(a) Subject to an annual appropriation therefor, all employees of Arkansas Legislative Audit shall be selected and appointed by the Legislative Auditor.
(b)
(1) The Legislative Auditor shall be free to select the most efficient personnel available for each position in Arkansas Legislative Audit, to the end that he or she may render to the members of the General Assembly that service which the members have a right to expect.
(2) The Legislative Auditor may conduct such professional examination as he or she may deem expedient in determining the qualifications of the persons whom he or she contemplates placing on his or her staff.
(c)
(1) No person related to any member of the General Assembly or to the Legislative Auditor in the first degree of consanguinity or affinity may be employed on the staff of Arkansas Legislative Audit.
(2) However, subdivision (c)(1) of this section does not apply if an individual is initially employed with Arkansas Legislative Audit before his or her relative is elected as a member of the General Assembly.
(d)
(1) It is the intention and desire of the General Assembly to free the Legislative Auditor and his or her staff from partisan politics.
(2) It is declared to be against public policy for any member of the General Assembly or any official or employee of the entities of the state or political subdivisions of the state to recommend or suggest the appointment of any person to a position on the staff of the Legislative Auditor.