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(a) The purpose of this section is to create incentives for the efficient management of the public higher education resources of the State of Arkansas by allowing public higher education institutions to establish early retirement window incentives for qualified nontenured faculty and staff who elect voluntary separation from the institution.
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(b) The boards of trustees of the publicly supported institutions of higher education may provide special allowances for nontenured faculty and staff to effect a saving in personnel salaries and fringe benefits costs when it is determined by the boards that such saving will provide for more efficient operation of the institutions.
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(c)
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(1) The boards of trustees shall approve criteria to determine qualifications to be met by the institutions and the employee.
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(2) Such qualifications shall include, but are not limited to:
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(A) Assurance that participation is strictly voluntary for employees;
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(B) Only full-time employees who are at least fifty-five (55) years of age or meet the retirement requirements for the Civil Service Retirement System; and
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(C) A savings in personnel cost will be realized by the institution.
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(d) The amount of all such allowances for any institution shall not exceed, in the aggregate during any fiscal year, an amount equal to one percent (1%) of the aggregate paid for personnel costs during the preceding fiscal year for the institution.
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(e) The boards of trustees are authorized to pay such allowances from any appropriation provided for regular salaries for the benefit of their institutions and from any sources of funds available to the institutions.
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(f) The board of trustees of each institution shall report the exact disposition of the special allowance to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee by July 1 of each year.
