Page 1 of 5 Effective 03/03/2014 OUT-OF-DISTRICT TRAVEL REGULATIONS Las Cruces Public Schools The purpose of the District Travel and Reimbursement Procedure is to establish and communicate the mechanism for reimbursing School Board Members and LCPS Employees for expenses incurred while traveling on District business. The travel procedures comply with Title 2 Chapter 42 Part 2 of the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) issued by the Department of Finance and Administration. 1. Out-of-District Travel 1. General Regulations 1. TRAVELER is a School Board Member or LCPS Employee. 2. All Employees must complete a LEAVE REQUEST (Form #40) prior to travel. The traveler s supervisor and the appropriate control agent must sign approving the leave. The leave request must be entered into the accounting system. 3. State law requires that the "purpose to be served by the travel" be documented. Therefore, it is important the "REASON FOR LEAVE/TRIP" portion of the Leave Request is completed. 4. If any expenses are to be reimbursed or paid to the traveler, Part 3 of the Leave Request must be completed. (1) Reimbursement requests by School Board Members should be signed by the Superintendent of schools. (2) Reimbursement requests by the Superintendent should be signed by a School Board Member. 5. Travelers should familiarize themselves with pertinent sections of the Policies (Section 521) & Procedures relating to travel. 6. To receive reimbursement, a TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST (Form #43), together with all required receipts, must be completed and approved by the supervisor and control agent. This completed documentation is forwarded to the Finance Office for payment within 30 days from the last date of travel. 7. Mileage for out-of-district travel by privately owned vehicle will be reimbursed only when a school car is not available. A written request for use of a school owned vehicle (LCPS Trip Ticket) must be submitted with indication of non-availability noted by the fleet Secretary. Approved personal vehicle mileage reimbursement will be based on map mileage, from city limit to city limit. See Section 5.1 for NM standard mileage rate. The in-state standard Mileage chart is available in Section 6, Table 5. Out-of-state mileage will be obtained through www.mapquest.com. 8. All travel expenditures must be reimbursed prior to current year accounts payable processing deadlines. Any claims submitted past the end of the fiscal year will not be paid. 2. PARTIAL DAY PER DIEM RATES AND REGULATIONS 1. Partial day per diem rates for travel which does not require overnight lodging, but extends beyond a normal work day are in Section 5, Table 1. 2. A traveler must be gone for a minimum of 2 consecutive hours beyond the normal workday to a location approved for per diem reimbursement to be
Page 2 of 5 eligible for reimbursement. After the 2-hour minimum is met, per diem for the hours beyond the normal work day is reimbursed based on rates in Section 5, Table 1. 3. Normal work day is 8 hours within a nine-hour period for all travelers both salaried and non-salaried, regardless of the traveler s work schedule. The normal workday for all travelers will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. For the purpose of reimbursement, reimbursement for travel on Saturday or Sunday will be based on the number of related travel hours. 4. NO PER DIEM is allowed for conferences/activities/clinics in El Paso, Deming, Alamogordo, Anthony or any other city within a 75-mile radius of Las Cruces 3. OVERNIGHT TRAVEL RATES AND REGULATIONS 1. Per Diem basis (1) Reimbursement for in-state and out-of-state travel will be paid per the standard state per diem rate in Section 5, Table 2. (2) Exception to per diem basis - Out-of-State travel to special areas will be reimbursed at the rate approved by the Superintendent prior to arrangements being made. To be reimbursed at the out-of-state special rate actual receipts are required, see section 3.2.1. Out-of- State special areas include travel outside the contiguous 48 states or within the city limits of Boston; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Dallas/Fort Worth; San Diego; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Atlanta; Palm Springs; Atlantic City and Las Vegas, NV. (3) Out-of-state travel per diem will be paid for destinations 150 miles or more beyond the exterior boundaries of New Mexico; all other per diem is at the in-state rate. Travel to El Paso, TX is considered in-state travel. (4) Return from overnight travel: On the last day of travel when overnight lodging is no longer necessary, partial day per diem rates are used. The hours beyond a completed 24 hour period are eligible for reimbursement. See Section 5, Table 4 for rates. (5) If meals and lodging are furnished, no reimbursement will be made for per diem. If lodging only is furnished, per diem reimbursement shall not exceed the appropriate daily rate for meals (detailed receipts must be submitted for meal reimbursement). If meals are provided or included in a registration fee, per diem (or the registration fee reimbursement if paid by the traveler) will be reduced by that portion of a registration fee, which is specifically allocated for meals or $10.00 per meal. (6) Original Receipts Required. The traveler must submit original detailed meal receipts for the actual meal expense incurred when lodging is furnished, payment will not exceed the appropriate daily rate. (7) Actual expenses for cab fare, shuttle fees, parking fees, reasonable baggage fees, handling of luggage, gratuities, etc., will be eligible for reimbursement based on original receipts.
Reimbursement for these expenses without original receipts is limited to $6 per day not to exceed $30 per trip. Photocopies or/splitting of original receipts are not eligible for actual reimbursement. (8) NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR REGISTRATION FEES OR RENTAL CARS PAID BY THE TRAVELER, WITHOUT A RECEIPT OR OTHER VERIFICATION OF AMOUNTS OR FEES PAID. Verification must include conference title, dates of conference, location and amount paid. (9) Travel time and mileage reimbursement for out of state travel by privately owned automobile shall not exceed the total coach commercial airfare and time that would have been reimbursed those traveling had they traveled by common carrier. 2. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES IN LIEU OF PER DIEM RATES (1) Out-of-State travel to areas classified as Special Areas in section 3.1(2) above may receive reimbursement of expenses for lodging not exceeding the single occupancy room charge (including tax) in lieu of the per diem rate with the prior approval of the Superintendent. Whenever possible, the traveler shall stay in hotels which offer government rates. Actual lodging receipts are required for reimbursement of lodging expenses. (2) Reimbursement for Meals. If the traveler will be reimbursed for lodging as stated above in Section 3.2(1), then reimbursement for meals will not exceed the daily rate for meals, see Section 5, Table 3. Original detailed receipts are required for meal reimbursement claims. Reimbursement will not be made for alcoholic beverages. (3) On the last day of travel when overnight lodging is no longer required, partial day per diem rates apply, see Section 5, Table 4. No reimbursement for actual expenses will be granted in lieu of partial day per diem rates. 4. LIMITED REIMBURSEMENTS - A Control Agent may limit travel reimbursements by stating a maximum or partial amount to be reimbursed on the Leave Request and Travel Reimbursement Request. Page 3 of 5
5. Tables 1. District standard vehicle mileage rate District standard vehicle mileage rate, NMAC 2.42.2.11 (80% of IRS standard mileage rate). $0.46 2. Table 1 - Partial Day reimbursement <2 Hours beyond normal work day $ 0.00 2 > 6 Hours beyond normal work day $ 12.00 6 > 12 Hours beyond normal work day $ 20.00 12 > 24 Hours beyond normal work day $ 30.00 3. Table 2 - Per Diem Rates In-state $ 85.00 In-state special (Santa Fe) $ 135.00 Out-of-state $ 115.00 Out-of-state Special Actuals with prior approval by Superintendent 4 Table 3 - Meal expense limitation when claiming reimbursement of actual expenses In-state $ 30.00 Out-of-state $ 45.00 5 Table 4 - Return from overnight travel - Hours beyond a completed 24 hour period. <2 Hours $ 0.00 2 > 6 Hours $ 12.00 6 > 12 Hours $ 20.00 12 > 24 Hours $ 30.00 Page 4 of 5
4. Table 5 - In-state standard mileage chart City One Way Round Trip Anthony/Gadsden 25 50 Alamogordo 68 136 Albuquerque 223 446 Carlsbad 208 416 Cloudcroft 87 174 Deming 59 118 El Paso 45 90 Farmington 405 810 Gallup 339 678 Roswell 185 370 Ruidoso 114 228 Santa Fe 282 564 Silver City 112 224 Socorro 146 292 Taos 352 704 Page 5 of 5