A state lawmaker says that over the past four months the state paid more than $80,000 in travel claims submitted by Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department employees, but a tourism official says travel costs are actually down.

Rep. Kenneth Corn, D-Howe, who is chair of the House Tourism and Recreation Committee, said that the $80,000-plus in expenses were incurred at the same time the Office of State Finance was imposing across-the-board budget cuts of 2.85 percent in September and 6.02 percent in October and every month through next June.

"Just a month or two ago I wrote a letter to Jane Jayroe, asking them to prohibit all agency out-of-state travel and to limit their in- state travel to only those trips that were absolutely essential for the operation of state parks," said Corn. "Obviously it had a big effect."

Jayroe is state tourism secretary.

"He really doesn't have the authority to prohibit all out-of- state travel," said Jayroe.

She added that some travel is necessary to protect the state's investment in its tourism infrastructure and other resources, as well as its portion of certain federal funding.

"A lot of his information is out of context," she said. "We have never traveled extensively."

Jayroe said that actually the agency has reduced its travel budget 36 percent over last year.

"We have a statewide presence and have to travel," she added. "It's not excessive. It's only as necessary."

Of the $28,956 in tourism department out-of-state travel expenses paid in those four months, almost half of the bills, $13,914, were turned in during September and October, Corn said.

The agency's final out-of-state travel bill will be even higher, Corn noted, because some travel claims from at least one trip have not yet been submitted for payment by the finance office. Three tourism employees traveled to Tampa, Fla., last month for a National Recreation and Park Association exposition. Their plane fare and conference registration have already been paid, Corn said, but not each person's hotel and per diem expenses.

In addition to the out-of-state travel claims, the tourism department accumulated in-state travel claims totaling $53,434 during the first four months of the fiscal year that began July 1, Corn said.

Altogether, tourism travel claims amounting to $82,390 were paid during July, August, September and October.