POLICY

PERTINENT INFORMATION

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

OPERATING REQUIREMENTS

1. General Travel Provisions
   1. Approval of Requests for Travel
      1. No travel expense shall be incurred by any TSTC employee except in accordance with the official State of Texas Travel Allowance Guide ( available at www.tbpc.state.tx.us/travel/index.html), unless exception is identified in this COP.
         1. Mileage is reimbursed for state business travel in a personal vehicle with distance calculated each year in the Official State Mileage Guide ) (www.cpa.state.tx.us/comptrol/texastra.html).
         2. Print the page from the website and attach it to the travel voucher or request. When actual mileage or point-to-point mileage is claimed for reimbursement, the specific address should be referenced on the Travel Reimbursement Request Mileage Record. For travel occurring on a workday, the amount of reimbursement for mileage claimed may not exceed the amount that would have been reimbursed had the employee traveled between place of work and duty point. The rate of reimbursement is adjusted by the State Comptroller to equal the maximum fixed mileage allowance issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The current mileage reimbursement rate effective September 1, 2002is $.35.
         3. An employee staying overnight in Texas on business travel will be reimbursed up to $80 for lodging, city or county tax calculated on lodging up to $80, and up to $30 for meals.

         Travel outside the State of Texas will vary depending upon the destination. The Comptroller’s Office issues a rate each year for out-of-state travel.

         4. The TSTC interpretation of maximum reimbursement for actual expenses associated with overnight travel on the day of departure or the day of return is as follows:

            Departure from home or work:

            Before 6:00 a.m.	$30.00 (Breakfast + lunch + dinner)
            Before Noon	$24.00 (Lunch + dinner)
            Before 7:00 p.m.	$15.00 (Dinner)

            
            

            Arrival to home or work:

            After 7:00 p.m.	$30.00 (Breakfast + lunch + dinner)
            After Noon	$15.00 (Breakfast + lunch)
            Before Noon	$ 6.00 (Breakfast)

         5. Coordination of travel must occur when two or more state employees are traveling to the same place within the same time period. The State will not reimburse both travelers for mileage going to the same destination within several hours of each other.
   2. Travel on TSTC aircraft

   An employee may request to be a passenger on a TSTC aircraft instructional flight for TSTC business purposes. All flights are primarily for educational purposes and passenger travel is incidental to that purpose. An employee’s request to be a passenger must meet one of the following criteria:

   1. Commercial flight service to the desired destination is not available.
   2. Commercial flight service or other travel options are more costly than being a passenger on a TSTC aircraft instructional flight.
   3. The schedule of the traveler is incompatible with other travel options.
   3. Reimbursements to Board Members, and Key Officials
      1. Aircraft mileage reimbursement rates are as follows: Single engine aircraft: $0.40 Twin engine aircraft: $0.55 Turbine-powered or other aircraft: $1.00
   4. Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemptions
      1. State employees traveling on state business within Texas are exempt from the state occupancy tax charged by commercial lodging establishments. This exemption does not apply to city or county hotel occupancy taxes charged by lodging establishments. The Comptroller of Public Accounts has developed a "Hotel Occupancy Tax Exemption Certificate for Texas State Tax Only"
      2. Employees who fail to present the state occupancy tax certificate to lodging establishments may not be reimbursed for the state tax. Reimbursement for the city and county occupancy tax is allowed, up to an amount computed at the $80.00 rate for lodging. If reimbursement for hotel lodging is allowed above the $80.00 rate, then the extra sale tax may also be paid from local funds.
   5. Foreign Travel

   The Board of Regents shall approve by minute order all foreign travel to countries other than Canada or Mexico. The approval must be obtained before the travel occurs. A copy of this approval must be attached to the travel voucher.

   An annual report listing of all Board of Regents approved foreign travel to countries other than Mexico or Canada shall be prepared at the end of each fiscal year to the Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning and the Legislative Budget Board by October of each year.

   6. Training Seminars conducted by a State Agency for its State Employees
      1. A travel expense associated with a training seminar conducted by a state agency for its state employees may not be reimbursed unless TSTC’s Chief Administrative Officer certifies in writing that:
         1. TSTC does not possess interactive television or video conference facilities at the designated headquarters of the employee who incurred the expense.
         2. TSTC does not have available, at a cost less than the total travel costs associated with the seminar, interactive television or video conference facilities.
         3. TSTC does not have access to another agency’s interactive television or video conference facilities.
      2. A certification may not cover more than one seminar. A blanket certification is not acceptable. For example, a certification that said it applied to all seminars conducted during the next year would not be acceptable. The name of each state employee who attended a seminar is not required to be included in the certification for that seminar. Travel reimbursement without certification must be reimbursed from local funds only.
2. State Travel Management Program
   1. Texas State Technical College is required to participate in all services provided by the State Travel Management Program except participation in the contracts for travel agency services.
      1. Credit Card Program
         1. Employees who travel on college business and are expected to make three or more trips a year and expend at least $500 per year are eligible to apply for a corporate credit card. If an employee refuses to apply for a credit card, the employee will be required to travel using their own personal funds and request reimbursement upon completion of travel.
         2. Cardholders’ should charge expenses while traveling and request reimbursement upon completion of their travel.
         3. Personal expenses are not allowed. A monthly report is produced detailing all non-travel charges. The credit card has a $200 limit on “retail” expenditures. In some instances, charges for travel related services such as parking, taxi, gasoline, etc. are mistakenly coded by the merchant as “retail.”
         4. Each individual is responsible for paying the credit card company for all charges incurred. If an employee’s credit card is canceled due to non-payment, the employee will be ineligible to receive advance travel payments and must travel on personal funds.
         5. Applications for a credit card are available from the Business Office.
         6. Each employee issued a credit card must sign the Credit Card Use Agreement, TSTC-O-FA-003 (3-99) from. This from will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.
         7. TSTC may elect to give advance travel to those employees who were initially denied a credit card, new employees who must travel before credit cards are received, or employees who do not travel enough to apply for a credit card. Only 90% of the estimated travel expense may be given to the employee in advance. Each employee must submit completed travel paperwork to the Business Office within 5 working days after the trip is complete. An employee cannot receive another advance travel until the last travel is cleared from the travel accounts receivable sub-ledger.
      2. Use of Contracted Hotel/Motel Establishments
         1. Each year a Texas State Travel Directory is published with contracted rules. These contracted hotels must be used unless: one of the following valid exceptions exists:        
            1. Contract travel agency alternative. Use of an authorized alternative method is allowable because the state traveler is already in travel status which renders the use of a contract travel agency impractical or unnecessary; airline reservations are not required; or travel is undertaken as part of a group program for which reservations must be made through a specified source to obtain a particular rate and/or service.
            2. Lower total cost to the State. Use of a non-contract travel vendor is less than the contract fare or rate which is offered to the general public, and/or when all trip expenses are evaluated, including ground transportation, insurance fees, parking fees, taxes, and travel time, the use results in a lower total overall cost to the State. If the contract travel vendor offers the same lower fare or rate, the contract travel vendor must be used, unless a valid exception exists.
            3. Efficient use of services. Use of a non-contract travel vendor is necessary because the contract travel vendor is sold out, is not able to provide services at the time or location necessary to accomplish the purpose of the trip, has a real or anticipated labor disruption, or is providing negotiated rates for group travel.
            4. Health and safety issues. Use of a non-contract travel vendor may be allowed when a state traveler finds that the accommodations provided by the vendor may reasonably present a risk to the state traveler or person under the State’s custody in the following circumstances:
               1. Accommodations may lack a reasonable amount of security or safety, and/or may present a health risk based on the state traveler’s individual needs;
               2. Accommodations fail to provide an adequate amount of services required for a person with disabilities; or
               3. Accommodations have limited availability of medical emergency facilities or equipment that may be required by a state traveler or person under the state’s custody.
         2. If an employee is traveling with appropriated funds and the employee does not stay at a contracted hotel, one of the valid exceptions listed above must be stated on the travel voucher.
         3. If an employee is attending an in-state or out-of-state seminar or meeting, the employee may get reimbursed for the cost above the allowable hotel rate where the seminar/meeting is held. If the hotel rate exceeds the State Comptroller’s Office out-of-state lodging rate, the excess rate must be reimbursed from local funds. The total reimbursement for lodging, however, may not exceed twice the allowable lodging rate. The President or Chancellor must provide the hotel rate by signing the Travel Request before the travel occurs.
      3. Use of Contracted Airlines

      Each year a supplement to the Texas State Travel Directory is published with contracted air fares between two cities. Travel agents can locate these fares based upon Code YCATX.

      4. Use of Contracted Rental Car Companies.

      Each year the state obtains contracts with one or more rental car companies. The companies under contract must be used unless:

      1. the contractor does not have a location in the required city
      2. the contractor is sold out
      3. a lower cost than the contract rate can be obtained.
   2. Travel Coordinator
      1. TSTC has appointed a Travel Coordinator responsible for travel management functions on behalf of the college. Travel management functions refer to:
         1. receipt and dissemination of travel information from the Commission and other sources to employees.
         2. coordination with travelers and travel vendors to ensure contracts for travel services are used in accordance with current regulations.
         3. reporting any changes in TSTC’s address to the TBPC
         4. reviewing travel data reports provided by travel vendors and initiating appropriate corrective action in identified instances of failure to use travel contracts.
         5. monitoring of overall state agency travel activities with input made to the Commission regarding any additional service needs or resolution of problems that occur.
      2. The name, address, and phone number of TSTC’s Travel Coordinator is communicated in writing to the TBPC’s State Travel Management Program. Any changes in designation of TSTC’s Travel Coordinator must also be communicated in writing to the Commission’s Travel and Transportation Division within 30 days of such change.
3. Ethics Committee Ruling Regarding Personal Use of State Credit Card
   1. Per EAO 95, the Ethics Commission ruled that state issued credit cards used knowingly for personal use by a state employee is in violation of Section 39.01 a(2) Goods and Services Misapplied.
   2. Depending upon the amount charged, a state employee could be charged from a class C misdemeanor to a second degree felony.
4. Disabled Travelers
   1. Disabled employees may be reimbursed for attendant care and other necessary expenses incurred. First class airfare may be reimbursed for the disabled and their attendants as long as airfare is medically necessary.
5. Payment of Travel
   1. A travel request should be prepared and approved by the employee’s supervisor and forwarded to budget control before all travel.
   2. A travel voucher must be prepared with all required receipts after travel is completed and signed by employee’s supervisor.
   3. A travel voucher is processed by the Business Office for all overnight travel.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

1. A Travel Coordinator is designated to perform the duties required.
2. State Travel Guidelines are followed by all employees.

Office of Responsibility: Chief Financial Officer

College President: Dr. J. Gilbert Leal