Axisx-mr 11. P'wAS 

April 6, 1965~ 

Honorable J. W. Edgar Opinion No. C-416 

Commissioner of Education 

Texas Education Agency Re: Travel expense of State 

Austin, Texas employees in returning to 

headqua~rters daily or on 

Dear Dr. Edgar: weekends. 

Your request for an opinion reads as follows: 

"The Texas Education Agency requires 

personnel to travel together in the same vehicle when the performance of the official 

duties permit without injuring the efficiency 

of the organization and when it is more economical to the State, and to require a group 

to return to their official station on weekends and/or daily when the cost of transportation is less than the per diem cost of maintaining the entire group in the field. 

"The Division of School Audits has consistently followed this policy. However, the Comptroller of Public Accounts is refusing to pay the 

January expense account for two of our field auditors, said expense accounts having been submitted in accordance with the above stated policy. 

The Comptroller's letter of February 18, returning these two expense accounts to this Agency, is 

attached for your information. 

"We cite the following examples to illustrate 

the application of this Agency's policy: 

"Fe;;; Walston (Accompanied by Cox and Gardner) 

il Pasadena to Austin on l/1.5/65 and return 

to Pasadena on l/18/65. 

346 miles @ 84 $27.68 

Less: Savings (per diem) effected by 

requiring group to return to headquarters on weekend: 

-1961- 
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 2 (C-416) 

Friday, January 15 

Saturday, January 1.6 

$2.25 

9.00 

Sunday, January 17 9.00 

Monday, January 18 

Times three auditors: 

2.25 

(cox, Gardner, Walston) $22.50 

Net saving to State 

"Ralph Fairbanks (Accompanied by Welsh) 

Mileage Crowley to Austin on l/15/65 and 

return to Euless on l/18/65. 

381 miles @ a# 

Less: Savings effected by requiring 

group to return to headquarters on 

weekend: 

Saturday, January 16 $9.00 

Sunday, January 1 

Monday, January 1 i!i 

9.00 

Times two auditors: 

2.25 

(Welsh, Fairbanks) $20.25 

Mileage from Crowley to Fort Worth 

for weekend 

29 miles @ &? 

then to Euless, 

Net saving to State 

$67.50 

$39.82 

$30.48 

$40.50 

2.32 

$12.34 

"It is our contention that under the terms 

of the current Appropriations Act and Attorney 

General's Opinion WW-660, we should be allowed to 

consider the entire group of persohnel rather than 

computing per diem and mileage cost on an individual basis. 

"Please advise whether the policy followed by 

this Agency and the method employed in filing expense 

claims where a group return is involved is in accor- 

.~~ dance with the legislative intent set out in the current General Appropriations Act. If further information isdesired with respect to our policy or practice 

herein, Mr. William H. Van Horn, our Business Manager 

is available the,refor ." 

In passing on the identical policy outlined in your request, 

it was held in Attorney General's Opinion WW-660 (1959) that the 

policy followed by the Texas Education Agency and the method employed in filing expense claims where a group return is involved 

-1962- 
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 3 (C-416) 

is in accord with the legislative intent set out in the then 

current General Appropriation Act. The policy followed by the 

Texas Education Agency and the method employed in filing expense claims were identical to the policy and method of filing 

expense claims ,outlined in your request. Therefore, the sole 

question to be determined is whether the legislative intent expressed~in House Bill 133, Acts of the 55th Legislature, Regular 

Session, 1957 (General Appropriation Act of the 55th Legislature) 

was changed by the provisions of the current General Appropriation 

Act of the 58th Legislature (House Bill 86, Acts of,the 58th Legislature, Regular Session, 1963). 

The legislative intent expressed in the General Appropriation Act of the 55th Legislature was stated in subdivision e of 

Section 29 of Article VI, as follows,: 

"Heads of agencies, or employees to whom 

the authority has been o,fficially delegated, shall 

authorize travel and approve travel reimbursement 

claims. Heads of agencies shall plan the travel 

of all employees under their authority so as to 

achieve maximum economy and efficiency. . . ." 

Subdivision c of Section 13 of Article V of the current 

General Appropriation Act of the 58th Legislature states the legislative intent in the following language: 

"Heads of agencies shall plan the travel of 

all employees under their authority so as to achieve maximum economy and efficiency. Travel expenses may be reimbursed from the appropriations 

made in this Act only where the purposes of travel 

performed are clearly for ~the conduct of the State's 

official business and in consonance with the legal 

responsibilities of then agency of the State represented." 

It is thus noted that ,the legislative intent in both appropriation bills is expressed in substantially identical language 

and, therefore, there has been no change in legislative intent regarding traveling expense incurred by a group in returning to headquarters daily or on weekends. 

The conflict in interpretation between the,Texas Education 

Agency and the Comptroller of Public Accounts results not from the 

legislative intent expressed in subdivision c of Section 13 of 

Article V of the current General Appropriation Act, but rather concerning the provisions ,of subdivision f of Section 15 of Article 

V of the current General Appropriation Act of the 58th Legislature, 

-1963- 
Hon. 3. W. Edgar, page 4 (c-416) 

which reads as follows: 

I, . . . 

"A traveling State employee may'return to 

his headquarters daily or on the weekend rather 

than stay out at State's expense and by so doing 

the expense involved shall be considered as State 

business, providing however, that the actual expenses involved including per diem, mileage, or 

public transportation in returning to headquarters 

daily or on weekends shall never exceed the per diem 

allowance the employee would have received had he 

remained at his post of duty. 

"State's business as is applied to daily round 

trips, shall be determined by computing the transportation allowance and per diem on a daily basis, 

including the first and last day of the trip, a,nd 

when the transportation allowance and per diem for 

that day exceeds $9.00 per day, only $9.00 for that 

day will be,allowed." 

Attorney General's Opinion WW-660, supra, after determining 

the intent of the Legislature with regard to travel expenses and 

per diem allowance, as outlined above, construed the provisions of 

subdivision g of Section 31 of Article VI of the then current General Appropriation Act, as follows: 

"Keeping the foregoing statements in mind, let 

us now consider the following portion of Section 31 

(g) of Article VI of the Appropriation Act: 

"'Except when it is cheaper, a traveling 

State employee may return to his headquarters 

daily or on the week-end rather than stay out 

at State's expense; cheaper -- as it applies to 

daily round trips shall be determined by computing the mileage and per diem on a daily basis 

and the entire mileage and per diem on any one 

day shall not exceed the per diem allowance of 

$8.002 

"Thus, in our opinion, there can be no doubt 

that the Legislature intended, and has expressed 

its intent,-that econom and efficient shall be 

the nrimarv consi + erafions in / he nlanning of and 

reimbursement for the travel of State employees in 

the performance of their duties. 

-1964- 
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 5 (c-416) 

"The portion of Section 31(g) quoted above 

makes it clear that an employee traveling alone 

may make daily round trips only when the round 

trip mileage allowance and per diem does not exceed his maximum per diem allowance of $8.00. 

"Let us now consider the situation where two 

or more State employees are traveling.together by 

private conveyance. As we have pointed out above, 

group travel of this nature was intended by the 

Legislature; only, one of the group shall receive 

a travel allowance and all may receive perdiem. 

The maximum per diem would be $8.00 times the number of employees. If the mileage allowance for a 

daily round ,trip, plus whatever the 

the group would be, does not exceed $KO$iZm2r 

the number of employees~ in the group, it would not 

be as economical for the group to.stay out at 

State's expense as it would be to return to headquarters. 

"If a round trip is not made, the obvious result in such a situation is a greater expenditure 

of State funds. This would not be in keeping with 

the express intent of the Legislature to effectuate 

a policy of economy and efficiency with ‘regard to 

the travel of State employees. 

"Therefore, in our opinion, considering the 

Legislature's express authority for group travel 

in Section 30(a),. the Legislature intended that 

such group travel be accomplished with economy and 

efficiency and that group travel with regard to 

daily round trups be governed by the provisions of 

Section 31(g) quoted above. That is to say, that 

even though the wording of this provision regarding 

daily .round trips speaks of 'employee' in the singular, it is our opinion that the Legislature intended 

that 'employee' include employees traveling in a 

group and that the $8.00 per diem referred to in Section 31(g) means $8.00 per diem per member of the 

group." 

It is our opinion that the construction of the General Appropriation Act of the 55th Legislature by Attorney General's Opinion 

WW-660 is equally applicable to the General Appropriation A,ct of the 

58th Legislature, and subdivis,ion f of Section 15, above-quoted, 

merely states the method of computing traveling expense incurred in 

returning to headquarters, rather than denying to the heads of 

-1965- 
Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 6 (c-416) 

agencies 

quarters 

provided 

the authority to authorize employees to return to headso as to achieve the maximum economy and efficiency, as 

in subdivision c of Section 13. In other words, in the 

event an individual; rather than & group, returns to headquarters 

either daily or on weekends, such individual's per diem, mileage 

or public transportation in returning to headquarters 1,s limited 

to the maximum of $9.00 for that day by the'provisions of subdivision f of Section 15. In the instant case, however, a group, 

rather than an individual, returned to headqua~rters and the driver 

oh the car is therefore entitled not only to his per diem, but also 

mileage. The remainder of the group is entitled to only per diem, 

for that day. 

You are therefore advised that the, policy followed by the 

Texas Education Agency where a group return is involved is in accord with the intent of the Legislature; To prohibit the head of a 

department from considering the entire group of personnel and requiring him to compute per diem and mileage cost on an individual 

ba,sis would result in a greater expenditure of State funds, contrary to the express intent of the Legislature. Therefore, you 

are advised that the travel expense claims outlined in your request 

are payable. 

SUMMARY 

The policy followed by the Texas Education 

Agency where a group return to headquarters 

16 involved, of considering the entire group 

of personnel rather than computing per diem 

and mileage cost on an individual basis is~ in 

accord with the' intent of the Legislature that 

travel of State employees be accomplished with 

economy and efficiency. 

Yours very truly, 

WAGGONER CARR 

Attorney General 

JR:ms 

John Reeves 

Assistant 

-1966- 
I . 

Hon. J. W. Edgar, page 7 (C -416) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. V. Geppert, Chairman 

Malcolm L. Quick 

H. Grady Chandler 

Joe Long 

W. 0. Shultz 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By: Stanton Stone 

-1967-