SECTION 81.126. Training Reimbursement to Attend County Chairs Election Law Seminar

(a) Except as provided by this section, the SOS shall reimburse from the state primary fund, the actual travel expenses for the county chair or the county chair's designee who will be responsible for the primary finance bookkeeping to attend the SOS Election Law Seminar for County Chairs. (The SOS shall provide travel reimbursement forms at the seminar.)

(b) The SOS shall reimburse the county chair or the county chair's designee for:

(1) mileage (if driving personal vehicle);

(2) airfare (coach only);

(3) airport transfers;

(4) airport parking;

(5) lodging; and

(6) any other reasonable expenses related to an individual's attendance at the Election Law Seminar for County Chairs.

(c) The SOS shall use an electronic mapping tool available on the internet (including, but not limited to, Mapquest, Google Maps, or Bing Maps) to determine distances traveled to attend the Election Law Seminar for County Chairs. The SOS shall reimburse mileage claims from the county seat to and from Austin using the mileage rate approved by the State Comptroller at the time of the seminar.

(d) The SOS shall reimburse actual lodging expenses in an amount not to exceed the rates approved by the state, plus applicable taxes.

(e) As provided by the Texas General Appropriations Act, the SOS shall not make reimbursements for gratuities or tips. In addition, the SOS will not reimburse for meals.

(f) The county chair or the chair's designee must submit actual receipts to the SOS in order to be reimbursed for airfare, lodging, parking, or airport transfers.

(g) The county chair shall submit request for reimbursement no later than 60 days after the seminar. If a request for reimbursement is submitted after this date, the SOS may deny the request.

(h) Overnight lodging for two nights is approved for counties that are more than 200 miles distance from Austin; otherwise, prior approval for more than one night of lodging must be obtained from SOS.

Source Note: The provisions of this §81.126 adopted to be effective December 13, 2009, 34 TexReg 8665; amended to be effective March 7, 2012, 37 TexReg 1483; amended to be effective November 9, 2015, 40 TexReg 7811; amended to be effective October 29, 2017, 42 TexReg 5853