(a) As used in this section, "public employer" means any of the following:

(1) An agency, department, board, commission, division, office, bureau, council, authority, or other instrumentality of the State of Arkansas, including the offices of the various Arkansas-elected constitutional officers and the General Assembly and its agencies, bureaus, and divisions;

(2) A state-supported college, university, technical college, community college, or other institution of higher education or department, division, or agency of a state institution of higher education;

(3) The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the circuit courts, and the prosecuting attorneys' offices;

(4) An office, department, commission, council, agency, board, bureau, committee, corporation, or other instrumentality of a county government or a municipality or a district court, a county subordinate service district, a municipally owned utility, or a regional or joint governing body of one (1) or more counties or municipalities; or

(5) A public school district, school, or an office or department of a public school district in Arkansas.

(b)

(1) A public employer shall obtain a state criminal background check to be conducted by the Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police before finalizing the hiring of an applicant for an employment position with supervisory fiduciary responsibility over all fiscal matters.

(2) The applicant shall sign a release of information to the public employer.

(3) The public employer may:

(A) Choose to be responsible for the payment of any fee associated with the state criminal background check; or

(B) Provide that the applicant is responsible for the payment of any fee associated with the criminal background check.

(4) Upon completion of the criminal background check, the Identification Bureau shall forward to the public employer all releasable information obtained concerning the applicant.