The purpose of this policy is to provide information relating to McNeese State University and Louisiana travel-related policies and procedures, including Policy and Procedures Memorandum (PPM) 49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By state law, McNeese State University, like other state agencies, must comply with PPM 49, the state\u2019s mandatory travel regulations.\u00a0In accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 39:231B, the commissioner of administration prescribes the conditions under which state employees may travel, and the commissioner amends PPM 49 annually.\u00a0Policy changes become effective on July 1 of each year.\u00a0PPM 49 is considered official University policy, and employees are expected to abide by its provisions.\u00a0Employees may obtain updated regulations from the Office of Administrative Accounting or the Division of Administration website<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This policy and PPM 49, together, should be considered the University\u2019s official travel policy. In any case, in which University policy and PPM 49 conflict, PPM 49 prevails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before employees may travel on University business, employees must receive official authorization from the president or the president’s designee(s). The president’s designees for approving travel authorization forms are vice presidents, associate vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, deans (both academic and non-academic), the athletics director, and senior associate athletics directors for all employees under their supervision. This authorization is accomplished with the preparation and approval of the Request for Travel Form, which may be found on the Employee Travel Forms portal card in the MyMcNeese Portal.\u00a0Travelers must submit a completed and approved Request for Travel Form to the Office of Administrative Accounting\u00a0no later than one week prior to the scheduled date of departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The state of Louisiana contracts with a private travel agency for air travel-related services. All airline reservations must be made through the state\u2019s contractor, Christopherson Business Travel. If a traveler can obtain a rate lower than what Christopherson Business Travel can provide, the traveler must first secure a written exception from the Office of State Procurement, Travel Section, before the traveler may book an air travel reservation outside Christopherson Business Travel.\u00a0For additional information concerning air travel, contact the Office of Purchasing and Property Control, the travel accountant, or the State Office of Procurement, Travel Section.\u00a0See PPM 49 for more detailed information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The state of Louisiana has contracted with a private contractor for reserving hotel rooms. State travelers may use HotelPlanner, the state\u2019s contractor, for all in-state and out-of-state hotel\/motel reservations or may use other means to minimize costs (per commissioner of administration memorandum dated January 12, 2016). Reimbursement cost limits apply. Additional mandatory rules and guidance concerning lodging, including guidance related to conference travel, may be found in PPM 49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PPM 49 only allows reimbursement for meals for overnight travel away from the official domicile. PPM 49 also imposes limits on meal reimbursements based upon time of departure and arrival and based upon geographical location. See PPM 49 for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees may use rented, University-owned, or personal vehicles for University business transportation.\u00a0Each type has specific policy provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees must receive prior approval from the comptroller, as the president\u2019s designee, or the president before renting a vehicle.\u00a0Annual approval may be available for employees who rent vehicles on a regular basis.\u00a0The state of Louisiana has contracted with certain private contractors for vehicle rentals, and employees must use these contracted vehicle rental companies when renting a vehicle.\u00a0Other restrictions also apply.\u00a0See PPM 49 for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n University-owned vehicles are available to traveling employees who do not wish to rent a vehicle. The terms and conditions of using a University-owned vehicle may be found in the Vehicle Use Policy<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees who do not wish to use a rented vehicle or a University-owned vehicle may use their personal vehicle.\u00a0Employees should be aware that PPM 49 will limit cost reimbursement to a maximum of 99 miles.\u00a0Other terms and conditions of using a personal vehicle may be found in the Vehicle Use Policy<\/span><\/a> and PPM 49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PPM 49 allows limited travel related reimbursements for baggage, parking, and other incidental expenses. Receipts are generally required. See PPM 49 for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All group\/team high-cost expenditures (airfare, lodging, vehicle rentals, and registration) must be placed on the LaCarte Travel Card or the University CBA program unless prior approval is granted from the commissioner of administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The LaCarte Purchasing Card is a credit account issued in an employee\u2019s name. The account is the direct liability of the state and is paid by McNeese. The LaCarte Purchasing Card enables employees to purchase items with the convenience of a credit card while providing a means of maintaining control over purchases. The use of the LaCarte Purchasing Card can improve efficiency and effectiveness by reducing costs associated with processing purchases and payments and will allow for the receipt of goods on a timely basis. Employees issued the LaCarte Purchasing Card for travel must use the card responsibly within the LaCarte Purchasing Card policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The following are allowable travel charges for the LaCarte Purchasing Card. Travel charges not listed below should not be placed on the card:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CBA is a credit account issued in the name of McNeese State University (no plastic card issued), and charges are direct liabilities of the state and are paid by McNeese.\u00a0The CBA is issued to the Office of Purchasing and Property Control.\u00a0The CBA may be used for airfare, registration, rental cars, prepaid <\/strong>shuttle charges, lodging, any allowable lodging-associated charges such as parking and internet charges, and any other charges listed in the CBA Policy through the Office of Purchasing and Property Control.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees may obtain more detailed information regarding the appropriate use of the LaCarte Purchasing Card and the CBA from the Office of Administrative Accounting or the Division of Administration website<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be eligible for international travel, employees must complete the International Travel Approval Form and submit the form to the president for approval no less than 30 days before departure.\u00a0The International Travel Approval Form may be found on the Employee Travel Forms portal card in the MyMcNeese Portal.\u00a0(A regular Request for Travel Form is also required.) International travel is not allowed without the president\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within ten business days upon return from international travel, employees must itemize the costs of the international travel and submit the information to the Office of the President. The employee must also provide additional information as directed on the form. See PPM 49 for reimbursement limitations and other information relating to international travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The University uses the Travel Expense Account Form (Form BA-12) for employee travel accounting and reimbursement. A Travel Expense Account Form must be completed and submitted to the Office of Administrative Accounting upon completion of travel unless the only expense incurred is the usage of a University automobile, in which case, the Office of Administrative Accounting should be notified in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All claims for reimbursement for travel shall be submitted on Form BA-12 (which may be found on the Employee Travel Forms portal card in the MyMcNeese Portal) and shall include all expenses related to the trip whether paid by PO, LaCarte Purchasing Card, or personal funds. Notate on the form if expense was paid with a PO or LaCarte Purchasing Card.\u00a0All original receipts for lodging, taxi, rental vehicles, parking, tolls, airfare, etc. must be attached. If travel is for a conference or convention, a program agenda must be attached.\u00a0Claims shall be submitted within the month following travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Persons traveling on official business are expected to provide themselves with sufficient funds for all routine travel expenses that cannot be covered by the LaCarte Purchasing Card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cash advances for business travel are available under limited circumstances as listed below. Advances should be punctually repaid when submitting the Form BA-12 covering the related travel no later than the fifteenth day of the month following the completion of travel. Employees who have not returned and reconciled prior outstanding advances will not be provided with additional advances until they have done so. Disregarding the 15-day policy may result in disallowing of any advances in the future. Cash advances must be picked up in person at the Office of Administrative Accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the discretion of the University, cash advances may be allowed in the following circumstances:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traveling expenses shall be limited to those expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of a public purpose authorized by law to be performed by the University and must be within the limitations prescribed within University policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be no reimbursement when no cost is incurred by the traveler. This includes but is not limited to reimbursements 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 they are gratuitously transported by another person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees who receive complimentary admission, registration, lodging, and\/or transportation from outside vendors must report information according to La. R.S. 42:115.2 (B) on the Complimentary Admission, Registration, Lodging, and\/or Transportation Request Form, which may be found on the Employee Travel Forms portal card in the MyMcNeese Portal. The form must be completed with the travel request.\u00a0For more information, see the Complimentary Admission, Registration, Lodging, and\/or Transportation Policy<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","policy_types":[13],"class_list":["post-5377","ie_policy","type-ie_policy","status-publish","hentry","policy_types-business-and-finance"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ie_policy\/5377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ie_policy"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ie_policy"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ie_policy\/5377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16698,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ie_policy\/5377\/revisions\/16698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"policy_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/policy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/policy_types?post=5377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Travel Procedures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Travel Requests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Air Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lodging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Meals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Vehicles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Rented Vehicles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
University Vehicles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Personal Vehicles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Incidental Expenses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LaCarte Travel Card and Controlled Billed Account (CBA)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LaCarte Purchasing Card<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Controlled Billed Account (CBA)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
International Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Travel Expense Account Form<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Funds for Travel Expenses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Travel Advances<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Public Purpose<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Travel Without Cost<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Complimentary Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n