A commission must keep travel, lodging, and indirect-cost spending within the limits stated here, and it may not use funds for alcohol or entertainment.
Sec. 391.0115. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMISSION TRAVEL COSTS. (a) In reimbursing commission personnel for travel expenses, a commission may not expend funds for travel in excess of the amount of money that may be expended for state personnel under the General Appropriations Act or travel regulations adopted by the comptroller, including any restrictions on mileage reimbursement, per diem, and lodging reimbursement rates. (b) A member of the governing body of a commission may not be reimbursed from state-appropriated funds, including federal funds, for official travel in an amount in excess of the rates set for travel by state board and commission members. If a hotel is unable or unwilling to provide a commission or its officers or employees a rate equivalent to the rate provided to state employees or if a negotiated conference rate for an officially sanctioned conference or meeting exceeds the applicable state reimbursement rate for lodging, a commission may reimburse for lodging expenses at the rates of the expenses incurred. (c) A commission may not expend any funds for the purchase of alcoholic beverages or entertainment. (d) A commission may purchase goods or a service only if the commission complies with the same provisions for purchasing goods or a service that are equivalent to the provisions, including Chapter 252, applying to a local government. (e) A commission may not spend an amount more than 15 percent of the commission's total expenditures on the commission's indirect costs. For the purposes of this subsection, the commission's capital expenditures and any subcontracts, pass-throughs, or subgrants may not be considered in determining the commission's total direct costs. In this subsection, "pass-through funds" means funds, including subgrants or subcontracts, that are received by a commission from the federal or state government or other grantor for which the commission serves merely as a cash conduit and has no administrative or financial involvement in the program, such as contractor selection, contract provisions, contract methodology payment, or contractor oversight and monitoring. (f) In this section, "indirect costs" means costs that are not directly attributable to a single action of a commission. The governor shall use the federal Office of Management and Budget circulars A-87 and A-122 or use any rules relating to the determination of indirect costs adopted under Chapter 783, Government Code, in administering this section. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 280, Sec. 19, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1498, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.