00                             HOUSE BILL NO. 300                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to a meals and incidental expense allowance for state officials and                                    
02 employees; and providing for an effective date."                                                                        
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 39.20.160 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                           
05 (b)  The commissioner of administration shall adopt regulations that set a                                              
06 meals and incidental expense allowance for state officials and employees on official                                    
07 travel in the state, prorated for partial days and by meal period in a manner determined                                
08       by the commissioner, as follows:                                                                                  
09                 (1)  at least $82 a day for the first 30 days; and                                                      
10                 (2)  at least $45 a day for the 31st day of travel until the travel is                                  
11       completed.                                                                                                        
12 (c)  Beginning July 1, 2029, and every three years thereafter, the commissioner                                         
13 of administration shall adjust the meals and incidental expense allowances in (b) of                                    
14 this section by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the                                       
01       preceding three-year period in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban                                
02       consumers for urban Alaska, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States                             
03       Department of Labor.                                                                                              
04            (d)  In this section, "meals and incidental expense allowance" means the                                     
05       allowance provided to a traveler, as a part of the traveler's per diem allowance, to                              
06       cover the cost of meals and expenses, including discretionary gratuities.                                         
07    * Sec. 2. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).