(a)    In this section, “public employer” means:

(1)    a unit;

(2)    a county;

(3)    a municipality in the State;

(4)    a school district in the State; or

(5)    any special district in the State.

(b)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this section, a public employer may not knowingly buy, furnish, or require an employee to buy or acquire for use while on duty any of the following items unless the item is manufactured in the United States:

(i)    a uniform or any other item of apparel, the selection of which is not in the employee’s discretion, except for the proper size; or

(ii)    safety equipment and protective accessories.

(2)    A public employer may buy, furnish, or require an employee to purchase or acquire an item listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection that is manufactured outside of the United States, if:

(i)    the item or a similar item is not manufactured or available for purchase in the United States;

(ii)    the item or a similar item is not manufactured or available for purchase in the United States in reasonably available quantities;

(iii)    the price of the item or a similar item manufactured in the United States exceeds the price of a similar, available item that is not manufactured in the United States by an unreasonable amount; or

(iv)    the quality of the item or a similar item manufactured in the United States is substantially less than the quality of a comparably priced, similar, and available item that is not manufactured in the United States.

(3)    The Board shall adopt regulations defining the following terms for the purposes of this section:

(i)    “reasonably available”;

(ii)    “unreasonable amount”; and

(iii)    “substantially less”.