La. Admin. Code tit. 4 § V-1509

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 8, August 20, 2024

Section V-1509 - Special Meals

A. Reimbursement designed for those occasions when, as a matter of extraordinary courtesy or necessity, it is appropriate and in the best interest of the state to use public funds for provision of a meal to a person who is not otherwise eligible for such reimbursement and where reimbursement is not available from another source. Requests should be within reason and may include tax and tips. Itemized receipts are required.

1. Visiting dignitaries or executive-level persons from other governmental units, and persons providing identified gratuity services to the state. This explicitly does not include normal visits, meetings, reviews, etc., by federal or local representatives.

2. Extraordinary situations are when state employees are required by their supervisor to work more than a 12-hour weekday or 6-hours on a weekend (when such are not normal working hours to meet crucial deadlines or to handle emergencies).

B. All special meals must have prior approval from the Commissioner of Administration or, for Higher Education, the entity head or his designee in order to be reimbursed, unless specific authority for approval has been delegated to a department head for a period not to exceed one fiscal year with the exception in Subsection C, as follows.

C. A department head may authorize a special meal within allowable rates listed under Meals-Tier 1, to be served in conjunction with a working meeting of departmental staff. Reasonable tip is allowed if ordered from outside vendor. No tip should ever exceed 20 percent.

D. In such cases, the department will report on a quarterly basis to the Commissioner of Administration all special meal reimbursements made during the previous three months. For Higher Education, these reports should be sent to the respective Institution of Higher Education management board. These reports must include, for each special meal, the name and title of the person receiving reimbursement, the name and title of each recipient, the cost of each meal and an explanation as to why the meal was in the best interest of the state. Renewal of such delegation will depend upon a review of all special meals authorized and paid during the period. Request to the commissioner for special meal authorization must include, under signature of the department head:

1. name and position/title of the state officer or employee requesting authority to incur expenses and assuming responsibility for such;

2. clear justification of the necessity and appropriateness of the request;

3. names, official titles or affiliations of all persons for whom reimbursement of meal expenses is being requested;

4. statement that allowances for meal reimbursement according to these regulations will be followed unless specific approval is received from the Commissioner of Administration to exceed this reimbursement limitation;

a. all of the following must be reviewed and approved by the department head or his/her designee prior to reimbursement:

i detailed breakdown of all expenses incurred, with appropriate receipts(s);

ii. subtraction of cost of any alcoholic beverages;

iii. copy of prior written approval from the Commissioner of Administration or, for higher education, the entity head or his/her designee.

La. Admin. Code tit. 4, § V-1509

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 26:1258 (June 2000), LR 27:809 (June 2001), LR 28:1132 (June 2002), LR 30:1118 (June 2004), LR 31:1191 (June 2005), republished LR 1322 (July 2007), amended LR 34:1307 (July 2008), LR 35:1200 (July 2009), LR 36:1656 (July 2010), LR 37:2058 (July 2011), LR 38:1485 (July 2012), LR 39:1670 (July 2013), LR 40:1063 (June 2014), amended by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of State Procurement, LR 41:1055 (June 2015).

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