(a) The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management is established as a public safety agency of the State of Arkansas.

(b) The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management shall have a director appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(c)

(1) The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management shall have such professional, technical, secretarial, and clerical employees and may make such expenditures within its appropriations or from any federal or other funds made available to it from any source whatsoever for the purpose of emergency services, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(2) All such employees shall be in job positions as approved by the Office of Personnel Management of the Division of Management Services of the Department of Finance and Administration.

(d)

(1) There is created within the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management an emergency reserve cadre to be composed of trained and available specialists to assist regular employees during declared disaster response and recovery operations.

(2) The Director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management shall establish training and professional standards required to supplement state personnel based on state and federal disaster recovery program needs and shall establish a list of persons with those qualifications and make available to emergency reserve cadre personnel such additional training and education opportunities as may be needed to maintain currency and proficiency in the needed skills.

(3)

(A) Emergency reserve cadre personnel shall be reimbursed at the current state classified entry level salary rate for the position they are temporarily employed to fill and meet such additional training, experience, and qualifications as established by the director for the grade level of the position for which they are employed.

(B) Emergency reserve cadre personnel shall:

(i) Be paid from disaster management funds or administrative funds, or both;

(ii) Be limited to salary, logistical, and travel expenses only; and

(iii) Not accrue ordinary leave, sick leave, or other employee benefits except for workers' compensation eligibility for injuries or death suffered in the line of duty.

(4)

(A) Emergency reserve cadre personnel may be called to active duty upon declaration of a disaster emergency as stipulated in this chapter or the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-288, or both, or by executive order of the Governor upon recommendation by the director for due cause or pending emergency needs or for disaster-related assistance to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management as determined by the director and shall remain on active duty no longer than the maximum allowed by the Office of Personnel Management of the Division of Management Services of the Department of Finance and Administration for part-time employment status.

(B) Based on the size, impact, and magnitude of the disaster event, the director shall determine the minimum number of emergency reserve cadre personnel required to effectively supplement regular state emergency management personnel.

(5) While in service described in subdivision (d)(4)(A) of this section, the emergency reserve cadre personnel have the same immunities as regular state employees for good faith performance of their designated and assigned official duties under state sovereignty laws and practices.