(a) All full-time employees of the Tannehill Furnace and Foundry Commission shall be treated as state employees for the purpose of participating in any insurance programs provided for state employees.
(b) The Tannehill Furnace and Foundry Commission is hereby authorized and empowered to pay the employer’s contributions to any such programs out of any funds appropriated to them or available to them for any purpose whatsoever, and it may deduct the employees’ contributions for such programs by means of payroll deductions or otherwise from any salary or compensation paid said employees.