Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Pursuant to
the State travel guidelines as established by the New Jersey Department of the
Treasury, Office of Management and Budget, and presented in the OMB Travel
Circulars, one-day trips that do not involve overnight lodging shall not be
eligible for subsistence reimbursement, except for meals expressly authorized
by and in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.A.C.
6A:23A-7.12.
(b) Pursuant to the OMB Travel Circulars,
generally, overnight travel shall not be eligible for subsistence reimbursement
if travel is within the State. Overnight travel is permitted if it is
authorized pursuant to (c) below, or is a required component by the entity
issuing a grant, donation, or other funding agreement with the school district.
The specific required overnight in-State travel event shall be detailed in the
final grant, donation, or other fund acceptance agreement along with the number
of authorized travelers and total cost. All reimbursements shall be subject to
this subchapter unless the funding acceptance agreement specifies
otherwise.
(c) Pursuant to the
State travel regulations as established by the New Jersey Department of the
Treasury, Office of Management and Budget, and presented in the OMB Travel
Circulars, the Commissioner shall be authorized to grant waivers for overnight
travel for district board of education members and school district employees to
attend in-State conferences. Such waivers will be granted in only extremely
limited circumstances when the sponsoring organization can demonstrate the
conference is broad and multi-disciplinary in scope, incorporates content
offerings from numerous specialty areas, and includes important professional
development opportunities and/or required training. In addition, the sponsoring
organization shall demonstrate the conference's content, structure, scheduling,
and anticipated attendance necessitate that it be held on multiple consecutive
days with overnight lodging. When such waivers are granted, individual school
districts or individuals shall not be required to submit waiver requests for
attendance at these conferences.
1. Sponsors
of in-State conferences may submit to the Commissioner a request for a waiver
of this prohibition by providing information regarding the conference as
follows:
i. The name and dates of the
event;
ii. Justification for the
length of the conference and the necessity to hold events for each day beyond
the first day of the conference;
iii. Identification of all other conferences
sponsored or co-sponsored by the organization (whether single or multi-day) in
the previous year;
iv. A
description of the target audience by position title and/or educational
certificate and endorsement;
v.
Justification of the importance of the target audience attending the
event;
vi. The cost of
registration;
vii. A detailed list
and description of any activities to be charged to the participants by the
sponsor separate from the registration fee, such as luncheons, workshops,
entertainment, etc., including:
(1) The cost
of the activity;
(2) Whether
participation is mandatory or voluntary; and
(3) The purpose such as social, guest
speaker, working session, etc.;
viii. A copy of agenda or program for the
event;
ix. A brief statement that
includes the primary purpose of the event, the key issues that will be
addressed at the event, and their relevance to improving instruction or the
operation of a school or school district;
x. For training events, whether the training
is needed for a certification required for continued employment, continuing
education requirements, or requirements of Federal or State law; and
xi. For annual events, total attendance, and
registration cost for the previous year.
(d) If a waiver of the prohibition on
overnight travel is granted pursuant to this section, it shall permit
reimbursement for travel expenses only for individuals whose home-to-convention
commute exceeds 50 miles.
(e)
Overnight travel within the State shall not be eligible for subsistence
reimbursement if travel is on the day prior to the start of the conference.
Reimbursement shall be prohibited for lodging prior to check-in time for the
first day of the event or after check-out time on the last day of the
event.
(f) The United States
General Services Administration publishes a schedule of Federal per diem rates
in the Federal Register for approved overnight travel by the event location.
The latest Federal per diem rates schedule for lodging, meals, and incidental
expenses by location can be found at
http://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.
The following restrictions apply to allowable per diem reimbursements:
1. Allowable per diem reimbursement for
lodging, meals, and incidentals shall be actual reasonable costs, not to exceed
the Federal per diem rates for the event location. Registration and conference
fees are not subject to the Federal per diem rate caps. If the event location
is not listed, the maximum per diem allowance shall be equal to the standard
CONUS per diem rates published by the General Services Administration for
meals, incidental expenses, and lodging.
2. Pursuant to
N.J.S.A.
18A:11-12.o, reimbursement for lodging
expenses for overnight travel, out-of-State or in-State as authorized by the
Commissioner, may exceed the Federal per diem rates if the hotel is the site of
the convention, conference, seminar, or meeting and the going rate of the hotel
is in excess of Federal per diem rates. i.-ii. (No change.)
3. If the meal is not part of a one-sum fee
for a travel event, reimbursement may be approved for the full cost of an
official convention meal that the employee or board member attends, when such
meal is scheduled as an integral part of the convention or conference
proceedings. Receipts shall be submitted to obtain reimbursement in such
situations. The amount of the Federal per diem rate for the corresponding meal
shall be deducted from that day's subsistence allowance.
4. The allowance for a meal(s) or incidentals
shall not be eligible for reimbursement when included and paid in the
registration fee, the cost of lodging, or transportation charge.
5. Receipts shall be required for all hotel
and incidental expenses. Meal expenses under the Federal per diem allowance
limits shall not require receipts pursuant to
N.J.S.A.
18A:11-12.o(3).
6. If the total per diem reimbursement is
greater than the Federal per diem rates, the costs shall be considered
excessive in the absence of substantial justification accompanying the travel
voucher submitted by the employee or district board of education member. In
such cases, receipts shall be submitted for all costs, including
meals.
7. Employees and district
board of education members shall patronize hotels and motels that offer special
rates to government employees unless alternative lodging offers greater cost
benefits or is more advantageous to the conduct of school district
business.
8. Actual subsistence
expenses shall not be reimbursable if paid by the traveler to a member of his
or her family, to another school district employee, or to a family member of
another school district employee.
