_, .

Mr. J. T. Ellis, Jr.

Administrator Department of Health Austin, Texas

Bear Mr. Ellis**:** Re: Whether state employees assigned to localhealth departments are governed by the provisions of Section 3a of the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959 as to their travel and other necessary expenses, and related questions.
You state ments and loca - . that assistance to city and countyhealth depart1 health units Isprovided by the State Health uepartment, by assigning to such localhealth departments state employees qualifiedunder the Merit System as required by Federal regulationsand the AppropriationActs of the Legis,; lature. These employees are carried on the Department of Health payroll and paid with funds from the State Treasury. **YOU** further stateyour department considersthem to be in fact employees of the State of Texas and therefore "governedby the Travel RegulationAct of 1959, Senate Bill No. 272, enacted by the 56th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature." 

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Opinion No, WW-1053

1. Your first question asks whether travelingand other necessary expenses incurredby an employee above described which are paid by localhealth agencies and not from funds appropriatedby the Legislatureare governedby the provisions of Section 3a of the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959. Article 6823a,Vernon's Civil Statutes, 5,s the Travel RegulationsAct of 19%. Sections 3a and 3b thereof read:

"Sec.

## 3.a. Reimbursement from funds appropriatedby the Legislature for traveling and other necessary expenses incurredby the various officials,heads of state agencies, and employees of the state in the active discharge of their duties shallbe on the basis of either a per diem or actual expenses as specifically fixed and appropriated by the Leglslature in GeneralAppropriationActs. A per diem allowance shallmean a flat daily rate. .

Mr. J. T. Ellis, Jr., page 2 (W-1053)

payment in lieu of actual expenses incurred for meals and lodging and as such shallbe legally construedas additional compensation for official travel purposes only.
"b.The rate of per diem and transportation allowance and method of computingthose rates shallbe as those set forth in General AppropriationActsproviding for the expentes of the state government from year to year. The answer to your first question is that the traveling and other expenses so paid are not governed by the provisions of Section 3a of Favel RegulationsAct of 1959. Of course, such employees cannot legally receivepay for such expenses from both the State Treasury and the local agencies. The Section quoted specificallyrefers to "Reimbursementfrom funds appropriated by the Legislature W

. .' (Emphasis added).
2. You further state that in some instances state employees of the Department of Health assigned as above stated are receiving lump sums for traveling and other necessary expenses from local funds. In this connection,your second question reads: "If such lump sumpayments for traveling and other necessary expenses are in fact in excess of actual traveling and other necessary expenses, does this violate the limits of local transportationallowances as defined in Section 8 of the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959?" Section 8 of Article 6823a,Vernon's Civil Statutes, reads:
"Sec. 8. An employeewhose duties customarily require travel within his designated headquartersmay be authorizeda local transportation allowance for this travel. Such allowance, however, shallnever exceed the transportation allowance for use of a privately owned automobile as set by the Legislature in the GeneralAppropriationsActs."
As these payments are not made from the State Treasury they are not controlled by the GeneralAppropriationsActs or the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959. In this connection, we refer you to Section 7, Article 6823a,Vernon's Civil Statutes,which reads:Mr. J. T. Ellis, Jr., Page 3 (WW-1053)

“Sec.7. Double travel expensepayments to state officials or employees are prohibited. When an employee engages in travel for which he is to be compensatedby a non-state agency, he shallnot receive any reimbursement for ,such travel from authorized amounts in the General AppropriationActs." Since such employees are not being reimbursed for such travel from authorized amounts in the GeneralAppropriation Acts, and are being compensated for their travel by non-state agencies only, such compensation,from local funds, does not violate Section8 of the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959, as the Travel RegulationAct is only applicable to funds appropriatedby the Legislature.

We are not answeringyour third question,as'itwas predicated on our answering your second question in the affirmative.
SUMMARY 1\state employee assigned to local health departments is not governed by the provisions of Section 32, Article 6823a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, the Travel RegulationsAct of 1959, as to reimbursement for his traveling and other necessary expenses if none of such reimbursement is from funds appropriatedby the Legislature.
The receiving of lump sums for traveling and other necessary expenses from local funds by such assigned employees, which are in excess of their actual expenses, does not violate the limits of local transportationallowance as defined in Section8 of the Travel Regulations Act of 1959, for such expenses.
Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas

SAW:mm:ms AssistantMr. J. T. Ellis, Jr., page 4 (WW-1053

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE W. V. Geppert, Chairman Dudley D. McCalla Karietta Payne I?astonC. Courtney W. Ray Scruggs
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL By: Morgan Nesbitt