2006 Legislative Priorities
The ASTA Board of Directors established the following issues as new legislative priorities for 2006:

Right to Alternate Carriage
Seek legislation that would permanently extend to consumers the “right to alternate carriage” in the event a bankrupt airline ceases service.

Life Insurance Coverage for Travelers
Prevent insurance organizations from denying or refusing life insurance coverage for a traveler's past or future lawful travel plans to foreign tourism destinations.

Health Care Insurance
Pursue legislation that seeks access to affordable health care options for ASTA members.

Passenger Data Collection
Urge U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other governmental agencies to develop a single protocol for collection, storage and reporting of travel information by travel agents.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
Monitor closely the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires:
1) all U.S. Citizens to have valid passports by December 31, 2006, when entering/exiting the U.S. by air and sea and;
2). U.S. Citizens arriving at U.S. land border crossing after December 31, 2007, must have a valid passport or a government recognized (yet to be determined) travel card document.

Federal Trade Commission
Shift the jurisdiction over travel agencies from the Department of Transportation to the Federal Trade Commission exclusively.

Anti-Money Laundering Regulatory Issue Still Pending
ASTA will also continue to monitor actions related to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on Federal Crimes Enforcement Network on Anti-Money Laundering Programs for Travel Agencies. ASTA filed comments on April 15, 2003, stating that travel agencies should be exempted from formal regulation.

State Legislative Initiatives

Hotel Occupancy Tax
Prevent state legislatures from imposing new hotel occupancy tax to services provided by travel intermediaries.

Car Rental Excise Tax
Speak out on state legislatures introducing or increasing taxes on car rentals.

Sellers of Travel
Monitor state “seller of travel” bills that threaten the growth and prosperity of the travel agent industry.

2006 Government Affairs Updates and Actions

IRS Reminds Businesses to Classify Workers Correctly

If your travel agency uses independent contractors or outside sales reps, now would be a good time to revisit those written contracts to make sure you are in compliance with the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Independent Contractor regulations. In June, the IRS posted on its Web site an article titled, IRS Reminds Businesses to Classify Workers Correctly. The IRS also announced it will redirect audit resources from estate and gift tax returns to taxpayer groups who have been underreporting and/or not reporting taxes. The 2007 Senate Treasury Appropriations Committee Report contained language urging the IRS to address the problem of employee misclassification and the underreporting of income by self-employed individuals. The IRS estimates this group of taxpayers account for $148 billion and 43 percent of the gross tax gap.

These red flags have prompted the National Federation of Small Businesses (NFIB) and the Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC) to reactivate the Independent Contractor Coalition (ICC). Even though ASTA sits on SBLC’s Board, it will play an active role in the ICC as the travel agency industry has traditionally used independent contractors to grow their businesses.

U.S. Senate Approves Immigration Reform Act
On Thursday, May 25, the U.S. Senate passed the Immigration Reform Act, S. 2611 by a 62-36 vote. Contained in the bill was an adopted amendment by Sens. Stevens (R-AK) and Leahy (D-VT) extending the implementation deadline for a new border crossing travel document to June 1, 2009. Also approved and adopted through the “Manager’s Packet” was Sen. Coleman’s (R-MN) non-controversial amendment on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Several issues addressed in Sen. Coleman’s amendment include: WHTI deadline extension; Passport Cards; REAL ID Pilot Program; Expansion of the Frequent Travel Programs; Public Promotion Strategy, etc. S. 2611 heads to a House/Senate conference to reconcile differences with H.R. 4437 -- a bill passed five months ago.

Write Your Senators Today
Sens. Burns (R-MT) and Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced S. 2572, the Aviation Consumer Protection Extension Act on April 6, 2006, and now need ASTA’s assistance with gaining additional support for the bill via co-sponsorships. S. 2572 extends for one-year Section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act that provides for the right of alternate carriage for airline passengers holding tickets on bankrupt carriers. Click here to send a letter today.

Life Insurance For Travelers
On May 15, 2006, ASTA president, Kathy Sudeikis, sent a letter of support to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) for championing H.R. 3639, the Life Insurance Fairness for Travelers Act. This bill makes it unlawful for insurers to deny or refuse life insurance coverage based on a person’s past or future lawful travel plans to foreign travel destinations. Recently, the following states have passed laws prohibiting discrimination of life insurance based on foreign travel: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington.

ASTA Will Report to Members on New Fax Rules
On May 3, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission published new rules and interpretations under the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005, legislation that ASTA supported and on which it filed comments with the FCC. The rules will become effective, for the most part, on Aug. 1, 2006. To assist members with compliance, ASTA will publish an extensive simple-English report on the new rules in the near future. In the meantime, members should continue to comply with the rules interpretations set out on ASTAnet.

ASTA Vigilance Pays Off
Government Affairs not only monitors, tracks and analyzes federal legislation, but it also reviews bills introduced in the 50 State Legislatures. When the State of Connecticut recently advanced a bill to repeal certain sections of the State’s general statute on trade practices dealing with credit card surcharges, Government Affairs forwarded this information to Judith B. White, CTC, president of Wilton Travel and ASTA Connecticut Chapter Legislative Chair. In Connecticut, Statute 14-98 states that "no seller may impose a surcharge on a buyer who elects to use any method of payment, including, but not limited to, cash, check, credit card or electronic means, in any sales transaction." This timely communication from ASTA reinforced Ms. White’s efforts in recouping a pending merchant fee charge from a travel supplier. ASTA was instrumental in getting CT Statute 14-98 passed in 1999 and subsequent actions to repeal the statute this year have died in committee.

S. 2572 Dropped in the Hopper
On April 6, 2006, Senators Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WVA) introduced S. 2572, which extends for one-year Section 145. As part of the 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act, Section 145 provides that airline passengers holding tickets from a bankrupt carrier for a particular route are entitled to transportation on a space-available basis on any airline serving that route as long as alternate travel plans are made within 60 days after the bankrupt airline suspends operations. Additionally, the provision has been modified and now calls for the maximum fee not to exceed $50 each way that an airline can charge for providing standby transportation. These protections are set to expire on Nov. 30, 2006

Annual Advocacy Dinner to be Held Sept. 11
Save the Date for ASTA’s third-annual Advocacy Dinner to be held this year at THETRADESHOW (TTS) in Orlando on Monday, Sept. 11 (location to be announced). This annual event showcases and celebrates the Society’s advocacy role before the United States Congress, in the state legislatures and within the travel and tourism industry.

ASTA Files Comments with the Department of Health and Human Services
On March 1, 2006, ASTA released comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), regarding the collection and use of customer data for the purpose of managing public health crises where the spread of disease is directly connected to travel. ASTA is seeking to collaborate with HHS and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify an efficient and cost effective process that will minimize the burden on travel agencies.

ASTA Agents: Remind Your Clients to Get Passports
It is important to start encouraging all clients to get a passport by the end of 2006. Part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will go into effect on Dec. 31, 2006, requiring Americans to have a passport or secure document on air and sea travel to re-enter the United States from Mexico, Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. A recent survey in the Houston Chronicle listed that fewer than 28-percent of U.S. citizens have a passport; get the word out that all citizens need to start applying to get a passport. On Dec. 31, 2007, all U.S. citizens, citizens of the British overseas Territory of Bermuda, and citizens of Canada and Mexico will be required to have a passport or other accepted secure document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or re-enter the United States on land border crossings as well as air and sea travels.

E-Passport is Coming in 2006
The Department of State issued a press release on Friday Feb. 17, 2006, stating that it is gearing up to issue the new Electronic Passport (e-passport) later in 2006 to better facilitate international travel for U.S. citizens and enhance border security. On Dec. 30, 2005, the State Dept. began limited production of the first-ever U.S. e-passports. As part of a pilot program, they are currently issuing diplomatic passports and soon will release official passports in electronic format. The e-passport integrates the latest concepts in electronic document protection and readability.

The new passport combines face recognition and contact-less chip technology. The chip, embedded in the cover of the passport, holds the same information that is printed in the passport: name, date of birth, gender, place of birth, dates of passport issuance and expiration, passport number and photo image of the bearer. Previously issued passports without electronic chips will remain valid until their expiration dates. For more information about the electronic passport, please visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs' Web site at http://travel.state.gov.

ASTA Files Comments with DOT on Price Advertising
On Feb. 13, 2006, ASTA filed comments with the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding its price advertising policy. DOT sought comments on its long-standing enforcement policy that allows carriers to list government-imposed taxes, fees and other charges separately from the listed fare, under certain conditions, if clearly displayed in the advertisement.

Yet, carrier imposed surcharges, such as fuel surcharges, must be included in the advertised price. In its filing, ASTA urged DOT to codify its existing “one price” philosophy and that any additions to the policy should be added only through formal rulemaking procedures, not through enforcement cases asserting new policies against individual firms. In addition, as part of its filing, ASTA is pushing DOT to include in the codified One Price policy all of the prior DOT interpretations and guidelines so that consumers, airlines and travel agents can clearly understand the entire policy.

Janet Turner, CTC, Testifies in Atlanta
Janet Turner, CTC, president of Turner Travels, testified before the Georgia State Assembly on Feb. 8, 2006, opposing H.R. 933. H.R. 933 is a bill that seeks to impose a new hotel occupancy tax on services provided by travel intermediaries. Turner mentioned that although the bill appears to target huge online travel agencies, thousands of traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies with booking engines on their Web sites would also be affected. She went on to discuss how service fees are designed to compensate travel agents for the services provided to the travel consumer, and that the Internet provides small agencies like Turner Travels (a home-based agency and long-standing member of ASTA) with a competitive edge in finding choices that maximize the value of their clients’ travel purchases. If H.R. 933 is enacted, Georgia would be the first jurisdiction to subject intermediary service fees to hotel occupancy taxes.

DHS Completes Foundation of Biometric Entry System
With the deployment of US-VISIT biometric entry procedures at 104 additional land border ports in December 2005, US-VISIT is now in place at airports and seaports with international arrivals, and in the secondary inspection areas of U.S. land border ports of entry.

The Department of Homeland Security’s US-VISIT program is an automated entry-exit system that collects biometric information, including digitized finger scans and photographs, from international visitors when they arrive in and depart from the United States.

US-VISIT helps to enhance security, facilitate travel and trade, and ensure the integrity of the U.S. immigration system while protecting the privacy of its visitors.

As millions of visitors to the United States have found, US VISIT entry procedures are simple, fast and clean. For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/us-visit.

ASTA Files Comments with FCC
On Jan. 18, 2006, ASTA filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) resulting from the passage of the Junk Fax Prevention Act (JFPA) of 2005. ASTA questioned the NPRM for its lack of actual proposed rules. To comply with governing principles of notice and comment in agency rulemaking, ASTA believes the FCC must republish specific proposed rules for evaluation and public input following receipt of comments in this round of the proceeding.

ASTA also filed FCC comments supporting the Fax Ban Coalition’s Petition for a Declaratory Ruling, overriding the harmful fax laws the state of California adopted in 2005. The California fax statute is being litigated in the courts and implementation of the law has been stayed through Feb. 27, 2006 by the presiding judge. ASTA pointed out that the Commission has exclusive authority to regulate interstate commercial fax massages, and that all state laws that purport to regulate interstate fax transmissions are preempted by the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act. To view ASTA FCC comments, go to: http://www.astanet.com/govaffairs/filings.asp.

ASTA Announces Adoption of Passport Substitute Document, PASS
ASTA is pleased to announce that U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff have approved the PASS Card (People Access Security Service)—a passport-substitute travel document initially for travelers crossing U.S. land borders in the Western Hemisphere. Understanding the effects the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) would have on the travel and tourism industry, ASTA testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs on June 9, 2005, urging development of this type of secure travel document.

The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security will also be establishing an inter-agency advisory board to provide a more direct and consistent means of industry input into identifying the best practices for border security crossing. People from the travel and tourism sector and academic world will be on board, as well as various private sectors. To learn more, read the press release by clicking here.