34 Tex. Admin. Code § 5.57 - Use of Payment Cards by State Agencies
(a)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Consulting service--Has the meaning
assigned by §
5.54 of this title (relating to
Consulting Services Contracts).
(2)
Executive director--The individual who is the chief administrative officer of a
state agency. The term excludes a member of a governing body.
(3) Executive head--
(A) the elected or appointed state official
who is authorized by law to administer a state agency that is not headed by a
governing body; or
(B) the
executive director of a state agency that is headed by a governing
body.
(4) Institution of
higher education--Has the meaning assigned by Education Code, §
61.003, other than a
public junior college.
(5) Payment
card--A credit or charge card issued to an officer or employee of a state
agency for the purpose of allowing the officer or employee to purchase goods or
services for the agency.
(6)
Payment card purchase--The use of a payment card to pay for the purchase of a
good or a service.
(7) State
agency--
(A) a board, commission, department,
or other agency in the executive branch of state government that is created by
the constitution or a statute of this state, including an institution of higher
education;
(B) the legislature or a
legislative agency; or
(C) the
supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, or a state
judicial agency.
(b) Applicability of this section. Except as
provided in subsection (c) of this section, this section applies to a state
agency's use of a payment card regardless of the type of funds the agency uses
to pay the payment card issuer.
(c)
Exemptions.
(1) This section does not apply
to a state agency if a law other than Government Code, §
403.023, specifically
authorizes, requires, prohibits, or otherwise regulates the agency's use of a
payment card.
(2) This section does
not apply to the extent its application would affect a contract in which a
state agency is a party. This paragraph applies only if the contract was in
effect on September 1, 1993.
(3)
This section does not apply to the extent its application would violate a
constitutional prohibition against a law that impairs a contractual
obligation.
(4) This section does
not apply to the extent necessary to avoid an irreconcilable conflict with a
federal law or regulation.
(5) This
section does not apply to the use of a payment card to pay for a travel expense
incurred by a state officer or employee while conducting official state
business.
(d) Effect of
noncompliance with this section. The comptroller may suspend or terminate a
state agency's authority to use a payment card if the comptroller determines
that the agency or an officer or employee of the agency has violated this
section.
(e) Procurement of payment
card services by the comptroller .
(1) The
comptroller may contract with a payment card issuer on behalf of any state
agency that chooses to participate in the contract.
(2) A state agency may not use a payment card
to pay for a purchase unless the card was issued under a contract between a
payment card issuer and the comptroller.
(3) A state agency may begin making payment
card purchases only after the agency has complied with the procedural
requirements of the comptroller.
(f) Adoption of procedures by state agencies.
A state agency shall adopt reasonable procedures governing the issuance and
security of payment cards and the use of those cards by the agency's officers
and employees. Upon request, the agency shall make the procedures available to
the comptroller for review.
(g)
Prohibited uses of payment cards. A state agency may not use a payment card and
may not reimburse an officer or employee for the use of a payment card for:
(1) a purchase of a personal nature or any
other purchase not connected with official state business;
(2) a cash advance;
(3) a purchase of a consulting
service;
(4) a purchase of a good
or a service that may not be purchased without the prior approval of another
state agency;
(5) a purchase that
the comptroller audits before payment; or
(6) a purchase from a vendor if a payment to
it is prohibited by:
(A) Government Code,
§
403.055 or §
2107.008;
(B) Education Code, §
57.48, or §
57.482; or
(C) Family Code, §
231.007.
(h) Applicability of
purchasing requirements. The use of a payment card to pay for a purchase does
not automatically exempt a state agency or its officers and employees from any
purchasing requirement of state law or the comptroller.
(i) Payments to payment card issuers. A state
agency shall pay a payment card issuer through an electronic funds
transfer.
(j) Refunds. A state
agency may not accept a cash refund for a purchase if the agency paid for the
purchase with a payment card.
(k)
Lost or stolen payment cards. The state employee that had custody of a payment
card immediately before it was lost or stolen shall report the loss or theft to
the payment card issuer according to its requirements.
(l) Disputed charges. A state agency shall
dispute any incorrect charge that appears on an invoice the agency receives
from a payment card issuer. When disputing the charge, the agency shall comply
with applicable law and the issuer's requirements.
(m) Taxes. A state agency or a state employee
shall properly claim any available exemption from paying a state or federal tax
that is assessed on a payment card purchase.
(n) Responsibilities and notification of
state employees.
(1) A state employee shall
ensure that each of the employee's payment card purchases comply with
applicable state law and this section.
(2) The executive head of a state agency
shall notify the agency's employees about the requirements of this
section.
(o) Fiscal year
determination. The fiscal year that must be charged for a purchase is not
affected by the use of a payment card to pay for the purchase. For example, a
state agency that pays a payment card issuer for a service purchased by the
agency must charge the payment to the fiscal year in which the service was
rendered.
(p) Prohibition against
excess obligations. A state agency that uses a payment card to pay for a
purchase should be careful not to violate any provision in the General
Appropriations Act about the incurrence of excess obligations.
(q) Purchase document and receipt
requirements.
(1) A purchase document that a
state agency submits to the uniform statewide accounting system for a payment
to a payment card issuer must comply with the comptroller's general
requirements for the submission of those documents. In addition, the document
must:
(A) provide the transaction charge and
the appropriate Texas identification number on the detail lines;
(B) provide the Texas identification number
and name of the payment card issuer on the remittance line; and
(C) contain any other information the
comptroller considers necessary.
(2) A state agency shall keep in its files
any receipt that a vendor issues to the agency for a payment card purchase. The
receipt must contain a description of the good or service purchased that is
sufficient to support the expenditure object code used by the agency. The
agency shall make the receipt available to the comptroller upon
request.
Notes
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