Title 21, Public Officers and Employees

(a) The State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program is established to manage life and health insurance plan options for the benefit of state employees, state employee retirees, public school employees, and public school employee retirees. (b) It is the purpose of th…

The Director of the Employee Benefits Division shall report upon request to the House Committee on Insurance and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Insurance and Commerce regarding the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program.

(1) The State Board of Finance has the following powers, functions, and duties:(1) (A) To explore various cost-containment measures and funding options for plan options offered under the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program for the benefit of state employees,…

(a) (1) The State Board of Finance and the Director of the Employee Benefits Division shall take a risk management approach in designing the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program.(2) The board shall ensure that the program, including all plan options offered u…

(a) (1) The State Board of Finance shall choose the Director of the Employee Benefits Division with the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Shared Administrative Services.(2) (A) The director shall be employed by and serve at the pleasure of the secretary, and shall pe…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Active employee” means an eligible individual currently employed by a participating entity or participating institution;(2) “Aggregate performance information” means a report or other means of communication about the measurement of accomplishme…

State Board of Finance members may receive from the Department of Finance and Administration expense reimbursement and stipends as allowable under § 25-16-901 et seq.

(a) Individuals eligible to participate in the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program include:(1) All active state employees, active public school employees, or other eligible employees of a participating entity or participating institution;(2) Members of the G…

(a) (1) State employee retirees and public school retirees are qualified to enroll in the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program as retirees if they:(A) Have participated in the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program for at least five (5) cum…

(a) Members of the General Assembly and the state-elected constitutional officers who have served a sufficient number of years of credited service to be eligible for retirement benefits upon attainment of retirement age, but who have not yet reached retirement age, shall be eligi…

(a) The Department of Shared Administrative Services shall seek the advice of the Legislative Council and the House Committee on Insurance and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Insurance and Commerce before additional state contributions can be made to the State and Public Sch…

(a) (1) If any participating state agency or school district does not remit insurance premiums and required monthly reports to the Employee Benefits Division by the last calendar day of each billing month, the division shall impose a penalty of two dollars ($2.00) per insured mem…

(1) The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee shall annually conduct a performance audit of the:(1) Entity administering claims; and(2) Employee Benefits Division. (1) Entity administering claims; and (2) Employee Benefits Division.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, a state agency shall remit the employer's contribution for a state employee participating in the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program to the Employee Benefits Division when the state employee is:(1) In a le…

(a) A health savings account shall be a component of a consumer-driven health insurance plan option adopted by the State Board of Finance. (b) A school district may make an employer contribution into a participating public school employee's health savings account up to the maximu…

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that:(1) The Director of the Employee Benefits Division shall:(A) Maintain a reserve balance to ensure the solvency of the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program; and(B) Work to achieve an optimal reserve balance of …

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Morbid obesity causes many medical problems and costly health complications, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke;(2) The cost of managing the complications of morbid obesity, largely due to inadequate treatment, far ou…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Entity of the state” means any agency, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, division, institution of higher education, office, public school, quasi-public organization, or other political subdivision of the state; and(2) “Hea…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) The continual evaluation of the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program by the General Assembly is critical for:(A) Maximizing the benefits to the state employees and public school employees who are participants in the pro…

(a) (1) The Public School Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission is created, to be composed of the following voting members:(A) (i) Three (3) members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, who have a minimum of five (5) years of professional exp…

(a) (1) The State Employee Health Benefit Advisory Commission is created, to be composed of the following voting members:(A) (i) Three (3) members appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Senate, who have a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience …

(a) A vendor that contracts with the Employee Benefits Division under this subchapter and a fiscal impact is required shall agree to verify the accuracy of the data the vendor provides to the state. (b) The division shall not contract with a vendor for services for the division t…

For the purpose of this subchapter, “employee” means any person, partnership, or professional association whether appointed, elected, or under contract, providing services for the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision for which compensation is paid.

This subchapter shall apply to all deferred compensation plans adopted by agencies subsequent to March 28, 1970, which shall all be subject to the rules issued by the Department of Finance and Administration under the authority granted in this subchapter.

The deferred compensation program established by this subchapter shall exist and serve in addition to retirement, pension, or benefit systems established by the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision, and no deferral of income under the deferred compensation pr…

(a) (1) The state or a county, city, town, or other political subdivision may agree, by contract, with an employee to defer, in whole or in part, a portion of that employee's future compensation to a deferred compensation program.(2) (A) The participation of an employee in the au…

(a) The Department of Finance and Administration is authorized to enter into contractual agreements with employees on behalf of the state to defer any portion of that employee's future compensation. (b) The department may, upon request, designate an officer or officers within any…

(a) (1) The administration of the state government employees' deferred compensation program shall be under the direction of the Director of the Employee Benefits Division.(2) Administration of other deferred compensation programs authorized by this subchapter shall be under the d…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Director of the Employee Benefits Division or the appropriate officer of the county, city, town, or other political subdivision designated to administer the deferred compensation program is authorized:(1) To make…

A sum deferred under the deferred compensation program is not subject to income taxation until a distribution is made to the employee or beneficiary unless an employee has by contract directed that his or her contribution is to be deposited into a Roth deferred compensation plan.

All amounts of compensation deferred pursuant to a deferred compensation program, all property and rights purchased with such amounts, and income attributed to such amounts, property, and rights shall be held in one (1) or more annuity contracts, custodial accounts, or in trust f…

(1) The financial liability of the state, county, city, town, or other political subdivision under a deferred compensation program authorized by this subchapter shall be limited in each instance to:(1) An amount determined by reference to the value of the annuity contracts which …

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Deferred compensation plan” means the Arkansas Diamond Deferred Compensation Plan or subsequent deferred compensation plan administered by the Director of the Employee Benefits Division under this subchapter; and(2) (A) “Employee” means a person e…

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Public Employee Workers' Compensation Act”.

(1) It is the purpose of this subchapter to:(1) Provide workers' compensation coverage through state funds for all public employees, as defined in this subchapter, who are not otherwise covered under a workers' compensation liability insurance policy written and issued by a priva…

(a) The term “public employee”, as used in this subchapter, includes:(1) State employees and officers of any state agency, board, commission, department, institution, college, university, or community college receiving an appropriation for regular salaries, extra help, or authori…

(a) A workfare participant by participating in workfare does not enter into any employment contract, expressed or implied, with the State of Arkansas or its several political subdivisions. Participation in the project is for the purpose of retaining food stamp benefits and not fo…

(a) There is created a Public Employee Claims Division within the State Insurance Department. (b) The Director of the Public Employee Claims Division shall be appointed by the Insurance Commissioner. (c) The division is designated as the unit of state government primarily respons…

(a) The Director of the Public Employee Claims Division shall appoint lawyers of recognized ability admitted to practice in all state courts. (b) The lawyers shall be the attorneys for the Public Employees Claims Division and shall represent the public employer before the Workers…

To the extent not in conflict with this subchapter, the method and procedure of filing claims on behalf of the public employee and the review and appeal of compensation orders or awards of the Workers' Compensation Commission shall be the same as those provided by law and the rul…

(a) The appropriate public employer shall file with the Public Employee Claims Division, within ten (10) days after receiving notice of any personal injury, death, or occupational disease of any public employee, a report:(1) Showing the date, time, and place of the injury, death,…

(a) Benefits payable for the injury or death of a person appointed and regularly enrolled in an emergency services organization and covered by this subchapter shall be limited to the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law, § 11-9-101 et seq. Such benefits are payable if the …

In the event that any public employee is entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits under the provisions of this subchapter, as a result of injury, disability, or death, and the injury, disability, or death also gives rise to an entitlement of benefits under a state or fe…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Child” or “children” means any natural child, adopted child, or stepchild who is eligible under § 21-5-707;(2) “Coroner” means a coroner or a deputy coroner who is engaged in official duty at a crime scene or death location;(3) “Covered public …

(a) The Arkansas State Claims Commission is vested with exclusive jurisdiction of, or authority with respect to, all claims filed against the state under this subchapter. (b) The commission shall make a determination as to whether a death or total and permanent disability was or …

(a) All claimants shall be subject to the same rules as are provided by the law governing procedure before the Arkansas State Claims Commission. (b) All claims asserted under this subchapter shall be filed within five (5) years of the following:(1) The date of the covered public …