UNM, NMSU Paying Twice The State’s Rate of Per Diem

Answer: When universities are explaining why their travel reimbursements far exceed the state limit.

The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University have changed state-mandated per diem rates for meals so that traveling employees are paid the federal rate. In some cases, that amount is more than twice what the state law allows.

The federal rate, for example, is as much as $71 per day for trips to Santa Fe, instead of the $30 allowed for in-state travel under state law. Regents at both universities who were interviewed by the Journal all said they were surprised by the policy and intend to give it serious review.

At UNM, the practice has been in effect since 1997.

University administrators say they pay the higher rate because the cost of travel has become so expensive.

UNM officials actually point to the word “reduce” in the exemptions in the state Per Diem and Mileage Act law to justify paying the higher rates.

The law says state agencies may reduce the state-set amount or pay actual travel costs in case of extraordinary circumstances.

UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said the university addressed those issues with a regents’ policy that says the high cost of travel amounts to extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, the policy says, “UNM reimbursement rates for meals should be reduced to be the same as the federal reimbursement rates.”

Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe, who sponsored the last state per diem increases in 2003, said UNM is improperly using the word “reduce.”

Varela, who wasn’t aware UNM and NMSU were reimbursing employees at a different rate, called UNM’s explanation “legal mumbo-jumbo.”

The provision using the word “reduce,” he said, was meant only to allow a reduction for small communities or state agencies with a tight budget.

UNM officials say the increase was needed because $30 does not cover the costs of meals on most trips, and many employees would rather skip travel than pay out of their own pockets.

“There’s very few places where you can buy three meals that you don’t cook yourself that you can buy for ($30) per day. Even in Santa Fe, it’s very, very difficult. It’s not realistic to have people pay out of their pocket,” UNM Controller Ava Lovell said.

Gov. Susana Martinez also opposes the practice.

Other state employees “don’t need to spend $71 on meals to get through a day,” said Scott Darnell, spokesman for Gov. Martinez. “Most public employees are perfectly fine abiding by the state per diem rate, and you’ve got two universities that have decided to more than double it for themselves.”

Those per diem rates cover meals and incidentals when the hotel is paid by the university. The rate rises when the per diem is also used to pay for a hotel room. State law caps the per diem at $85 for meals and lodging in state and $115 out of state. UNM follows the state law for those per-diem rates, while NMSU exceeds it.

The state’s third research university, New Mexico Tech, complies with state rates, although the school has approved higher per diems for travel to cities such as New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Rounding up

Although state law mandates “actual expenses” when the extraordinary circumstance exemption is used, UNM does not require receipts to confirm actual spending and instead rounds up to the federal rate for meals, according to the UNM policy posted online.

Regent Gene Gallegos, on the board since 2009, said he had no idea UNM was reimbursing meals at a per diem rate higher than the state law.

“Things like that need to be looked at,” Gallegos said Friday. “It’s just another example of what goes on that we don’t know about.”

Gallegos said he would like the regents’ audit committee, which he chairs, to look into the matter.

Regent Jamie Koch, an audit committee member, said he also wasn’t aware UNM was paying the higher per diem because he assumed it was paying the state-mandated amount. He has been on the board for eight years.

Koch said the audit committee should figure out how much extra UNM has paid over the years.

“We need to find out what it’s costing,” he said.

Lovell said the total per diems reimbursed by the university each year aren’t readily available because the travel expenses are lumped together with other costs including air fare, hotel stays and vehicle mileage.

At NMSU, attorney Bruce Kite said the school pays federal rates under language in the state law that makes universities “subject to the rules and regulations” of their governing boards, trumping per diems set by the state.

That general statement is contained in a section of the law that addresses how the rules will be enforced, but under Kite’s interpretation it means NMSU regents can do as they please with per diems.

“The interpretation that the regents have taken is that they have the authority to go ahead and develop their own policies,” Kite said. “… When you have statutes that can be confusing, it can lead reasonable people to different conclusions.”

NMSU Regent Vice Chair Ike Pino said that interpretation was news to him, and regents will review their policy.

“I can’t say I was aware of that. But now that I am, I am going to pursue it and make sure I’m perfectly clear on why the situation exists,” Pino said.

The state’s per diem law was last reviewed by the Legislature in 2009, when lawmakers found $30 per day was enough for state travel and declined to increase the per diems.

“That’s the rules of the game. You’re going to have to abide by those rules, or maybe just don’t go” on business travel, said Rep. Rick Miera, D-Albuquerque.

The state law includes penalties that require any travel reimbursements collected in excess of the rules be repaid to the state in double.

“It’s of concern to us if the law is being circumvented somehow,” said Phil Sisneros, spokesman for the Attorney General. “… It doesn’t seem right they would pay at a higher rate if they’re using state funds.”

Further review of UNM and NMSU policies on per diem is necessary, Sisneros said, but no public official has requested a formal Attorney General opinion as required to set a review into motion.

— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal