Section 159. Group insurance or mass merchandising policies or programs

1. The president, subject to the approval of the  director  of  employee  relations  and the director of the budget, is hereby empowered
  to establish regulations relating to, and to enter into  and  administer
  contracts   or   agreements   providing  for  group  insurance  or  mass
  merchandising policies or programs for state employees in the  executive
  branch  precluded  from  collective  bargaining  by  subdivision five or
  subdivision seven of section two hundred one of this chapter.
    2. Any such policy or  program  shall  be  subject  to  the  following
  provisions:
    a.  The  benefits  provided  thereby  shall  be available to all state
  officers and employees in  the  executive  branch  whose  positions  are
  designated  managerial  or  confidential pursuant to article fourteen of
  this  chapter  and  all  state  officers  and  employees  excluded  from
  representation   rights   under  this  chapter  pursuant  to  rules  and
  regulations  of  the  public  employment  relations  board,  subject  to
  reasonable underwriting restrictions of the selected insurers;
    b.  The  benefits  provided  thereby  may  be  made available to state
  officers and employees in the division of military and naval affairs  in
  the executive department; and
    c.  Unless any group insurance or mass merchandising policy or program
  offered pursuant to this section is  funded  by  payroll  deductions  in
  accordance  with  subdivision  three  of  section two hundred one of the
  state finance law, such policy or program shall be  funded  by  specific
  appropriation  of  monies  of the state, provided, however, both payroll
  deductions and state appropriations may be utilized  to  fund  any  such
  policy or program.
    3.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of any general or special law, no
  state  monies  shall  be  available  for   group   insurance   or   mass
  merchandising  policies or programs established by the president until a
  certificate of allocation and a schedule  of  amounts  to  be  available
  therefor  shall  have  been  issued by the director of the budget, and a
  copy of such certificate filed with the comptroller, the chairman of the
  assembly ways and means committee and the chairman of the senate finance
  committee.
    4. Monies appropriated  and  allocated  for  the  purposes  set  forth
  herein, shall be paid out on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on
  vouchers certified or approved by the president.