ASTA Convention to Tackle Legislative Threats
by Robin Amster /ASTA’s success this year in beating back several measures threatening travel agents is a powerful reminder of why the industry needs a strong trade association, according to Eben Peck, ASTA’s vice president of government affairs.
ASTA’s advocacy role, its many successes this year and the challenges it now faces, will be addressed at the upcoming ASTA Global Convention in Miami, Sept. 16 to 19.
Peck will be joined by ASTA vice president of industry affairs John Pittman at a session on Sept. 18 that will give agents a government affairs and regulatory update. The session, titled “What You Need to Know and Do to Protect Your Business,” is for ASTA members only.
Victories
This past year ASTA rallied its membership to defeat state tax proposals in Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia and Ohio. If enacted, the proposals would have cost agents millions.
It also defeated a Washington State proposal to eliminate a lower tax rate on agent commissions.
Peck called the Minnesota, Ohio and Virginia measures “unprecedented in their breadth.”
Agent activism
“We can’t win if people don’t take part [by acting],” Peck said.
“We’ve been lucky to have an engaged and energetic chapter leadership,” he added. The Minnesota proposal alone sparked 1,000 emails from agents to state legislatures opposing the move.
“We think our success in the past year, especially at the state level, provides a good narrative of why the industry needs to support its trade association.”
Despite the wins, the industry is facing additional challenges.
DOT consumer protection rule
Peck said a proposed new DOT airline passenger protections rule could affect several aspects of travel agency operations.
For instance, if adopted the rule would require agents to disclose to consumers any incentive payments (commissions) they receive on air ticket sales, as well any fees they charge, plus inform anyone shopping for air of “the carriers whose tickets they sell or do not sell.”
The DOT is also considering whether airline ancillary fees be displayed through all sales channels.
Cruise safety bill
The Cruise Passenger Protection Act proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., would greatly increase oversight of the cruise industry, giving the DOT “broad new powers over the cruise industry,” Peck said.
“Travel agents sell about 70% of all cruises and have a serious stake in this debate.”
The bill is in the early stages, and ASTA is analyzing the legislation and gathering feedback from members.
State sales tax measures
ASTA has logged several sales tax victories, but similar state tax proposals may surface.
Peck said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed a measure but later backed off.
“These blanket state proposals say all services are subject to state sales taxes,” he said. “There’s then a headlong scramble by every service industry in the state to get exempted. It’s chaos.
“I don’t think any policy maker intends to put us [travel agents] out of business, but that would be the effect of some of these bills as written.”
Impact of sequestration
Sequestration – the automatic across-the-board federal budget cuts enacted by Congress – still have the potential to cause huge disruption in the travel industry, Peck said.
The cuts could affect the TSA, Customs operations and U.S. ports of entry. Sequestration’s forced furlough of air traffic controllers last April wreaked havoc, he noted. Congress subsequently rushed through legislation to put the controllers back to work.
“They have to untangle this knot they’ve created,” Peck said of the budget cuts. “We think travel is critical to the economy and hope the powers that be recognize that.
“I’m optimistic,” he added. “I think Congress and the administration will muddle through.”