(a) All state offices shall be closed on all days declared to be legal holidays under the laws of this state, and all persons employed thereby shall not be required to work on legal holidays. However, this section shall not apply to those state government offices wherever located and to those employees that are essential to the preservation and protection of the public peace, health, and safety, nor to the offices of the various constitutional officers who may use their own discretion in the matter of closing their offices on legal holidays.

(b) It is the specific intent of this section that all state offices be closed on all legal holidays even though one (1) or more legal holidays shall fall during a regular session, a fiscal session, or an extraordinary session of the General Assembly, provided that, with respect to state offices located in Pulaski County, those offices shall not be closed for any legal holiday during a regular session, a fiscal session, or an extraordinary session of the General Assembly unless they are permitted to close by resolution of the General Assembly, but those offices shall maintain only a minimum number of employees necessary to carry on the business of the offices.

(c) Any state employee who is required to work on a legal holiday, for any reason, shall be entitled to equivalent time off at a later date.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, state-supported institutions of higher education in this state may require the employees of the institutions to work on any of the holidays established in § 1-5-101, but if the employees are required to work on any day declared as a legal holiday, the employees shall be entitled to equivalent time off on another date.