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Travel News

  • March 2, 2021 - The Governor's Office issued a revised travel directive today for Commonwealth business travel in response to updated mitigation orders and based on the CDC's recommendations regarding travel due to COVID-19.  Please review the Out-of-State page of this website for more information.  

  • December 31, 2020 

     – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced changes to the Personally-Owned Vehicle (POV) mileage reimbursement rates. Commonwealth traveler claims for personal vehicle mileage are reimbursed according to commonwealth ground travel policies and the applicable GSA mileage rate. Effective January 1, 2021, the higher “standard” rate decreased from $0.575/mile to $0.56/mile and the lower “other vehicle available” rate decreased from $0.17/mile to $0.16/mile.  Please review BCPO Travel Memo #20-04 (PDF) for more information.
  • December 14, 2020 - The Preferred Lodging Guide (PDF) effective for the period from October 2020 through September 2021 has been updated.  See the last page of the Guide for the most recent updates.  Preferred hotels must be confirmed through SAP Concur if available and within a reasonable distance of your business trip destination.  If a preferred hotel is not available within a reasonable distance of your destination, any hotel can be selected provided the rate is at or below the GSA maximum lodging rate.
  • October 1, 2020 – The Preferred Hotel Guide (PDF) has been posted for the period from October 2020 through September 2021.  Preferred hotels must be confirmed through SAP Concur if available and within a reasonable distance of your business trip destination.  If a Preferred hotel is not available within a reasonable distance of your destination, any hotel can be selected provided the rate is at or below the GSA maximum lodging rate.
  • October 1, 2020 – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has announced its rates for lodging and subsistence for travel that begins on or after October 1, 2020.  The new rates can be found on the GSA website by selecting FY2021 from the “For Fiscal Year” dropdown menu.  The Commonwealth’s maximum lodging rates equal the GSA rates; maximum subsistence rates equal the GSA rates.  Travelers with questions should contact co-travelaudits@pa.gov or refer to Manual 230.1, Commonwealth Travel Procedures Manual.
  • July 2, 2020 - The Department of General Services issued a memo with updated guidance on vehicle operations and ground travel policy in effect during the Governor's Disaster Declaration regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.  This memo was sent to agency Deputies for Administration and Automotive Officers on July 2, 2020.
  •  June 16, 2020 - ESS/SAP was available until June 27, 2020 for entering travel expenses incurred prior to January 1, 2020.  The previous deadline of March 27, 2020 was extended due to the office closures related to COVID-19.  After June 27th, the ability to enter expense reports in ESS/SAP has been disabled.  SAP Concur must be used for all travel expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2020.
  • January 7, 2020 - SAP Concur is live for online reservations and expense reimbursements.  All training, user guides, FAQs and other resources can be found on the SAP Concur page of this website.
  • December 13, 2019  - Travel policy has been revised in conjunction with the implementation of SAP Concur.  Check out the Travel Policies & Memos page for the updated policies effective for travel on or after January 1, 2020.
  • July 30, 2019 - Effective August 25, 2019, only files with .pdf, .png., jpg, .jpeg, .tif, and .tiff extensions will be able to be attached to travel expense reports.   BCPO Travel Memo #19-02 (PDF) was issued to agencies explaining the change and includes procedures on how to convert files to an acceptable file type.

  • May 9, 2018 – Through tax year 2017, the Internal Revenue Code provided an exclusion from employees’ income for qualified moving expense payments and reimbursements made by employers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended this fringe benefit, except for military-related moving expenses, for tax years 2018 through 2025. As a result, all amounts that the commonwealth pays or reimburses for employee moving expenses must be reported to payroll as compensation. Commonwealth employees should refer to Management Directive 625.3, Moving Employee Household Goods, for the policy on moving expenses. Form STD-202, Request for Transfer Travel Status/Moving Expenses has been updated to reflect this change.