(1) As used in this section:

(a) “Eligible employee” means an employee of a public employer that is not subject to the provisions of Section 25-3-37 and meets the eligibility criteria set forth in the rules and regulations of the public employer.

(b) “Public employer” means any agency, board, commission, municipality, governing authority or other instrumentality of state or local government including, but not limited to, an institution of higher learning or a community or junior college.

(2) Any public employer may establish an employer-assisted housing program to provide funds to eligible employees of the public employer to be used for the housing assistance. Funds under this program may be utilized by an eligible employee for rental security deposits, rental subsidies, down payments, closing costs or any other fees or costs associated with the rental or purchase of a home. The housing assistance may be in the form of a grant, forgivable loan or repayable loan. The public employer may contract with one or more public or private entities to provide assistance in implementing and administering the program and shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the program.

(3) If the assistance is structured as a forgivable loan, the participating employee must remain as an employee of the public employer for an agreed upon period of time, as determined by the rules and regulations adopted by the public employer in order to have the loan forgiven. The forgiveness structure, amount of assistance and repayment terms shall be determined by the public employer.