Prohibits payment for lodging, meals, or incidental expenses for state public officials and employees from exceeding amounts for such expenses established by the U.S. General Services Administration

House Bill 398 establishes a statewide cap on travel reimbursements for state officers and employees across all three branches of government by pegging lodging, meals, and incidental expense reimbursements to the rates established by the United States General Services Administration. The bill amends R.S. 39:231(A) governing the executive branch and enacts new provisions in R.S. 13:6 for the judicial branch and R.S. 24:16 for the legislative branch. Under the legislation, no state agency or entity in any branch may reimburse officials or employees for these travel expenses at amounts exceeding the USGA rates applicable to the specific locale. However, the bill includes an exception allowing full reimbursement of conference or meeting lodging that is reserved or recommended near the event facility if an officer or employee provides documentation demonstrating that staying at the designated lodging would cost less than securing alternative lodging and commuting, even if that rate exceeds the applicable USGA rate for the location.

The practical effect of this legislation impacts every state agency, court, and legislative office that currently reimburses travel expenses for their personnel. State employees and elected officials will see their travel expense reimbursements capped at USGA-established rates unless they qualify for the conference lodging exception by submitting supporting documentation of cost savings. Agencies and departments will need to update their travel reimbursement policies and procedures to comply with the USGA rate schedule for each location. The bill creates administrative compliance obligations for finance and human resources departments to verify that reimbursement requests conform to the new maximum rates and to properly process the documentation required for any exceptions claimed under the conference lodging provision.

This legislation operates within the existing framework of travel expense authority currently delegated to the Commissioner of Administration under R.S. 39:231 for the executive branch, while establishing parallel restrictions for the judicial and legislative branches that have their own governance structures under Articles V and III of the Louisiana Constitution respectively. The bill does not repeal prior authorization for travel expenses but rather imposes a uniform ceiling across all branches by reference to a federal standard. The USGA rate tables, which are established and updated regularly by federal regulation, become the controlling threshold for state reimbursement purposes. The effective date of July 1, 2026, provides a prospective application with a transition rule preserving the previous reimbursement rates for expenses incurred before that date even if claimed after it, preventing retroactive disruption of already-incurred obligations.