• Students under the age of 18 must lodge with their parent / legal guardian.
EFSC is exempt from Florida sales tax. The travel sponsor must obtain a copy of the Consumer’ s Certificate of Exemption from Accounting to present at check-in. If the vendor will not waive the sales tax, the lodging provider should write“ Tax Exemption Refused” on the receipt( s) along with a signature. Please check with the hotel in advance to determine requirements.
Incidentals such as room service, in-room movies, phone calls, etc., will not be reimbursed. Internet usage fees and resort fees may be paid if they are on the initial travel request.
Effective July 1, 2022, there are two( 2) changes to the State Travel Florida Statutes. They are listed below.
1. Pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statute, regarding State employee travel, the 2022-2023 Florida Law 2022-157 section 88 states:“ Funds may not be used for travel by state employees to foreign countries, other states, conferences, staff training activities, or other administrative functions unless the agency head has approved, in writing, that such activities are critical to the agency’ s mission. The agency head shall consider using teleconferencing and other forms of electronic communication to meet the needs of the proposed activity before approving mission-critical travel.”
This means that effective immediately all employee administrative travel requests * must be approved by the appropriate Vice President before travel occurs. Additionally, if a conference / meeting has an online or remote option, employees are required to participate in the online / remote option. Employees who wish to attend in person must provide detailed justification to support the need to attend the meeting / conference in person.
The information will be added to the travel system as soon as possible, until then, the“ Travel Authorization Request Addendum” form is required. Please complete the attached Travel Authorization Request Addendum form and forward this email with the completed form to your Vice President for approval and cc Tamra Reeves on the email. The Vice President will review the request and reply to all with the approval or disapproval for the trip. Employees traveling without receiving prior approval may be personally responsible for charges related to the trip. The online travel request form is being revised to incorporate the requirements of this statute for future requests.
The“ Travel Authorization Request Addendum” form can be found in the Document Center under Accounting.
* Administrative travel does not include travel for instruction, research, academic, student activity, or athletic purposes.
2. Pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statute, regarding State employee travel, the 2022-2023 Florida Law 2022-157 section 89 states:“ Costs for lodging associated with a meeting, conference, or convention organized or sponsored in whole or part by a state agency or judicial branch may not exceed $ 175 per day. An employee may expend his or her own funds for any lodging expenses in excess of the $ 175 per day.”
This means that any State agency sponsored meeting / conference / convention hotel costs cannot exceed $ 175 per night. Any amount over that will be the responsibility of the employee. Please be mindful of this rule when making your reservations.
303.9 Travel Etiquette All members traveling, including students and sponsors, should exchange cell phone numbers and save the hotel phone number in case of emergency.
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