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House committee loosens rules on out-of-state travel reimbursements for members
Summary
The House Expense Oversight Committee approved changes to the state travel reimbursement procedures that allow members to attend additional conferences within an allocated budget and relax an early-registration reimbursement restriction; the committee also approved minutes and adjourned.
The House Expense Oversight Committee approved revisions to out-of-state lodging, meal and transportation reimbursement procedures for House members, allowing members greater flexibility to attend conferences within an allocated travel budget and removing a strict early-registration reimbursement requirement.
The committee approved the changes after staff outlined the proposal and answered brief questions. The committee also approved the minutes of its Feb. 5, 2024 meeting and adjourned.
Leah Thacker, staff, told the committee the proposal removes a prohibition that limited members’ reimbursable travel in practice and instead allows members to attend multiple conferences “with the budget.” The staff presentation said the proposal would replace a restriction that limited registration reimbursement to the early‑bird rate with a policy that continues to highly encourage early registration but allows reimbursement for later registration when it fits the budget.
Thacker said the proposal includes a numeric travel allocation described in the meeting as “45100” to be used for members’ conference travel. The transcript did not clarify whether that figure is intended as $45,100, $4,510.00, or another unit; the committee record provided only the spoken string “45100.”
The revisions retain existing documentation requirements: members must submit receipts for reimbursable expenses. Thacker said staff made several technical and clarifying edits that do not change what expense categories are reimbursable.
Thacker also said she consulted LRGC about whether the changes affect joint rules. She said Representative James A. Dunnigan is working on a joint rules resolution that would reference the committee’s policy and related rule language.
Representative O’Meara asked how the stated travel allocation compares with typical conference costs; staff replied that costs vary widely by destination, citing Denver versus Hawaii as examples, and said the allocation aims to make distribution fairer across destinations and choices.
Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes from Feb. 5, 2024 — motion passed unanimously (tally not specified in the record). - Approval of revised procedures for out‑of‑state lodging, meal and transportation reimbursement for House members — motion passed (tally not specified in the record). The committee record indicates the changes described above, including the stated allocation “45100,” continuing receipt requirements, preapproval of conferences by the Speaker, and replacing a strict early‑registration reimbursement restriction with a “highly encouraged” guideline. - Motion to adjourn — passed (tally not specified in the record).
No members of the public commented on the item during the meeting. The committee did not specify next steps for formal implementation in the transcript; staff referenced coordination with the body that drafts joint rules but did not give a timetable.
