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There are new travel laws starting in 2009 that you’ll need to know in order to travel to your destination. The US-government will require all travelers as of June 1st to have a passport for any border crossings, so no more state-issued drivers licenses and ids alongside birth certificates. Another new law from the EU actually pushes to safeguard consumers from unfair advertising. This one which will be enforced in late 2008 or early 2009 says that all European plane ticket quotes must include the rate along with tax, fees, surcharges and any extra costs in the quoted fare. Some other legal travel changes include Visas going electronic as well as a possible Bill of Rights for flyers.

As Homeland Security released info on the size of the terrorist watch list, it’s been reported that only 25-hundred people exist on the list and that only 10-percent included are US-citizens. The American Civil Liberties Union had previously reported that more than 1-million names were on the ‘no fly’ list and the FBI said in August that about 400-thousand individuals were in its Terrorist Screening Database.

Apparently the major issue regarding the terrorist watch list is not the people ON the list, but rather the individuals who are mistaken for listees – perhaps with a similar name. In order to cut down on the misidentifications in airport security, the US-government also announced a new program on Wednesday. Secure Flight requires all travelers to give specific details, including full name, birthdate and gender when booking plane tickets… the info will then be transmitted to Homeland Security for a cross-security-check. The ACLU agreed with the new program’s privacy protections, but said it will either result in Americans being denied boarding or aggressively searched prior to takeoff.

From GetTheDaily.com, I’m Dana Ward and we’ll see you next time with more national news.