The University of Houston spent more than $16,000 to accommodate a high-level administrator in a hotel during the recent legislative session, despite the fact that the official owns a condominium in Austin.

After UH refused to pay him $750 a month to stay in the condo, Jason Smith, vice president for governmental and community relations, charged the university $16,246 to stay in a hotel for the length of the session, records obtained by the Houston Chronicle through a public records request show. Smith charged UH more than $37,600 in reimbursements for expenses he incurred during the session, including thousands on food and beverages for legislators.

Smith asked in an email in December if UH would cover "my cost to stay at my condo" in Austin.

"The cost comparison is $750 a month at my condo versus $130 a night at a hotel," Smith wrote. "This is a savings of more than $1,000 a month and more than $5,000 for the session. It saves on our office budget, it saves the University money."

Property records show Smith's wife, Erin Ferris, owns a condo on Dry Creek Drive in west Austin.

More Information By the numbers $750: Monthly amount asked by Jason Smith, vice president for governmental and community relations, but denied by UH for him to stay in his Austin condo $16,246: How much Smith charged UH to instead stay in a hotel for the last legislative session $37,600: Total expenses he incurred during session $2,500: How much Smith paid for one dinner for 16 at a steakhouse

Read More

Smith did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The university's legal department told Smith that the school's travel policy does not allow reimbursements for accommodations not provided by a "commercial lodging establishment," so he booked a hotel.

While the condo situation is unusual, the expense records shed light on the high cost of doing business during a legislative session when much is on the line for a public university. For example, Smith paid more than $2,500 on one dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House after a day when students and alumni descended on the Capitol to convince lawmakers to support UH. That night, UH picked up a tab of nearly $600 for drinks.

Texas law forbids public agencies, including universities, from using state money to lobby the Legislature, so most universities hire officials like Smith to act as unofficial lobbyists whose official roles are to "educate" lawmakers on the school's needs.

The university said in a statement that the hotel reimbursement was in line with its policies and consistent with how other universities would handle such matters.

"Our employee's property ownership is not university business," the statement said. "Jason Smith's place of residence and his work home is in Houston. … He stayed at the Hampton Inn, which is located close to the Capitol for business reasons."

Receipts obtained by the Chronicle show that Smith was reimbursed for at least one meal with his wife, who is a registered lobbyist and does not work for UH. Smith said in his reimbursement request that the dinner at Clark's Oyster Bar, which cost UH $75, was "to discuss ongoing legislation" with Ferris, a UH Law Center alumnus.

However, the university changed some of its reimbursement policies after providing information to the newspaper about that dinner. The new policy approved July 29 - the day the information was given to the Chronicle - specifically exempts the Office of Government Relations, which Smith runs, from reporting who accompanied officials to meals for which they seek reimbursement.

The dinner for 16 people at Ruth's Chris - which included $408 worth of wine, $150 on barbecue shrimp and a $428 tip - exceeded a $100-per-person limit UH has set for reimbursements, so the UH Foundation had to kick in $937 to cover the cost. An email from a UH business administrator warned that the technically unauthorized transaction was strike one and that Smith's credit card would be canceled if he broke the rules two more times.

On another day, when UH Chancellor Renu Khator spoke to a House committee considering research funding, Smith brought $155 worth of breakfast tacos for the panel.

The food costs are on top of the $96,500 paid to Houston lobbyist Robert Miller to act as an "external adviser" during the legislative session. That move was unusual for public universities and was questioned by some lawmakers at the time.

UH leaders have said the legislative session was a success. Lawmakers approved millions for UH expansions, including $63 million for a new Biomedical Sciences Center at the Central campus and $54 million for a new academic building in Sugar Land, among other projects.