D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 7, r. 7-1613

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 43, October 25, 2024

Rule 7-1613 - PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS; DIRECT VOUCHER PAYMENTS

1613.1

All expenditures shall be obligated by Board's Chief Financial Officer, with the exception of the items listed below, before being paid. An obligation is a definite commitment that creates a legal liability for the Board for the payment of appropriated funds, even though payment may not occur until sometime in the future.

1613.2

The following types of expenditures are excluded from the requirement that all expenditures shall first be obligated by Board's Chief Financial Officer because the payees cannot be determined in advance or because the nature of the expenditure does not lend itself to prior obligation and shall be paid by direct voucher payment:

(a) Settlement and judgement payments pursuant to a settlement agreement approved by the Board or a court order, including a final decision of the District of Columbia Contract Appeals Board.

(b) Board litigation costs, excluding Board-controlled litigation costs, that are created by plaintiffs or the court, including but not limited to:

(1) Plaintiff experts;

(2) Deposition of plaintiff experts;

(3) Litigation court reporter costs;

(4) Court trial transcripts; and

(5) Arbitrator fees.

(c) Payments for legal services including but not limited to court witness fees, deposition witness fees, and subpoena fees.

(d) Employee tuition reimbursements or membership dues or fees for licenses or certifications related to, and necessary for, job performance, such as CPAs, lawyers, counselors, Board fiduciary training, pursuant to applicable laws.

(e) Payments to Board employees for approved travel expenses associated with job-related training, seminars, or conferences or for approved preemployment travel, reasonable relocation expenses, and reasonable temporary housing allowance.

(f) Payments to the appointed and elected members of the Board of Trustees for meeting attendance and meeting preparation, and other authorized costs related to the performance of their role on the Board.

(g) Refunds of taxes, fees, charges for services, fines, and forfeits that were collected in excess or in error.

(h) Vendor check replacements resulting from incorrect addresses, names, amounts, disbursement bank account closing or system errors.

(i) Payments associated with the acquisition of property, land and/or buildings, either by bid, direct negotiation, or through the use of eminent domain.

(j) Payments for costs incurred by the Board for rent, electricity, water, gas, sewer, and telecommunications.

(k) Payments made directly to District Government agencies or instrumentalities, or to other state or local governments, or to the Federal government as authorized by the Board or required by the Federal government, or through an agreement with another state or local government.

(l) Payments that did not follow the normal required procurement process, for example do not have contracts or purchase orders, but for which the Chief Contracting Officer prepared and submitted a written ratification order, executed by the Executive Director and Board's Chief Financial Officer, establishing contract authority and authorizing payment for the transaction. Direct voucher payments made pursuant to a written ratification order shall be reported to the Board of Trustees.

(m) Payments on invoices that relate to a properly executed contract, for the appropriate time period of the contract, but without a purchase order which would have established funding availability. A contract reconciliation must be performed to ensure that the payment would not exceed the total contract amount.

(n) Miscellaneous direct vouchers that result from "prior year procurement actions," i.e., a purchase order being closed out prior to payment or payment being applied to it. The total miscellaneous direct voucher payment amount may not exceed the total amount closed out on the purchase order.

(o) Payments for subscription services and incidental merchant fees, for use of or access to a product or service (i.e., magazines, newspapers, books, cable television, online access, and merchant fees, such as PayPal); not including major subscription services, such as computing and cloud hosting services.

1613.3

Direct voucher payment requests that are not explicitly identified above shall be submitted by the Board's Chief Financial Officer to the Board of Trustees for consideration and approval.

1613.4

Board's Chief Financial Officer shall also update and inform Board employees whenever there is a change in the policies and procedures governing the review and consideration of direct voucher payment requests.

1613.5

All Board employees or Board members who obligate or certify funds, or who approve or process payments, must do so in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. A Board employee or Board member's violation of applicable law, including the Federal and/or District anti-deficiency laws, may result in reprimand, suspension, repayment of the improperly committed or expended funds, termination or removal from the Board, or civil and/or criminal prosecution.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 7, r. 7-1613

Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 12594, 12605 (December 31, 2010); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 63 (1/7/2022)

Authority: The District of Columbia Retirement Board (the Board), pursuant to the authority set forth in section 121(i) of the District of Columbia Retirement Reform Act of 1979 ( Pub. L. 96-122, 93 Stat. 866 (Nov. 17, 1979) (codified at D.C. Official Code § 1-711(i) (2001)) (the Reform Act).