§ 19-4-522 - Maintenance and general operation. - Arkansas Statutes

19-4-522. Maintenance and general operation.

(a) The maintenance and general operation classification shall cover items of expense necessary for the proper and efficient operation of the state agency, authority, board, commission, department, or institution of higher education, except as otherwise classified in this subchapter.

(b) It is recognized that in those instances where the maintenance and general operation line-item classification is not subclassified, the state agency is authorized to expend moneys for operations in compliance with the intent of this subchapter.

(c) In the event an appropriation for maintenance and general operation authorized for a state agency, board, department, or institution is restricted in its use by budget classification as set out in subsection (d) of this section, transfers between such classifications may be made subject to the procedures set out as follows:

(1) In the event the amount of any of the budget classifications of maintenance and general operation in an agency's appropriation act are found by the administrative head of the agency to be inadequate, then the agency head may request, upon forms provided for such purpose by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, a modification of the amounts of the budget classification. In that event, he or she shall set out on the forms the particular classifications for which he or she is requesting an increase or decrease, the amounts thereof, and his or her reasons therefor. In no event shall the total amount of the budget exceed either the amount of the appropriation or the amount of the funds available, nor shall any transfer be made from the capital outlay or data processing subclassification unless specific authority for such transfers is provided by law, except for transfers from capital outlay to data processing when determined by the Department of Information Systems that data processing services for a state agency can be performed on a more cost-efficient basis by the Department of Information Systems than through the purchase of data processing equipment by that state agency;

(2) In considering the proposed modification as prepared and submitted by each state agency, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall make such studies as he or she deems necessary. If the requested transfer would, when added to other transfers previously approved during the fiscal year for the same classification with the same appropriation, result in a deviation of any kind in the affected classifications of less than five percent (5%) up to a maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) from the classifications established by law, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall approve the requested transfer if in his or her opinion it is in the best interest of the state. If the requested transfer would, when added to other transfers previously approved during the fiscal year for the same classification within the same appropriation, result in a deviation of five percent (5%) or more, or more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall submit the request, along with his or her recommendation, to the Legislative Council for its advice prior to approving the request; and

(3) In the event any state agency shall expend or obligate any approved budget in excess of the maximum classification, the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State shall study the reasons for such excess expenditures and shall take immediate steps to correct such excess spending as he or she deems necessary after notification of such actions has been sent to the Legislative Council.

(d) Maintenance and general operation may be further categorized into the following subclassifications and the expenses thereof to be used according to the subclassification:

(1) Operating expenses. This subclassification shall entail the following, but not necessarily be limited thereto:

(A) Postage, telephone, and telegraph;

(B) Transportation of commodities or objects;

(C) Printing;

(D) State-owned motor vehicle expenses;

(E) Advertising;

(F) Minor and major repairs;

(G) Maintenance contracts;

(H) Utilities and fuel;

(I) Insurance premiums, surety and performance bonds, and association dues and memberships;

(J) Contractual services not otherwise classified;

(K) Consumable supplies, materials, and commodities;

(L) Books, publications, and newspapers;

(M) Court costs;

(N) Equipment not capitalized;

(O) Applicable petty cash reimbursements, laundry, and taxes;

(P) Travel, subsistence, meals, lodging, transportation of state employees or officials, and nonstate employees traveling on official business;

(Q) (i) Uniforms the agency requires its employees to wear as part of the job.

(ii) Clothing items purchased for its employees and not required to be worn during working hours, or which are purchased for the promotion of the agency, shall not be subclassified as an operating expense; and

(R) Such other items of operating expense as shall be provided by the appropriation act or under reasonable rules, regulations, and procedures issued by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State;

(2) Conference and Travel Expenses. This subclassification shall include:

(A) The costs of an employee attending a conference, seminar, or training program; and

(B) The costs of a state agency-sponsored or hosted conference, seminar, or training program where the expenses are not otherwise classified according to this section;

(3) Professional Fees. This subclassification shall include the expenses for contractual agreements entered into by the state agency with an individual, partnership, corporation, or anyone other than a state employee to provide a particular document, report, speech, study, or commodity other than those contractual agreements that by their nature would be classified elsewhere in this subchapter;

(4) Capital Outlay. This subclassification is to include the following expenses, but is not necessarily limited thereto by virtue of other classifications recognized by this subchapter:

(A) Purchase of land, buildings, equipment, furniture, and fixtures; and

(B) Contractual agreements, all of which are to be capitalized from the maintenance and general operation classification of appropriation; and

(5) Data Processing. This subclassification includes purchase of data processing services from the Department of Information Systems, or others, and other expenses that are not necessarily classified elsewhere in this section by virtue of the appropriation based upon budgets presented for consideration.

(e) Notwithstanding this section or any other law to the contrary, state-supported colleges and universities may utilize maintenance and operation appropriations for the payment of moving expenses of employees, including new hires.