(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Appropriation year--The year that the legal authorization for the charge was granted by the legislature. Multiple appropriation year activity may occur within a single fiscal year.
  (2) Casual or task employee--An individual who is employed by an institution of higher education for a short time period or a specific task.
  (3) Fiscal year--The accounting period for the state government which begins on September 1 and ends on August 31.
  (4) FLSA--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
  (5) GAA--The General Appropriations Act.
  (6) HRIS--The human resource information system maintained by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. It captures personnel and payroll information submitted by institutions of higher education and locally funded agencies.
  (7) Institution of higher education--Has the meaning assigned by Education Code, §61.003, except that the term does not include a public junior college.
  (8) Payroll document--The type of document that a state agency submits to the comptroller in the required format when requesting payment of the compensation of state employees or certain other types of payments as required by the comptroller.
  (9) Payroll information--Information concerning the type and amount of compensation earned by a state employee, deductions from the compensation earned by the employee, and the source of funding for the payment of compensation to the employee. The term includes other types of information that the comptroller requires to be reported as payroll information.
  (10) Personnel information--Information about a state employee's job, compensation, or personal characteristics. The term includes other types of information that the comptroller requires to be reported as personnel information. Personnel information includes all information related to the individual as an employee and must support statewide reporting, such as for veteran's preference and Equal Employment Opportunity type information.
  (11) Qualified deferred compensation plan--A deferred compensation plan that is governed by Internal Revenue Code of 1986, §401(k).
  (12) State agency--A department, board, commission, committee, council, agency, office, or other entity in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of Texas state government, the jurisdiction of which is not limited to a geographical portion of this state. The term includes the State Bar of Texas, the Board of Law Examiners, and an institution of higher education.
  (13) State employee--An officer or employee of a state agency. The term includes an elected or appointed officer; a full-time or part-time employee or officer; an hourly employee; a temporary state employee; a casual or task employee; an individual whose employment with a state agency is conditional on the individual being a student; a line item exempt employee; or an employee not covered by the Position Classification Act; an employee that works in a nonacademic position at a state institution of higher education and any other individual to whom wages are paid by a state agency or institution of higher education.
  (14) USAS--The uniform statewide accounting system maintained by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. It is the official accounting system for the State of Texas.
  (15) USAS format--The USAS layout that a state agency uses to submit payroll documents to the comptroller.
  (16) USPS--The uniform statewide payroll/personnel system maintained by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. It is used as the internal personnel and payroll system by user agencies.
  (17) Calendar month--The period from the first day through the last day of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November or December.
  (18) Workday--Any day except Saturday and Sunday. The term includes a state or national holiday under GAA or Government Code, §§662.001 - 662.010.
  (19) SPRS--The standardized payroll/personnel system maintained by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. It captures personnel and payroll information submitted by state agencies that report their data to SPRS.
  (20) CAPPS--The centralized accounting, payroll and personnel system maintained by the Comptroller of Public Accounts or a version held elsewhere as authorized by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. The payroll and personnel components are used by state agencies that use CAPPS as their internal system and it submits personnel and payroll information to SPRS.
  (21) Standard work schedule--A schedule with the number of workdays and hours per month as published annually by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. It represents the number of workdays and hours per month that a Monday through Friday, 40 hour per week employee would work.
  (22) Non-standard work schedule--A schedule other than a standard work schedule.
  (23) Locally funded agencies--State agencies whose funds are held in banks outside of the state treasury department.
(b) Required submission of payroll documents.
  (1) A state agency must submit a payroll document to the comptroller if the agency is requesting reimbursement for the agency's payment of compensation to its employees. The payroll document must be in proper USAS format.
  (2) A state agency may electronically submit a payroll detail to the comptroller according to the comptroller's requirements.
(c) Deadline for receipt of payroll documents.
  (1) Generally. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a payroll document must be received by the comptroller, according to the comptroller's requirements, not later than the seventh workday before payday. This applies regardless of how often a state agency pays its employees.
  (2) Exceptions.
    (A) If a state agency wants to pick up its warrants before payday under a bailment contract the agency has executed with the comptroller, then the agency's payroll document must be received not later than the seventh workday before the day on which the agency wants to pick up the warrants.
    (B) A payroll document that is submitted by a state agency that uses USPS or uses CAPPS or reports to SPRS must be received by the comptroller, according to the comptroller's requirements, not later than the fourth workday before payday to ensure direct deposit of net pay.
(d) Supplemental payroll documents.
  (1) When allowed. A state agency may submit a supplemental payroll document to the comptroller if a change occurs between the agency's submission of its regular payroll document and the end of the month.
  (2) Adjustments in compensation. When a change results in a state agency owing money to a state employee, the agency should adjust the employee's compensation for the following month instead of submitting a supplemental payroll if the delay would not cause hardship to the employee.
(e) Non-regular payments. A state agency may make a payment to a state employee for other than the employee's regular compensation on a regular payroll document. The agency must select the proper comptroller object code for the payment.
(f) Cancellations of payments of compensation.
  (1) Cancellations of warrants. When a state agency needs to cancel a payroll warrant, the agency must follow the comptroller's warrant cancellation procedures.
  (2) Cancellation of electronic funds transfers. When a state agency needs to cancel a payment of compensation via the comptroller's electronic funds transfer system, the agency must follow the procedures specified by the comptroller.
  (3) Issuance of new warrants. When a state agency needs to issue a new payroll warrant after canceling the original payroll warrant, the agency must follow the comptroller's procedures for supplemental payrolls.
(g) Payroll conversions. In early September of each year, state agencies that are subject to the Position Classification Act must furnish payroll conversion information to the comptroller and the state auditor according to their guidelines. Although the comptroller sends the guidelines to each state agency once each year, the guidelines are always available from the comptroller upon request.
(h) Reporting of personnel information to HRIS.
  (1) Applicability. This subsection applies to a state agency only if it does not use USPS, CAPPS or report to SPRS.
  (2) Reporting requirements.
    (A) A state agency shall report personnel information to HRIS if:
      (i) a state employee is added to or removed from the agency's payroll;
      (ii) the agency changes a state employee's compensation rate;
Cont'd...