would be exempt from the requirement for the first five years. The bill also seeks to mandate public reporting a team performance and financial requests. The Browns, who went 3-14 last season, finished .500 or better just twice over the last 17 years. They had losing records in three of the last four years. The Browns announced in October that they planned to leave their 25-year-old facility on the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland and move to a new, $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park, a suburb southwest of the city, in 2029. GOP leaders from the Ohio House included $600 million in state-backed bonds to go toward the stadium project in their proposed two-year budget. The Browns requested another $600 million in funding from Cuyahoga County. The state budget is vetted by the Ohio Senate and requires approval from Gov. Mike DeWine, who has veto power over spending. House members scrapped a DeWine plan to increase taxes on sports-betting companies, tobacco and marijuana sales to help fund stadium projects. The state budget must be finalized, passed and signed into law by June 30.
