Dear members

In what could prove to be an important change in ICANN policy, a new travel support policy has been proposed.

http://www.icann.org/topics/travel-support/draft-procedure-22may08.htm

This policy is only a proposal and there is still debate about it.

The essential features of the policy are:

1. Eligibility: GNSO, ASO, ccNSO. 

2. Administration. ICANN will directly pay for air travel, provide reasonable reimbursement for other forms of travel (e.g. rail), and pay a per diem to cover all other expenses (meals, lodging, sundries, taxis, parking, etc.) Actual per diem amounts will be published for each meeting, based on international standards.

3. Budget. ICANN will allocate sufficient funds so that the Chair and half of the remaining Council members will receive travel support. So for the GNSO this covers 12 of 23 GNSO members (including liaisons).

4. Allocation. SO Chair (or designated committee) to determine for whom this travel support funding is to be used, based on best meeting the policy-making needs of the entity so may include non-Council members (by excluding further Council members).

5. Class of travel. To maximize participation, class of travel will be economy, however the Chair will travel according to the same policy as the Board. (For trips longer than five hours, Board member travel is booked at Business class airfares.

Some of us are concerned about the idea of covering only half the GNSO Council members and requiring a committee or the chair to decide which half.

We will probably file some comments on this. Obviously the supplier constituencies (registries and registrars) who view themselves as being taxed to pay for flying around people who want to regulate them, oppose any travel support, and the user constituencies tend to want all the Council members to be supported. Your comments welcome.