Texline 165-Update on State Educational Employee Conference Reimbursement Rates

TLA TEXLINE NO. 165
Posted: October 9, 2003
LEGISLATIVE ISSUES NETWORK

Update on State Educational Employee
Conference Reimbursement Rates

As many of you know, the State Legislature passed HB 898 during the last legislative session. The law amends provisions related to the allowable reimbursement rates for school district or public junior college employees. In essence, the new law limits reimbursable travel expenses to equal state travel rates. However, the Texas Comptroller has identified an exception for "currently planned conferences."

Any travel to conferences that had hotel contracts (and rates) set prior to September 1, 2003 are still reimbursable under prior rules. (All of the Texas Library Association's conference hotel contracts for 2004 were set prior to September 1, 2003.) Based on the Comptroller's assessment, school districts should honor the reimbursement for the applicable cost of the hotel portion of the expense.

Go to (http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/comptrol/san/travel/isdtravel.html) for a full discussion of the new state reimbursement policy. From the Texas Comptroller's website:

5. Are there any exceptions made for currently planned conferences?

Based upon the discussion in question #4, it appears that if the organization or association of which school districts, school officials or school employees are the primary members, has entered into a contract with conference hotels for future events at a rate that exceeds the new reimbursement limits, the reimbursement amounts for the hotel portion of the expense should be honored. For future conferences, organizations and associations should consult with their legal counsel before entering into new contracts.

TEXLINE INDEX

TLA-Texline is an irregular publication of the Texas Library Association mailed directly to members interested in legislative and governmental issues affecting libraries. To subscribe--or to offer comments or suggestions-- contact Gloria Meraz, Director of Communications, Texas Library Association. Previous issues of Texline are archived on the TLA website.