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1000 DFPS Travel Policy

1100 Terms and Definitions

Travel Policy December 2024

See Definitions of Terms for explanations of terms used throughout this handbook.

1200 State Travel Legislation

Travel Policy December 2024

Policies and procedures governing state business travel are based on legislation, and so are the many conveniences that have been arranged for travelers. The DFPS travel policies explain in detail how to arrange, document, and request reimbursement for travel, so authorized travelers can be assured of the following:

  • Reimbursements will be timely and accurate.
  • The privilege of state-arranged billing and charging is protected for travel required in the future.
  • DFPS is in compliance with the law.

State travel legislation includes the following:

In order to conserve state funds, some of the DFPS travel policies in the following sections may be more restrictive than those in the Texas Administrative Code, Texas Government Code, STMP, and General Appropriations Act.

1300 Conveniences for State Travelers

Travel Policy December 2024

STMP allows participating vendors to offer an array of services to authorized travelers. The program has negotiated annual contracts as part of its mission to reduce costs and keep agency management informed about how its authorized travelers travel and at what costs. Those contracts provide for the following:

  • Travel agency services.
  • State travel charge cards.
  • Airlines.
  • Rental cars.
  • Hotels.

The state contract offers the following conveniences for authorized travelers:

  • Multiple options in choosing things such as flights, hotels, rental cars, and billing services.
  • State contractors who are familiar with agency needs, saving travelers time and worry.
  • The ability to avoid spending personal funds for state travel by using the agency’s central billing account. This allows airline and car rental charges to be billed directly to the agency.

DFPS requires all employees to obtain prior approval for public transportation (airfare, car rental, bus ticket, and train reservations) and out-of-state travel through the travel authorization (TA) process in eTravel.

1400 Authorized Travelers

Travel Policy December 2024

Reimbursed through Travel Section

DFPS reimburses travel expenses in accordance with the comptroller’s guidelines for official state business conducted by any of the following people through the Travel Section:

  • Employees, prospective employees, former employees for travel while at DFPS, and other authorized travelers.
  • Committees, councils, and key officials.
  • Attendants for authorized travelers with disabilities requiring assistance.
  • Volunteers and interns.

Reimbursed through Accounts Payable

DFPS reimburses travel expenses in accordance with the comptroller’s guidelines for official state business conducted by any of the following people through DFPS Accounts Payable:

  • Non-employees.
  • Temporary employees.
  • Foster parents.
  • Clients, including minors.
  • Witnesses.
  • Contractors.

1500 Travel Inquiry and Contact Information

Travel Policy December 2024

Travel Claims and Services Contact Information

See Travel Claims and Services Contacts (Claims, Settlements, Advance Travel, and Direct Bill) on the DFPS intranet.

eTravel Claim Status

The status of each Travel Claim can be found in the Status History tab in the eTravel system.

1600 Reimbursements

Travel Policy December 2024

An authorized traveler who uses direct deposit or the Focus Card for payroll receives his or her travel reimbursements to the same account. If a traveler does not use direct deposit or the Focus Card for payroll, the warrant (paper check) for reimbursement is mailed to the traveler’s residence address as indicated in CAPPS.

DFPS must reimburse an employee for travel expenses no later than 45 days after the employee submits a correct and complete travel voucher.

Texas Government Code Section 660.019

An employee is required to wait 20 business days after the submission of a travel claim before inquiring about the claim’s status. The message board on the Travel Claims tab in eTravel shows the received date of the claim that the auditors are processing. The objective is to reduce the number of inquiries, so travel staff can focus on processing travel claims. Most travel claims pay within 20 business days, and any inquiries before that only delay the process further.

The comptroller has advance notification available for travel reimbursements. To opt-in for Advance Payment Notification (APN), a payee must first set up an account and submit either an uncashed warrant or a direct deposit number for authentication in the Search Payee Payments application. A payee manages his or her own APN options. After receiving an APN, the payee can go back to the application to securely access the payment details online.

For more information, see the comptroller’s Fiscal Management Division (FMX) webpage titled State Payee Payment Resources.

1700 Overpayments

Travel Policy December 2024

An authorized traveler must reimburse DFPS for any overpayment of travel expenses, whether the error is made by DFPS or the authorized traveler. An overpayment is defined as an authorized traveler’s receiving of a reimbursement that exceeds the limits established by policy or the amount of allowable travel expenses actually incurred. An employee who does not submit the payment in a timely manner is placed on comptroller payee hold. The employee may be subject to adverse personnel action, up to and including dismissal. Any subsequent travel reimbursements are applied to the outstanding overpayment.

1800 Responsibilities

1810 Agency Head Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

The DFPS Commissioner is responsible for ensuring that policies and procedures are in place to allow employees and other authorized travelers to do the following:

  • Plan travel for maximum economy and efficiency.
  • Be reimbursed only for travel that is clearly official state business.

1820 Manager and Supervisor Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

Management is responsible for reviewing and authorizing travel that is economical and efficient, and for ensuring that only authorized travel is reimbursed, using the Reasonable, Economical, Accurate, Authorized, Logical (REAAL) Rule.

Management is required to do the following:

  • Eliminate unnecessary travel, both in-state and out-of-state.
  • Minimize the number of staff members traveling, both in-state and out-of-state.
  • Limit the number of employees attending conferences and training not required by DFPS or by the federal or state government.
  • Ensure coordination of travel when two or more authorized travelers are going to the same location to conduct the same business.
  • If public transportation is requested, ensure it is the most economical travel option available, considering all relevant circumstances.
  • Verify travel trips through sign-in and sign-out sheets, shared Outlook folders, or other means to certify that travel claims are true, correct, and not yet paid.
  • Review and approve eTravel claims, settlements, travel authorizations, and advance travel for accuracy, compliance with travel policy and procedures, and submission in a timely manner.
  • Ensure the appropriate travel claim forms are used for additional expenses or to correct an error after the original eTravel claim is submitted and processed, and ensure those forms are approved and completed. A manager follows the Supervisor Approval Checklist when reviewing paper or supplemental Travel Claims or Settlements for approval. See Travel Forms and 3700 Attachments Required for details of required attachments.
  • Submit internal divisional travel policies to the director of accounting for review and approval.
  • Ensure that divisional travel policies are enforced. This consists of monitoring for specific issues addressed in divisional policy and auditing the travel claim based on those specific policies before submitting the claim to the Travel Section.
  • Ensure that employees who are separating from DFPS have completed all travel and have paid any debt owed to DFPS before off-boarding the employee.

1830 Traveler's Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

A traveler is responsible for securing appropriate approvals to travel, ensuring his or her authorized travel is economical and efficient, and following all policies and procedures.

A traveler is required to do the following:

  • Choose the most economical option available (such as sharing a ride, using public transportation, completing the Rental Vehicle vs. Mileage Reimbursement Calculator provided by the comptroller to determine the most cost-effective mode of transportation, or a combination of these).
  • Complete the appropriate online training module before accessing the eTravel system.
  • Receive appropriate pre-approvals, as required, before traveling.
  • Coordinate travel when two or more authorized travelers from the same office are going to the same location to conduct the same business (Four-Per-Car-Rule).
  • Submit travel claims and all supporting documentation within 90 days after the date the travel occurred. Each claim can cover no more than three consecutive months of travel.
  • Obtain pre-approval for travel through the Travel Authorization (TA) process in eTravel for all public transportation (airlines, rental car, train, and bus ticket reservations) and any out-of-state travel.
  • Use state-contracted hotels, airlines, and rental car vendors established by STMP unless there is a cheaper alternative or a valid exception. See 1920 Exceptions to the Use of State Contractors.
  • Comply with all DFPS travel policies.

1840 Direct-Bill Team Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

The Direct-Bill Team does the following:

  • Reconciles all direct-billed hotels, out-of-state and in-state air travel, car rentals, and other public transportation charges by dates of travel, destination, and purpose of trip for vendors.
  • Ensures charges are valid and appropriate and that payment was processed in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act (see Texas Government Code Section 2251).
  • Oversees policy and procedures for direct billing and ensures they are consistently applied.
  • Collaborates in developing and overseeing travel policies and procedures specific to DFPS.
  • Makes reservations for client bus travel.
  • Consults with and monitors the travel vendors regarding the specific needs of DFPS.
  • Resolves situations that occur between the travel vendors and DFPS employees.
  • Trains and assists employees with questions and problems related to employees’ Travel Authorizations.

1850 Advance Travel Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

The Advance Travel Team does the following:

  • Reviews and processes the Advance Request to assign the EXTRA card.
  • Reconciles the Advance Travel EXTRA card expenses to the contracted vendor’s invoice.
  • Oversees policy and procedures for Advance Travel to ensure they are consistently applied.
  • Collaborates in developing and overseeing travel policies and procedures specific to DFPS.
  • Resolves situations that occur between the contracted vendors and DFPS employees.
  • Trains and assists employees with questions and problems related to employees’ Advance Travel Requests and shipment of EXTRA cards to employees.

1860 Travel Claims and Settlements Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

The Travel Claims and Settlements Team does the following:

  • Audits and reimburses all employee Advance Settlement Claims and Travel Claims in a timely manner.
  • Notifies the traveler of required corrections for his or her returned Travel Claims and Advance Settlement Claims.
  • Manages state travel charge cards.
  • Collaborates in developing and overseeing travel policies and procedures specific to DFPS.
  • Ensures all policy and procedures for travel reimbursement claims are consistently applied.
  • Trains and assists employees with questions and problems related to employees’ travel.

1870 State-Contracted Travel Agency Responsibilities

Travel Policy December 2024

The agents of the contracted travel agency assist the traveler by coordinating the traveler’s airline and rental car requests and by suggesting economical arrangements based on a given destination, intended arrival times, and any special accommodations needed.

1900 Using State Contractors

1910 Requirements for Use of State Contractors

Travel Policy December 2024

Travelers must use state-contracted vendors established by STMP for hotels, airlines, and rental cars, unless there is a less expensive alternative or another approved exception. See 1920 Exceptions to the Use of State Contractors for the approved exceptions and documentation requirements.

If a traveler uses a travel agency, it must be the contracted travel agency established by STMP. DFPS uses NTS as its official state-contracted travel agency.

The following webpages on the comptroller’s website list the state-contracted vendors:

Travel Agency (DFPS uses NTS)

Hotels

Airlines

Rental Cars

DFPS has specific direct-bill links set up with the rental car vendors. See Transportation: Rental Cars.

1920 Exceptions to the Use of State Contractors

Travel Policy December 2024

The comptroller is required by law to audit travel vouchers for compliance with the Statewide Procurement Division’s (SPD) rules for contracted travel services.

Texas Administrative Code §20.411

The exceptions to using contracts negotiated by the State Travel Management Program (STMP) are listed in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §20.408.

These exceptions apply only to the use of contracted travel services and not specifically to reimbursement rates or policies as outlined in TexTravel. Justifications related to reimbursement policies or guidelines must also be documented.

In accordance with these rules and applicable laws, state agencies may allow employees to use travel services other than contracted travel services only if one or more of the exceptions in subsections (B) through (J) of the TAC section indicated above apply. Nothing in this section of TAC affects or alters the authority of the comptroller regarding travel reimbursement or audit of travel transactions.

The travel claim or settlement must include the exception that is best suited to the traveler’s situation. The letter, as well as the phrase between the letter and the next period (.), must be entered on the travel claim or settlement. For example, when using exception B, it is necessary to enter both “b” and “Lower overall cost of travel.”

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