(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 General Assembly;

(3) Elected constitutional officers;

(4) Appointed or elected board and commission members who are on a full-time salaried basis; and

(5)

(A) Those state contract employees hired by the Arkansas National Guard on a full-time basis in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 2304.

(B) Program participation for contract employees of the Arkansas National Guard is conditioned upon the United States Government's contributing the employer's share to the Employee Benefits Division of the Department of Finance and Administration.

(b) Program participation for a state employee is conditioned upon the state employee's being in a budgeted state employee position or a position authorized by the General Assembly.

(c) A state employee is one whose actual performance of duty requires one thousand (1,000) or more working hours per year.

(d) If a participating institution discontinues its participation in the program, then the participating institution shall not re-participate in the program for two (2) years after the institution's final date of participation in the program unless the Executive Director of the Employee Benefits Division of the Department of Finance and Administration gives his or her consent to an earlier date.

(e) Participants are not allowed simultaneous participation in benefits provided by the state employee insurance plan or the public school employee insurance plan.

(f) The Arkansas State Police Health Benefit Plan is exempt from any mandatory participation required by this section.

(g)

(1) Beginning in the 2015 plan year, a public school employee is eligible to participate in the program if the public school employee is in a position that requires on average at least thirty (30) hours per week of actual performance of duty during the annual school year.

(2) A public school employee who is in a variable hour position is ineligible.