La. Admin. Code tit. 4 § V-1503

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-1503 - General Specifications

A. Department Policies

1. Department heads may establish travel regulations within their respective agencies, but such regulations shall not exceed the maximum limitations established by the Commissioner of Administration. Three copies of such regulations shall be submitted for prior review and approval by the Commissioner of Administration. One of the copies shall highlight any exceptions /deviations to PPM-49.

2. Department and agency heads will take whatever action necessary to minimize all travel to carry on the department mission.

3. All High Cost Expenditures (airfare, lodging, vehicle rentals, and registration) must be placed on the LaCarte Purchasing Card, Travel Card or agency CBA programs unless prior approval is granted from the Commissioner of Administration.

4. Contracted Travel Services. The state has contracted for travel agency services which use is mandatory for airfares unless exemptions have been granted by the Division of Administration, Office of State Travel, prior to purchasing airfare tickets. The contracted travel agency has an online booking system which can and should be used by all travelers for booking airfare. Use of the online booking system can drastically reduce the cost paid per transaction and state travelers are strongly encouraged to utilize.

5. Contracted Hotel Services. The state has a contract for hotel services, with HotelPlanner, which use is mandatory. This mandate is also applicable to authorized travelers, contractors, board members and students who are traveling on behalf of State of Louisiana. A one-time exemption may be granted for individual lodging on a case by case basis by the Agency Department Head with proper justification.

NOTE: Travelers will be responsible for adhering to the hotel's cancellation policy that is set by the hotel when booking through Hotelplanner. If a traveler does not cancel a hotel stay within the cancellation time frame that is set by the hotel, the traveler will be responsible for payments. No exceptions unless approval is granted from the Commissioner of Administration. Travelers not booking through the portal without prior approval must reimburse the agency/university/board.

a. All agency/university/board hosted in-state conferences that require lodging must be booked through Hotelplanner portal unless prior approval granted by the Division of Administration, Office of State Travel.

b. Group lodging for in-state and out-of-state bookings must be booked through Hotelplanner portal unless prior approval is granted by the Division of Administration, Office of State Travel.

6. Contracted Vehicles Rentals. The state has a contract for all rentals based out of Louisiana through Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which use is mandatory.

a. The state has a contract for all out-of-state rental vehicles which use is mandatory. Travelers shall use Hertz, Enterprise, or National for business travel. These contracts are also applicable to all authorized travelers, and contractors.

7. When a state agency enters into a contract with an out-of-state public entity, the out-of-state public entity may have the authority to conduct any related travel in accordance with their published travel regulations.

8. Authorization to Travel

a. All non-routine travel must be authorized with prior approvals in writing by the head of the department, board, or commission from whose funds the traveler is paid. A department head may delegate this authority in writing to one designated person. Additional persons within a department may be designated with approval from the Commissioner of Administration. A file shall be maintained, by the agency, on all approved travel authorizations.

b. Annual travel authorizations are no longer a mandatory requirement of PPM-49 for routine travel, however, an agency can continue to utilize this process if determined to be in your department's best interest and to obtain prior approval for annual routine travel. A prior approved travel authorization is still required for non-routine meetings, conferences and out-of-state travel.

B. Funds for Travel Expenses

1. Persons traveling on official business will provide themselves with sufficient funds for all routine travel expenses not covered by the corporate travel card, LaCarte purchasing card, if applicable, and/or agency's CBA account. Advance of funds for travel shall be made only for extraordinary travel and should be punctually repaid when submitting the Travel expense form covering the related travel, no later than the fifteenth day of the month following the completion of travel.

2. Exemptions: Cash advance(s) meeting the exception requirement(s) listed below, must have an original receipt to support all expenditures in which a cash advance was given, including meals. At the agency's discretion, cash advances may be allowed for:

a. state employees whose salary is less than $30,000/year;

b. state employees who accompany and/or are responsible for students or athletes for a group travel advance.

NOTE: In this case and in regards to meals, where there is group travel advancements, a roster with signatures of each group member along with the amount of funds received by each group member, may be substituted for individual receipts. (This exception does not apply when given for just an individual employee's travel which is over a group.)

c. state employees who accompany and/or responsible for client travel;

d. new employees who have not had time to apply for and receive the state's corporate travel card;

e. employees traveling for extended periods, defined as 30 or more consecutive days;

f. employees traveling to remote destinations in foreign countries, such as jungles of Peru or Bolivia;

g. lodging purchase, if hotel will not allow direct bill or charges to agency's CBA and whose salary is less than $30,000/year;

h. registration for seminars, conferences, and conventions;

i. any ticket booked by a traveler 30 days or more in advance and for which the traveler has been billed, may be reimbursed by the agency to the traveler on a preliminary expense reimbursement request. The traveler should submit the request with a copy of the bill or invoice. Passenger airfare receipts are required for reimbursement;

j. employees who infrequently travel or travelers that incur significant out-of-pocket cash expenditures and whose salary is less than $30,000/year.

3. Expenses Incurred on State Business. Traveling expenses of travelers shall be limited to those expenses necessarily incurred by them in the performance of a public purpose authorized by law to be performed by the agency and must be within the limitations prescribed herein.

4. CBA (Controlled Billed Account) issued in an agency's name, and paid by the agency may be used for airfare, registration, rental cars, prepaid shuttle charges, lodging and any allowable lodging associated charges such as parking and internet charges. Other credit cards issued in the name of the state agency are not to be used without written approval.

5. No Reimbursement When No Cost Incurred by Traveler. This includes but is not limited to reimbursement for any lodging and/or meals furnished at a state institution or other state agency, or furnished by any other party at no cost to the traveler. In no case will a traveler be allowed mileage or transportation when he/she is gratuitously transported by another person.

C. Claims for Reimbursement

1. All claims for reimbursement for travel shall be submitted on the state's Travel Expense Form BA-12, unless exception has been granted by the Commissioner of Administration, and shall include all details provided for on the form. It must be signed by the person claiming reimbursement and approved by his/her immediate supervisor. In all cases the date and hour of departure from and return to domicile must be shown, along with each final destination throughout the trip clearly defined on the form. On the State's Travel Authorization Form GF-4 the second page must be completed with breakdown of the estimated travel expenses. This is necessary for every trip, not just when requesting a travel advance. For every travel authorization request, the "purpose of the trip" for travel must be stated in the space provided on the front of the form.

2. Except where the cost of air transportation, registration, lodging, rental vehicles, shuttle service, and all other allowable charges outlined in the current State of Louisiana State Liability Travel and CBA Policy are invoiced directly to the agency or charged to a state liability card, any and all expenses incurred on any official trip shall be paid by the traveler and his travel expense form shall show all such expenses in detail so that the total cost of the trip shall be reflected on the travel expense form. If the cost of the expenses listed above are paid directly or charged directly to the agency/department, a notation will be indicated on the travel expense form indicating the date of travel, destination, amount, and the fact that it has been paid by the agency/department. The traveler must provide receipts, for all items charged or billed direct to the agency.

3. In all cases, and under any travel status, cost of meals shall be paid by the traveler and claimed on the travel expense form for reimbursement, and not charged to the state department, unless otherwise authorized by the department head or his designee, allowed under the State Liability Travel, CBA and/or LaCarte Purchasing Card Policy or with written approval from the Office of State Purchasing and Travel. A file must be kept containing all of these special approvals.

4. Claims should be submitted within the month following the travel, but preferably held until a reimbursement of at least $25 is due. Department heads at their discretion may make the 30 day submittal mandatory on a department wide basis.

5. Any person who submits a claim pursuant to these regulations and who willfully makes and subscribes to any claim which he/she does not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter, or who willfully aids or assists in, or procures, counsels or advises the preparation or presentation of a claim, which is fraudulent or is false as to any material matter shall be guilty of official misconduct. Whoever shall receive an allowance or reimbursement by means of a false claim shall be subject to severe disciplinary action as well as being criminally and civilly liable within the provisions of state law.

6. Agencies are required to reimburse travel in an expeditious manner. In no case shall reimbursements require more than 30 days to process from receipt of complete, proper travel documentation.

La. Admin. Code tit. 4, § V-1503

Written by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, November 1, 1972, published LR 1:179 (April 1975), amended LR 1:338 (August 1975), LR 2:312 (October 1976), LR 5:93 (May 1979), LR 6:405 (August 1980), LR 7:7 (January 1981), LR 8:406 (August 1982), LR 15:820 (October 1989), LR 16:965 (November 1990), LR 26:1253 (June 2000), LR 27:803 (June 2001), LR 28:1126 (June 2002), LR 29:823 (June 2003), LR 30:1112 (June 2004), LR 31:1184 (June 2005), LR 33:966 (June 2007), republished LR 33:1315 (July 2007), amended LR 34:1300 (July 2008), republished LR 35:1193 (July 2009), amended LR 36:1648 (July 2010), LR 37:2049 (July 2011), LR 38:1476 (July 2012), LR 39:1660 (July 2013), LR 40:1053 (June 2014), amended by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of State Procurement, LR 41:1044 (June 2015).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Published in accordance with R.S. 39:231.