Contact Franklin Works for questions on travel. Plant Biology Travel Policy The department has limited funds for faculty travel and all travel from departmental funds must be authorized by the department head, the Arts and Sciences Dean’s office, Contracts & Grants (if using a grant account) and Business Services. International travel must be approved by the Office of International Education in addition to all other approvals. In order to meet the required deadlines, all requests for authority to travel must be completed prior to travel in a timely manner. In-State travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 1 week prior to date of departure. Domestic travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 3 weeks prior to date of departure, and International travel requests must be submitted a minimum of 4 weeks prior to date of departure. You must follow the set guidelines for allowable per diem rates for meals (most meal per diems will be calculated by the system when you submit your expense report after your travel). Lodging expenses must be reasonable for the area. All requests should be submitted electronically through https://financials.onesource.uga.edu Please remember that a travel authority request should be submitted every time you travel off campus on UGA related business, even those trips that are no cost to UGA. Failure to submit a request for authority to travel prior to travel may mean you will not be covered by the University’s Health Insurance and you forfeit claims for reimbursement. All requests for authority to travel must be done correctly and completely or they will be rejected. You CANNOT exceed the allowable GSA per diem rates for meals. You can find per diem rates (out-of-state only) here: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates Travel Information Travel Instructions OneSource Training Library In-State Travel Meal allowance for travel within Georgia is $50 ($13 for breakfast, $14 for lunch, $23 for dinner). Reimbursement may be made for actual lodging expenses based on reasonable rates as determined by the circumstances of the trip. All lodging claims must be documented by receipts and must be at a business that offers lodging to the general public such as a hotel or motel and not a private residence. State employees should not be charged county or municipal excise tax on lodging when staying within the state. Employees are required to submit a copy of the hotel/motel excise tax exemption form when they register at a hotel/motel. This for is located online at: https://busfin.uga.edu/forms/excise_exempt.pdf Out-of-State Per Diems Out-of-state per diem rates follow the appropriate GSA rates. To view the GSA rates for travel within the US, click here. The GSA rates include both the cost of meals and incidental expenses. However, for out-of-state travel, incidental expenses are not reimbursed. Employees traveling overnight are generally eligible for per diem amounts designed to cover all days on travel status other than the day of departure and the day of return. Travelers are eligible for 75% of the total per diem rate on the first and last day of travel. Foreign Travel Per Diem UGA does reimburse the incidental expenses on foreign travel Rental Cars When you travel, if you need to rent a car at an airport, please note that UGA currently has a mandatory statewide contract with Hertz (i.e. you need to book with them ONLY, unless for some reason they are not available, although please check with Gretchen before you reserve a car in case the contract has changed). Collision coverage is automatically provided with Hertz and they have discounted rates for UGA employees. Please book Hertz rentals under Corporate Promotional Discount Code: 2018753. For more information and reservations, please go to: http://busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/Hertz_INTERSTATE.pdf