Purpose:
Restrictions on the use and operation of U. T. System
aircraft that is state-owned and state-leased
Date
Approved:
October 9, 1987 (Editorially
amended September 2000, July 2001, and October 2003)
Background:
The Appropriations Act passed by the 70th Legislature
and subsequent enactments contain, among the travel regulations in its General Provisions, a section
prescribing restrictions on the use and operations of state-owned and
state-leased aircraft. In accordance
therewith, the rules and regulations regarding the use and operation of The
University of Texas System aircraft and leased aircraft as adopted on December
12, 1980, were revised as set out below:
I. Use of the U. T. System Aircraft
A. The U. T. System aircraft or any leased
aircraft will be used only in the conduct of official State business and only
in compliance with the travel regulations contained in Section 2205.231 et
seq., Texas Government Code and any other laws applicable to the use
of state-owned or leased aircraft; and except in circumstances deemed by the
Chairman of the Board or the Chancellor to constitute an emergency, the person
who makes application for the use of the aircraft must be aboard the aircraft
or the trip will be cancelled.
B. When the U. T. System aircraft or any
leased aircraft makes a flight in the conduct of official University business,
other passengers who are not University officers or employees on official
University business may occupy seats that would otherwise be empty as long as
all passengers are state officers or employees, or are persons in the care or
custody of state officers or employees, or are persons whose transportation
furthers the official state business purposes of that flight; and provided the
priority person to whom the aircraft is assigned approves. In accordance with Texas Attorney General
Opinion H-1089, the U. T. Board of Regents finds that attendance of the spouses
of members of the U. T. Board of Regents and officials of the Office of the
Board of Regents; spouses of the Executive Officers and the Administrative
Officers of the U. T. System; and spouses of the presidents of the component
institutions of the U. T. System at certain official functions is in
furtherance of official state business in certain circumstances. Examples of these circumstances include but
are not limited to attendance at U. T. System Board of Regents' meetings when
there is an official function hosted by a component institution, and retirement
functions honoring long-time key employees of the U. T. System or its
components.
C. The U. T. System aircraft or leased
aircraft will be used only when the official business of the State or the
University cannot be conducted as well or more economically through the use of
regularly scheduled commercial aircraft. Specifically, it is appropriate to use the U. T. System aircraft or
leased aircraft only when the destination is not served by commercial carriers,
or the time required to use such a carrier interferes with other obligations,
or the number of state officers and employees traveling makes the use of state
aircraft cost effective.
D. Requests for use of the U. T. System
aircraft and leased aircraft or chartered flights by members of the U. T. Board
of Regents will generally be arranged through the Counsel and Secretary to the
Board. Leased aircraft or chartered
flights will be provided Regents when the U. T. System aircraft is not available. If circumstances occur that require flight
arrangements for Board members to be made through the Chancellor or his or her
designee, the Counsel and Secretary to the Board will be advised of such
arrangements by copy of the completed flight reservation form.
E. Except for requests by the U. T. Board of
Regents, all flights of U. T. System aircraft or requests for leased aircraft
or chartered flights will be requested from and approved in advance by the
Chancellor or his or her designee. Up
until 24 hours before the flight is scheduled to begin, requests for the use of
U. T. System aircraft will be approved upon the following order of priority:
1. Chairman
of the U. T. Board of Regents
2. A
Vice Chairman of the U. T. Board of Regents (in order of request)
3. Members
of the U. T. Board of Regents (in order of request)
4. Chancellor
and Executive Vice Chancellors (in order of request)
5. Vice
Chancellors and other Executive Officers (in order of request)
6. Institutional
Heads (in order of request)
7. Other
officers and staff of U. T. System Administration (in order of request)
8. Other faculty and staff personnel of the
component institutions (in order of request).
F. If more than one of the priority persons
listed above requests the use of the U. T. System aircraft more than 24 hours
before the flight is scheduled to begin, the Chancellor or his or her designee
will assign the U. T. System aircraft to the person with the highest priority,
and will, insofar as necessary and practicable, provide leased aircraft or a
chartered flight for the use of the person or persons with the lower priority
if scheduled commercial aircraft will not permit the trip.
G. During the 24-hour period prior to the
beginning of a flight, if the U. T. System aircraft has not been previously
scheduled, the Chancellor or his or her designee will assign the U. T. System
aircraft to any person on the priority list on a first-come first-served basis
without regard to the order of priority.
H. During the 24-hour period prior to the
beginning of a flight, if the U. T. System aircraft has been previously
scheduled and an additional request for its use is made by a person on the
priority list, the Chancellor or his or her designee will, insofar as necessary
and practicable, provide a leased aircraft or a chartered flight for the use of
the person making the subsequent request.
I. If a U. T. System aircraft flight
that is scheduled before the beginning of the 24-hour period is cancelled,
insofar as practicable, the Chancellor or his or her designee will assign the
aircraft to the person requesting the aircraft that is next in order of
priority. If a U. T. System
aircraft flight that is scheduled during the 24-hour period is cancelled, the
Chancellor or his or her designee will assign the aircraft to the next person
requesting it on a first-come first-served basis without regard to the order of
priority.
J. In accordance with the expressed intent
of the Legislature that state-owned aircraft be utilized by all agencies of the
state, use of U. T. System aircraft by other state officials and state
personnel on official state business is encouraged and will be authorized by
the Chancellor or his or her designee on a space available and first-come
first-served basis after the individuals on the priority list indicated in
Section I‑E above.
K. The pilots of U. T. System aircraft
will report to and act under the direction of the Chancellor or his or her
designee. Except as may be requested or
directed by a Regent, only the Chancellor or his or her designee will direct
the pilots as to the flights they will fly or make. If it becomes either necessary or desirable for an approved
flight plan to be substantially changed from the flight plan that has been
approved by the Chancellor or his or her designee, except in circumstances
deemed to constitute an emergency by pilot and the priority person to whom the
aircraft is assigned, prior approval of the change must be obtained from the
Chancellor or his or her designee. All
passengers must be approved by the priority person to whom the aircraft is
assigned.
L. Charges to the component institutions for
use of U. T. System aircraft shall be equal to the rate approved by the
State Aircraft Pooling Board for interagency aircraft services.
M. It is the intent of these Rules and
Regulations that maximum orderly and efficient use of the U. T. System aircraft
will be made in the conduct of the official business of the University and the
State and that the U. T. System aircraft will be available for the widest
practicable use by the proper persons included in the priority group.
II. Operation of the U. T. System Aircraft
A. The U. T. System aircraft will and
must be operated at all times in accordance with the provisions of the Federal
Aviation Agency approved flight manual and the University Flight Operations Procedures which is in consonance with
the Federal Aviation Act (as amended) and Civil Air Regulations.
B. Under
Federal Regulations, the pilot of any aircraft is responsible for and is the
final authority as to the flight operation of that aircraft. All decisions concerning the flight itself
will rest solely with the pilot. However, the pilot should keep the priority person informed.
C. It shall be the policy of operations for
U. T. System aircraft, leased aircraft, and chartered flights that two (2)
pilots be on board for each scheduled flight, unless otherwise authorized by
the Chancellor or his or her designee and the priority person to whom the
aircraft is assigned.
III. Record Keeping and Reports - U. T. System
Aircraft
A. Reservations
All flight reservations for U. T. System aircraft
shall be entered on a U. T. System Aircraft Reservation form which should
include, but is not necessarily limited to, the following:
1. Departure/estimated
arrival, date, time and place
2. Name of
each passenger
3. Destination(s)
including intermediate stops
4. Purpose
of trip for each passenger.
B. Flight
Reports
For each flight the pilot will complete a Flight
Report showing the following:
1. Flight
number and duration
2. Date
3. Aircraft
number
4. Flight
plan
5. Destination
and intermediate stops of flight
6. Names of
pilot and co-pilot
7. Passenger
information:
(a) Name of
each passenger
(b) Title
(c) Department
(d) Institution.
IV. Record Keeping and Reports - Leased
Aircraft
The forms used for U. T. System Aircraft
reservations shall also be used for all flights or leased aircraft arranged by
the Chancellor or his or her designee. The approved reservation request shall serve as the official record of
all such flights or leased aircraft.
V. Reports
to the Legislative Budget Board, the State Aircraft Pooling Board and the
U. T. Board of Regents
The U. T. System Office of Administration shall
prepare and submit the annual summary report of U. T. System and leased
aircraft operations, the annual report of U. T. System aircraft utilization
by other state agencies, and the monthly flight logs to the Legislative Budget
Board and the State Aircraft Pooling Board, as necessary to comply with the
requirements of the current Appropriations Act. Copies of all reports prepared by the U. T. System on aircraft
operations shall be submitted to the U. T. Board of Regents for review
by the Finance and Planning Committee.
Last reviewed October 2003