1. (a) Approval.

   1. (1) All noncritical emergency procurements must be approved in advance by the State Procurement Director, the head of a procurement agency, or a designee of either officer.
   2. (2) Where time or circumstance does not permit prior approval, approval must be obtained at the earliest practical date.

   3. (3) Requests for approval must be made in writing and include a:

      1. (A) Copy of the purchase order;
      2. (B) Copy of the quotation abstract Competitive Bid Tabulation Form; and
      3. (C) Written explanation of the emergency.

2. (b) Tie bids.

   1. (1) Definitions. As used in this section:

      1. (A) “Arkansas company” means a domestic corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or not-for-profit organization as defined by Arkansas law; and
      2. (B) “Out-of-state company” means all foreign entities as defined by Arkansas law.
   2. (2) In the event the lowest prices offered result in a tie bid, the person responsible for awarding a contract must ensure that all offers meet specifications.
   3. (3) In the event of a tie bid between two (2) or more offers that meet the specifications as required and where one (1) of the offerors is an Arkansas company, then the award will be made to that Arkansas company.

   4. (4) In the event of a tie bid between two (2) or more offers that meet the specifications as required:

      1. (A) Where at least two (2) of the offerors are Arkansas companies, then an award will be determined by lot (flip of a coin) between those Arkansas companies; or
      2. (B) If all of the offerors are out-of-state companies, then an award will be determined by lot (flip of a coin) among all the bidders.

   5. (5)

      1. (A) The coin flip will be done in the presence of at least one (1) witness by the person responsible for awarding the contract.
      2. (B) All witnesses must be employees of the State of Arkansas.
      3. (C) A documentation of the coin flip must be included on the tabulation or bid history sheet and be signed by the person responsible for awarding the contract and all witnesses.
3. (c) Legislative review. Except in the case of a “critical emergency” procurement, as that term is defined in Arkansas Code § 19-11-233(b)(2), all services contracts must be presented for legislative review as required under Arkansas Code § 19-11-265.

Codification Notes: This section was promulgated as R1:19-11-233 of the Procurement Rules prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules.