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Panoptic Enterprises' FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH
DATE: May 4, 2001
SUBJECT: Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Payment of Travel Expenses from a Non-Federal Source
SOURCE: Federal Register, May 4, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 87, page 22491
AGENCIES: Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration (GSA)
ACTION: Proposed Rule
SYNOPSIS: GSA is proposing to amend the FTR to permit after-the-fact agency acceptance of payment from a non-federal source for travel expenses to a meeting under two circumstances.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The FTR is Chapters 300 through 304 of Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The regulations proposed for amendment are under Chapter 304, Payment of Travel Expenses from a Non-Federal Source.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 3, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Mr. Michael E. Hopkins, Regulatory Secretariat (MVR), Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration, 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405-0001; e-mail: RIN.3090-AE19@gsa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATON CONTACT: Jim Harte, Travel Team Leader, Travel Management Policy Division (MTT), 202-501-0483.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: GSA is proposing to rewrite 41 CFR Part 304 in the "plain language" style of regulation writing as a continuation of its effort to make the FTR easier to understand and use.
In addition to the rewriting, GSA proposes to amend the part to make two changes:
- To permit after-the-fact agency acceptance of payment from a non-federal source for travel expenses to a meeting under the following two circumstances prescribed in FTR 304-3.13, After I begin travel to a meeting, what should I do if a non-Federal source offers to pay for one or more of my travel expenses without my or my agency's prior knowledge?:
- When the agency has not approved acceptance of any payments from that non-federal source prior to the trip, the employee may may accept, on behalf of the agency, payment from the non-federal source for (i) the types of travel expenses authorized by the travel authorization (that is, meals, lodging, transportation, but not recreation or other personal expenses); and (ii) travel expenses that are within the maximum allowances stated on your travel authorization (that is, if the employee's travel authorization states that he or she is authorized to incur lodging expenses up to $100 per night, he or she may not accept payment from the non-federal source for a $200 per night hotel room). The employee must request the agency's authorization for acceptance from the non-federal source within seven working days after the trip ends.
- When the agency has approved acceptance of payment for some but not all travel expenses from a non-federal source prior to the trip, the employee may accept, on behalf of the agency, payment for additional travel, subsistence, and related expenses from the same non-federal source, as long as the two following conditions are met: (i) that the expenses paid by the non-federal source be comparable in value to those offered or purchased by other similarly situated attendees; and (ii) that the agency has not specifically declined to accept certain payments from a non-federal source for your trip. If these conditions are not met, the employee will be subject to the penalties specified in FTR 304-3.17, What happens if I accept a payment from a non-federal source that is in violation of this part?, that is, the employee may be required to pay the U.S. Treasury the amount of the payment accepted without being eligible for reimbursement from the agency.
- The requirement that a meeting or similar function be sponsored or co-sponsored by a federal agency in order to fall within the scope of this part would be removed (see current FTR 304-1.2, General).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Panoptic Enterprises at 703-451-5953 or by e-mail to Panoptic@FedGovContracts.com.
Copyright 2001 by Panoptic Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
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