Missouri Democrats are howling about an agenda item for next week�s special session of the General Assembly that proposes repeal of the state law against ticket scalping.

Gov. Matt Blunt�s brother, Andy Blunt, happens to be the lobbyist in Missouri for Ticketmaster, the giant conduit of tickets to sporting events and concerts. Ticketmaster supports repeal of the scalping law.

A statement by the Missouri Democratic Party called the move a �giveaway� and said repeal of the scalping law �will directly benefit (the governor�s) lobbyist brother, Andy Blunt, whose client Ticketmaster wants to resell tickets on the Internet.�

An executive at Ticketmaster called that �below-the-belt politics� and said that repeal of the scalping law is supported by the Kansas City Chiefs, the St. Louis Rams, the St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues and even legitimate second-market ticket brokers like eBay.

�What we are looking to do is provide a secure and above all legal resale channel through our clients,� said Ticketmaster Vice President Joe Freeman. Ticketmaster would provide that channel on its Web site.

Freeman said Andy Blunt represents Ticketmaster in lobbying members of the General Assembly but recuses himself from dealing with the executive branch. Andy Blunt could not be reached Friday.

Gov. Blunt�s spokeswoman, Jessica Robinson, said Andy Blunt did not play a role in the decision to include the scalping repeal in the special session. She said the governor included it because of widespread support for it in the legislature and among sports teams and venues.

The issue of scalping resonates with Kansas Citians after suspicions and conspiracy theories arose about the almost instant �sellout� of Elton John tickets for the inaugural event at the Sprint Center.

Buyers were limited to eight tickets, but Internet sites were offering hundreds of Elton John tickets the next day at prices as high as $855. Those brokers typically acquire their tickets from consumers who buy in bulk and then sell them to the broker.

Supporters of the repeal of scalping laws argue that those brokers stand to lose because more people will be able to offer tickets for resale openly and directly to the buyer, increasing the supply and theoretically reducing the price.

Enforcement of scalping laws has been complicated by the explosion of Internet ticket sales. Freeman said outfits like the Chiefs and the Rams want to offer a channel for patrons to exchange tickets legally.

Ticketmaster offers such an exchange channel to promoters, sports teams and concert venues where allowed by law. It allows individuals to sell tickets to each other without bidding against other buyers. Ticketmaster and the promoter, team or venue receive a service fee for the transaction.

Missouri�s current law prohibits the resale of tickets to sporting events for a price higher than that printed on the ticket. Eight states have repealed scalping laws in recent years, Freeman said.

The ticket scalping issue is contained in proposed special-session legislation dealing with tax credits and economic development.