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eXpendit

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Expenditures Related to State Officers and Employees
Training and Continuing Education Programs

Training for state employees

A state agency may use public funds to provide training for its administrators and employees. The training must relate to an employee’s duties, or prospective duties, and the agency must adopt rules relating to eligibility requirements for participants.

In addition, a state agency may spend public funds to pay the salary, tuition and other fees, expense of training materials and other necessary expenses of an instructor, student or other participant in a training or education program.

A state agency may contract with another state, local or federal department, agency or institution (including a state-supported college or university) to train or educate its administrators and employees. Additionally, the agency may conduct a training or education program jointly with another state, local or federal department, agency or institution.

Report required

A state agency that spends more than $5,000 in a fiscal year for a training or education program for any individual employee or administrator must submit a report to the Legislative Budget Board no later than August 31 of that year. The report must include:

  • A list of all employees or administrators participating in a training or education program;
  • The amount of money spent on training for each employee or administrator; and,
  • The certification earned by each employee or administrator through the training or education program.

Definition:

State Agency
A department, agency or institution of this state, including an institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code Section 61.003.

Sources [+]

Sources: Texas Government Code Sections 656.041–656.049.

Restrictions on certain training and continuing education programs

Note: For purposes of this section, “training” means instruction, teaching or other education received by a state employee that is not normally received by other state employees and is designed to enhance the ability of the employee to perform the employee's job. The term does not include training required either by state or federal law, or determined necessary by the agency and offered to all employees of the agency performing similar jobs.

An agency must require training to relate to an employee’s duties following the training.

An agency may allow an employee to attend training for more than three months without performing their regular duties. In this instance, the agency must adopt a policy regarding retention of an employee for a certain period of time after an employee receives training paid for by the agency lasting more than three months.

Example:

A state employee is given agency approval to attend training for five months without being involved in regular duties at the agency. Upon completion of training, the state employee would be required to return to the agency and perform agency duties for at least five months before he/she would be able to transfer or leave the agency.

See also: Advance Payments and Training for Members of Governing Boards.

Definitions:

State Agency
  • A department, commission, board, office or other agency that: (1) is in the executive branch of state government; and (2) has authority that is not limited to a geographical portion of the state; and (3) was created by the Texas Constitution or a statute of this state.
  • A university system or an institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code Section 61.003, other than a public junior college. (Texas Government Code Section 572.002(10)(A)–(B))
State Employee
An individual, other than a state officer, who is employed by:
  • A state agency.
  • The Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, a court of appeals or the Texas Judicial Council.
  • Either house of the Legislature or a legislative agency, council or committee, including the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), the Texas Legislative Council, the state auditor and the Legislative Reference Library. (Texas Government Code Section 572.002(11))
Training

Instruction, teaching or other education received by a state employee not normally received by other state employees and designed to enhance the ability of the employee to perform the employee’s job.

The term includes a course of study at an institution of higher education or a private or independent institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code Section 61.003, if the employing state agency spends money to assist the state employee to meet the expense of the course of study or pays salary to the employee to undertake the course of study as an assigned duty.

The term does not include training required by either state or federal law, or determined necessary by the agency and offered to all employees of the agency performing similar jobs. (Texas Government Code Section 656.101(2))

Sources [+]

Texas Government Code Sections 656.041–656.049.

Documentation Requirements [+]

  1. A state agency must retain in its files:
    1. Documentation citing the relevant statutory authority, and
    2. Documentation of post-training employment that shows compliance with the requirements described in Texas Government Code Section 656.102.
  2. A payment from one state agency to another state agency for training or education must be made on an interagency transaction voucher if the funds used to make the payment are in the State Treasury and will be deposited in the State Treasury by the receiving agency.
  3. Comptroller object 7202 must be used for a payment of tuition to an institution of higher education. Comptroller object 7203 must be used for the payment of a registration fee for a conference or seminar. Comptroller object 7243 must be used for educational services, including professionally conducted training.

Continuing education financial assistance

A state agency may spend appropriated funds to reimburse tuition and other program expenses for an agency employee to participate in a training or educational program at an institution of higher education. The agency may only reimburse the employee for tuition upon successful completion of the course at an accredited institution of higher education.

The agency must establish a policy to determine the method of approving reimbursement. Also, the head of the agency must authorize all tuition reimbursements.

Note: Tuition expenses must be prorated to the appropriation years in which the course is conducted.

Sources [+]

Texas Government Code Sections 656.047–656.048, 656.102.

Documentation Requirements [+]

  1. A state agency must retain documentation in its files showing compliance with the requirements set forth in the agency’s internal policy for reimbursing tuition expenses.
  2. Comptroller object 7202 – Tuition – Employee Training must be used.