Bill > SB969

This bill modifies Texas state employee travel reimbursement rules to allow state agencies to reimburse employees for grocery purchases consumed while traveling on official business, with specific conditions. Under the new provisions, employees can be reimbursed for groceries bought the day before or the day of travel, but only for the portion of food actually consumed during official state business travel outside their designated headquarters. The bill defines "groceries" as food items from grocery stores or similar retail establishments and requires that state agencies develop a formal policy for such reimbursements before implementing them. The reimbursement will be considered a meal expense and subject to existing travel expense limits in the General Appropriations Act. Importantly, the bill maintains the existing restriction that meal expenses within an employee's designated headquarters are only reimbursable if they are mandatory and connected to training, seminars, or conferences. The new provisions will take effect on September 1, 2025, giving state agencies time to prepare and develop the required reimbursement policies.