[§78-32]  Payment of approved travel costs for public officers and employees.  (a)  This section shall apply to all approved travel costs incurred by an officer or employee of the State or a county in connection with the official business of the respective jurisdiction.

     (b)  Subject to subsection (d), the State and the counties may pay approved travel costs directly to:

     (1)  The vendor providing the goods or services involved; or

     (2)  The officer or employee for whom the approved travel costs are to be paid, by way of a cash advance prior to the date of purchase, unless the officer or employee affirmatively agrees to loan the State or a county the money for the travel costs and be reimbursed after the officer or employee pays for the travel costs.

     (c)  This section shall not be construed as precluding the reimbursement of approved travel costs to an officer or employee upon completion of travel for any costs that for any reason were not paid by the State or the county, as applicable, in accordance with subsection (b).

     (d)  As pertains to the officer or employee incurring approved travel costs, whenever there is a conflict between a collective bargaining agreement and this section, the terms of the collective bargaining agreement shall prevail.

     (e)  For the purposes of this section, "approved travel costs" means any determinable costs of travel for official state or county business approved by the respective jurisdiction and supported by a written invoice.  The term includes the costs of transportation to and from a destination point, between destination points, or within a destination point; event registration fees; per diem allowances; and any other necessary costs related to the travel.

     (f)  An employer shall not take adverse employment actions against an officer or employee who does not affirmatively agree to loan the State or a county the money for the travel costs and be reimbursed after the officer or employee pays for the travel costs. [L 2016, c 158, §1]