STATE EMPLOYEES: MEALS/TRAVEL EXPENSES

Plain English Breakdown

The official text confirms the bill passed both chambers, but the specific effective date is listed as 'immediately' under a general statute rather than a calendar date in this excerpt.

State Employee Meal Allowance Rules

This bill requires the commissioner of administration to set minimum daily meal allowance amounts for state officials and employees traveling within Alaska, with adjustments every three years based on inflation.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the commissioner of administration to create rules for a meals allowance on official travel within the state.
• Sets a minimum payment of $82 per day for the first 30 days of travel.
• Sets a lower minimum payment of $45 per day starting from the 31st day until travel ends.
• Allows payments to be split by meal period or partial day as decided by the commissioner.
• Mandates that allowance amounts increase every three years based on Alaska's Consumer Price Index.

Who It Names or Affects

• State officials and employees traveling for work within Alaska
• The Commissioner of Administration

Terms To Know

Meals and incidental expense allowance

Money given to travelers as part of their daily pay to cover food costs, small expenses, and tips.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

A measure used by the government to track how much prices for goods change over time in urban Alaska.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not state a specific dollar amount for future years, only that they will rise with inflation.
• The exact rules for splitting payments by meal period are left to the commissioner's decision.
• This law applies only to travel within Alaska and does not cover out-of-state trips.

Official Summary Text

STATE EMPLOYEES: MEALS/TRAVEL EXPENSES
An Act relating to a meals and incidental expense allowance for state officials and employees; and providing for an effective date.

Current Bill Text

HB0300a -1- HB 300
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS1331\I

HOUSE BILL NO. 300

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN

Introduced: 2/11/26
Referred: State Affairs, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to a meals and incidental expense allowance for state officials and 1
employees; and providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 39.20.160 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 4
(b) The commissioner of administration shall adopt regulations that set a 5
meals and incidental expense allowance for state officials and employees on official 6
travel in the state, prorated for partial days and by meal period in a manner determined 7
by the commissioner, as follows: 8
(1) at least $82 a day for the first 30 days; and 9
(2) at least $45 a day for the 31st day of travel until the travel is 10
completed. 11
(c) Beginning July 1, 2029, and every three years thereafter, the commissioner 12
of administration shall adjust the meals and incidental expense allowances in (b) of 13
this section by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the 14
34-LS1331\I
HB 300 -2- HB0300a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

preceding three-year period in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban 1
consumers for urban Alaska, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States 2
Department of Labor. 3
(d) In this section, "meals and incidental expense allowance" means the 4
allowance provided to a traveler, as a part of the traveler's per diem allowance, to 5
cover the cost of meals and expenses, including discretionary gratuities. 6
* Sec. 2. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 7