RENTAL
CARS:
Required Use
When renting a car using state funds, you are required to use the rental
companies under state contract with the Texas Building and Procurement
Commission. Currently, these companies are:
When
you rent a vehicle from Advantage, Avis, or Enterprise under the State
of Texas contract, the rental rate includes two kinds of insurance: LDW (Loss/Damage
Waiver or comprehensive), which covers all damage to the rental vehicle
if it was rented under the state contract; and Liability,
which covers persons and property outside the rental vehicle. The amount
of this extended liability insurance is $100,000 bodily injury per
person, $300,000 bodily injury per occurrence; and $50,000 property
damage per occurrence, for a total of $350,000 per accident. Please
note, that Avis has some licensee locations that do not offer the LDW
coverage (a current list can be found in the rate section of the TBPC
website).
Contract
information can be found on the TBPC's web site http://tbpc.state.tx.us/communities/procurement/prog/stmp under Contract Rental Car. However, state rules allow you to use any
other car rental company if you can meet one of the following exceptions:
- Lower total cost to the state. Use of a non-contract travel vendor is less than the contract fare or rate which is offered to the general public, and/or when all trip expenses are evaluated, including ground transportation, insurance fees, parking fees, taxes, and travel time, the use results in a lower total overall cost to the state. If the contract travel vendor offers the same lower fare or rate, the contract travel vendor must be used, unless a valid exception exists.
- Efficient use of services. Use of a non-contract travel vendor is necessary because the contract travel vendor is sold out, is not able to provide services at the time or location necessary to accomplish the purpose of the trip, has a real or anticipated labor disruption, or is providing negotiated rates for group travel.
- Health and Safety issues. Use
of a non-contract travel vendor may be allowed when a state traveler
finds
that the accommodations provided by the vendor may reasonably
present
a risk to the state traveler or person under the state's
custody in the following circumstances:
A. Accommodations may lack a reasonable amount of security or safety, and/or may present a health risk based on the state traveler's individual needs;
B. Accommodations fail to provide an adequate amount of services required for a person with disabilities; or
C. Accommodations have limited availability of medical emergency facilities or equipment that may be required by a state traveler or person under the state's custody.
Please note that many promotional rates (weekend, holiday, etc.) do not include insurance in the basic rental fee. Insurance is an additional cost and should not be declined. The combination of a promotional rate and insurance costs must be lower than the State contracted rate to qualify as a valid exception. Per the State of Texas Comptroller guidelines, if a non-contract rental is secured using a valid exception, Loss/Damage Waiver (LDW) charges will be reimbursed; liability insurance charges WILL NOT be reimbursed.
If you qualify for one of the exceptions above, and use a non-state contracted car rental company, it is extremely important for you to document the exception on your travel reimbursement voucher. An example would be:
A car rental company under state contract was not used because a non-contract rental car offered a lower total cost.
Failure to list this reason on your reimbursement voucher will result in the voucher being returned to you.
If you are using institutional funds, you can use any car rental company without having to document the reason on your reimbursement voucher. But please remember there are advantages to using any one of the contracted car rental companies, such as:
- lower price
- no cost insurance for business travel
- unlimited mileage
Taxes
and Fees
If you pay for a car rental with any type of individual
charge card, you must pay the taxes. (They will
be reimbursed.) If a rental is
direct-billed to a state agency, there should be
no taxes charged-EXCEPT the "Prop.,
Title, Regis." charge. (The name may vary.)
This tax was implemented under House Bill 2151,
74th Texas Legislature, and allows all rental
car companies operating in Texas to charge a nominal
fee to recoup the cost of registering and licensing
their fleets. It is to be paid by individuals
and state agencies. (Many other states have also
implemented this type of charge, with different
names.) Special events/stadium taxes fall under
the same rulings as above.
Explanation of Taxes and Fees:
- Airport Access Fees: A fee that is charged to any customer that picks up a car at the airport location within their first 24 hours. Which is submitted directly to the airport authority and is payable by customer. This is paid for on all rentals.
- CFC-Customer Facilitation Charge: A fee imposed by the Airport for parking vehicles on-site at the airport. Which is submitted directly to the airport authority and is payable by customer. This is paid for on all rentals.
- Motor Vehicle Tax: A tax that is similar to a sales tax, but because rental car vendors provide a service and do not sell goods. This is not paid on Direct Bill rentals.
- Sport Authority/Stadium Tax: A tax that is set forth by some type of district, i.e., city county or school provide funding for a certain event or project. This is not paid on Direct Bill rentals.
- Texas Property Tax & License Reimbursement Fee: A surcharge that is passed on to the customer as reimbursement for license and title fees. This is paid for all rentals and will vary by city.
Refueling Provisions
Vehicles are provided to travelers with a full tank of gas. Fuel
is not included in the rate. If a vehicle is returned
with less than a full
tank of gas, refueling fees will
vary based on the vendor and location. Refueling fees are generally
higher than "gas pump" prices
and can be as much as 50% above local market price. It is strongly recommended
that a prepaid fuel option be chosen at the time of the rental or that
the vehicle be returned with a full tank of gas.
Personal
Rentals
Rates may be extended for personal
use based on individual car
vendor guidelines.
Note that
the
renters personal
insurance is
primary and
LDW insurance is not included.
Refer to the "Personal Use" section
on each car vendors information page for details.
When
a reservation for personal use is made with a vendor,
it should be clearly
specified
that
the rental
is for
personal use
and payment
will be made by the individual
at
the rental location. The
vendor should be instructed
that
the cost is
not to be direct
billed
to the University
of Texas System. Central
billing to
the University of Texas
System is for business
travel only.
