Travel Related Policy Changes

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Travel Related Policy Changes

• Pittsburg State University
• Effective January 1, 2016

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This is something new for everyone at PSU

• Please be patient as we all learn this new
  process. It is new to us too!
• We will have examples and a QA session at the
  end of the presentation.
• Please hold questions until the end of the
  presentation.

• We realize there are many unique situations
  regarding travel on our campus. If we are not
  able to answer your specific question(s) today,
  we will find out for you. Once we have the
  answer we will update the QA on the Business
  Office website. We have provided a card for your
  question, name, and contact information.

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How did this all come about?
Informational Circular 16-A-006 Travel Related
Policy Changes State Agencies received
Informational Circular 16-A-006 on October 12,
2015 notifying them that the State of Kansas will
adopt federal standards for per diem rates. The
policies listed below are being implemented for
all travel occurring on and after January 1,
2016. Circulars 16-A-006 Travel Related Policy
Changes 16-A-010 Travel Related Policy Changes
(Supercedes 16-A-006) 16-A-011 FY 2016
Subsistence Rates for Travel Occurring on and
after 1/1/16
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• The State of Kansas is adopting federal rates.
• What are those rates?
• We are not adopting their policies, only their
  rates.
• CONUS stands for CONtinental United States.
  Federal General Services Administration is
  responsible for maintaining the Contiguous State
  Rates. This applies to all of the Continental
  United States and Washington D.C., with the
  exception of Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S.
  Territories.
• Website http//www.gsa.gov/portal/content/1
  04877
• OCONUS stands for Outside the CONtiguous United
  States. OCONUS rates are established by the
  Department of Defense and include Alaska, Hawaii,
  and U.S. Territories.
• Website http//www.defensetravel.dod.mil/si
  te/perdiemCalc.cfm
• International Travel meal reimbursement will
  follow the U.S. Department of State MIE rates.
  The option to use actual meal receipts has been
  discontinued. (Note this does not include
  lodging)
• Website https//aoprals.state.gov/web920/pe
  r_diem.asp

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• We already had a travel policy in place. Why
  change?
• SMART (State of Kansas Accounting System) was
  updated in November. As a result of that upgrade
  these travel policy changes were made and this
  policy utilizes the functionality of that
  upgrade.
• Although PSU has no automated travel system, we
  are still required to follow state policy.
• The Good News
• Out-of-state reimbursements align closer with
  actual travel locations.
• Once implemented the Federal rates will be
  updated twice a year on October 1 and April 1, so
  rates are continuously relevant.
• Travelers will now receive a meal on the quarter
  they leave AND the quarter they return.
• The Bad News
• The complex policy is more difficult to manage in
  a manual process.

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• What has changed?
• Subsistence
• Meal Per Diem Calculation and Rates
• Lodging Limits and Rates

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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Per Diem
• Per Diem rates for the State of Kansas shall
  consist of the following
• o Meals and Incidentals Expense (MIE) rate
• ? Meals the cost of meals, taxes, and tips.
• Incidentals Expense all fees and tips to hotel
  porters, bellhops, doormen, and maids.
• At this point, the only tips that will be allowed
  are transportation related.
• For International travel, the allowance for
  paying actual meal expenses with receipts is
  discontinued.

MIE Rate
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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Per Diem
• Same Day Travel Meal Allowance
• For employees that qualify for a same-day travel
  meal allowance, the department will enter the
  appropriate amount to be reimbursed based on 15,
  35 or 50 (breakfast, lunch or dinner) of the
  daily MIE rate. The meal is to be determined by
  the department.

MIE Rate
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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Per Diem
• Reduced Meal Allowance for Meals Provided at No
  Cost to the Employee
• If meals are provided during a given travel day,
  the department will reduce the MIE rate by the
  amount of the meal that was provided, based on
  15, 35 or 50 (breakfast, lunch or dinner) of
  the daily MIE rate. For partial days, the
  quarter amount is calculated first and then the
  meal deduction is applied.
• If all meals are provided for a day, the
  reduction to the MIE rate will be 100 and there
  will be no allowance for incidentals expense
  reimbursed to the traveler.

MIE Rate
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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Lodging Rates
• Employees may be reimbursed for actual lodging
  expense incurred, not to exceed the maximum rate.
  (Federal rate 50)
• Since incidental expenses are included in the
  MIE rate, no additional incidentals may be
  claimed with lodging.
• Taxes are paid in addition to this lodging rate.
• For international travel, payment for actual
  lodging expense is allowed and not subject to
  rate limitations. Lodging incidentals, as
  mentioned above, are included in the MIE rate
  and should not be included in addition to the
  lodging.

Lodging
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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Lodging
• Conference Lodging
• Agencies may authorize payment or reimbursement
  for actual lodging expenses when an employee is
  required or authorized to attend a conference,
  and the lodging rate exceeds the applicable
  lodging expense limitation. The department must
  provide the Business Office with conference
  materials and rates. These must be maintained
  with travel documentation.

Lodging
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• Changes to Subsistence Policy
• Lodging
• Exception to Lodging Expense Limitations
• K.S.A 75-3207a(f) provides that the daily lodging
  expense limitations established may be exceeded,
  upon approval by the agency head by the lesser of
  either (1) an additional 50 of the applicable
  lodging expense limitation, or (2) the actual
  lodging expense incurred. These lodging limits
  continue to be applied to the lodging rate before
  taxes. Thus, the amount reimbursed or paid for
  lodging expenses may exceed the established
  lodging limitation by as much as the amount of
  associated taxes.

Lodging
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CONUS http//www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877
SRStandard Rate Applies to locations without
specified rates. NSRNonstandard Rate Applies
to locations with a specific rate.
CONtinental United States Includes all of the
Continental United States and Washington D.C.,
with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S.
Territories
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OCONUS http//www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/perd
iemCalc.cfm
Outside the CONtiguous United States Includes
Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories

• U.S. Territories include
• American Samoa
• Guam
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Puerto Rico
• U.S. Virgin Islands

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U.S. Department of State https//aoprals.state.go
v/web920/per_diem.asp

• U.S. Department of State
• Includes MIE Rates for International Travel
• Does NOT include rates for lodging

For international travel, only the October 1 and
April 1 subsistence files should be used to
locate the MIE Rate.
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Examples Worksheets
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Doing the Math for MIE Rates Here is a chart
showing the exact time for a quarter when
determining the amount of meals due to a traveler
for a partial day of travel Here is a chart
showing the reduction percentage applied to the
MIE rate when a meal is provided Example
A state employee travels to a conference in
Overland Park, KS. The MIE rate amount for a
full day is 64.00. On the day of departure, he
leaves home at 1000 am, and dinner is provided
at the conference. The calculation of the
employees MIE for that day is Meals for
three quarters since he left at 1000 64.00 x
.75 48.00 Less Per Diem Deduction for Dinner
48.00 x .50 (24.00) Total
Meals 24.00
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• Other Important Notes
• The Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement
  Handbook is being updated to reflect these policy
  changes. Agencies will be notified when the
  revised Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement
  Handbook and Policy Manuals are available. We
  will disperse this information to the campus once
  we receive it.
• The Business Office will be updating the travel
  portion of their website to reflect the policy
  changes. We will also provide a new trifold with
  updated information.
• The DA-121 Form is not changing at this point in
  time. Please continue to enter the per diem rate
  for one date at a time rather than for a range of
  days on one line.
• Our Travel Form approval policy at PSU has not
  changed. (Teresa checking to see if T-Form can
  be changed.)

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Frequently Asked Questions Q1 It was stated at
the training that if an employee has all 3 meals
provided in one day, that employee would not
receive any meal reimbursement or the 5
incidental for that day.  As stated in
Informational Circular 16-A-006, the 5
incidental is for tips to hotel porters,
bellhops, doormen and maids.  Even though this
employee has all 3 meals provided, they could
still incur an incidental expense like a bellhop
tip.  Is there any way an employee could get
reimbursed if they do? A1 No, there would be no
other method of reimbursing the traveler for
incidental expenses. Q2 If an employee incurs
more incidental expenses in a day than the daily
rate allows (i.e. 5), can they claim
reimbursement for the additional incidentals? A2
There is no allowance for lodging incidentals in
excess of 5 which is included with the MIE
rate. Q3 What if an employee tips a taxi driver
or a shuttle?  Is this considered part of the
incidental amount in the daily MIE rate the
employee gets, or is it considered part of the
taxi expense? A3 A tip for a taxi driver or
shuttle is still considered part of the taxi or
shuttle expense and is reimbursed as part of the
taxi expense on the expense report.  The
incidental amount included in the daily MIE rate
is a lodging incidentals allowance for fees and
tips to hotel porters, bellhops, doormen, and
maids. Q4 It is now January, 2016 and I need
to reimburse a traveler for December travel. Do
I use old rates or new rates? A4 The travel
reimbursement is based on the date of travel, so
you will use the old rates for the December
travel.
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Q5 On the old policy, continental breakfasts
did not count as a provided meal, but federal
guidelines consider it a provided meal.  What
does the state consider a provided meal at a
hotel or event? A5 The state is adopting federal
rates but not federal policies.  The state policy
is not changing.  As stated in section 4301 of
the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement
Handbook, light continental breakfasts are not
considered to be a provided meal.  However, each
agency is responsible for reducing meal
allowances for other complimentary breakfasts.
(Departmental call) Q6 For international
travel, current travel policy allows for payment
or reimbursement of actual lodging expenses
incurred.  Will this continue with the adoption
of federal rates? A6 Yes, for international
lodging, actual expenses will continue to be paid
or reimbursed.  MIE associated with
international travel will follow federal rates
established by the U.S. Department of State.
Remember earlier in the presentation when we
talked about international meals? They cannot be
reimbursed for actual expenses, however, lodging
can. Q7 Regarding the inclusion of tax with the
lodging rate, will foreign travel rates exclude
all U.S. Territories (i.e. will the taxes/lodging
fees paid in addition to the base rate apply to
continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and U.S.
territories)? A7 That is correct.  Taxes are
paid in addition to the base rate for the
continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and U.S.
territories and possessions. Q8 Will things
change with travel when Oracle Cloud is
implemented at PSU? A8 Although we will still
be following state travel policies, the way you
process travel will definitely change! Although
its too early to go into specifics, our hope and
goal is that it will be much easier than what we
are presenting today.
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• Bringing it All Together
• QA
• Contact Information
• Misty Button (mbutton_at_pittstate.edu) Ext 4150
• Kim Wilson (kimberly.wilson_at_pittstate.edu) Ext
  4168
• Teresa Kolarik (tkolarik_at_pittstate.edu) Ext 4151
• Christina Davis (cdavis_at_pittstate.edu) Ext 4159