(a) (1) Except for special authorization by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, reimbursement for meals and lodging while traveling on official business of the state shall not exceed the maximum rates as prescribed by the Federal Travel Directory published by the United States General Services Administration.
(2) Requests for special authorization shall be limited to those rare occasions where unusual circumstances may cause the existing rates to be inadequate and shall be set out in writing in such detail as shall be required in the state travel procedures and shall be executed in behalf of each individual traveler for each special authorized occasion. Provided however, that requests for special authorization by employees of institutions of higher education shall be subject to the approval of the chief executive officer of the institution and not the Department of Finance and Administration.
(3) Under such emergency conditions as shall be determined by the Governor, the limitations of this subsection with respect to meals and lodging may be waived or modified.
(b) (1) As used in this subsection, "state-owned motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle purchased or leased by:
(A) The State of Arkansas;
(B) The office of a constitutional officer of the State of Arkansas;
(C) A constitutionally independent agency or commission; and
(D) A state-supported institution of higher education.
(2) (A) Unless otherwise provided by law, reimbursement for the use of privately owned motor vehicles while traveling on official business for the state shall not exceed the allowable rate of the Internal Revenue Service per mile for business use of privately owned motor vehicles.
(B) A state agency director may authorize reimbursement for travel expenses for meals, lodging, and private automobile or airplane usage at amounts less than that established under the authority of this section.
(C) The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State by regulation may establish procedures and the rate for reimbursing individuals for the use of privately owned airplanes while traveling on official business for the state.
(3) (A) (i) Any employee of the State of Arkansas who utilizes, but whose job does not require the state employee to utilize, a state-owned motor vehicle for transportation to or from his or her permanent residence from or to his or her official station on a daily basis shall reimburse the fund from which the operating expenses of the state-owned motor vehicle are paid at the same rate authorized by the state agency director of the agency employing the state employee for reimbursements for private automobile usage under subdivision (b)(2)(B) of this section.
(ii) As used in subdivision (b)(3)(A)(i) of this section, "state employee":
(a) Means an employee of a state agency, board, commission, department, or state-supported institution of higher education; and
(b) Includes a constitutional officer and an employee of a constitutional officer.
(B) All state-owned motor vehicles or state-leased motor vehicles shall be for official business use only.
(c) The Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this subchapter.
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