The following definitions are applicable to this part:

1. (1) “Bid” means an offer to purchase a parcel made by a prospective buyer, whether in person or online;
2. (2) “Business day” means a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday that is not otherwise observed as an official state holiday;
3. (3) “Certification” means the process by which each county certifies a list of tax-delinquent real property parcels to the State of Arkansas in the care of the Commissioner of State Lands on a yearly basis;

4. (4) “Certified funds” means payment that is guaranteed to clear or settle by a bank or business, including without limitation:

   1. (A) A credit card;
   2. (B) A debit card;
   3. (C) An electronic check;
   4. (D) An escrow check;
   5. (E) A money order;
   6. (F) A cashier’s check; or
   7. (G) A certified bank check;
5. (5) “Costs” means actual costs expended by the Commissioner of State Lands;
6. (6) “CT” means all references to times are under the North American central time zone;
7. (7) “Earnest money” means the first one-hundred-dollar payment tendered as part of an online auction sale;
8. (8) “Excess proceeds” means money received from a bid or sale that is in excess of the taxes, fees, penalties, interest, and costs due on the parcel at the time of sale as well as any fees due after the sale;

9. (9) “Homestead” means a parcel of tax-delinquent land certified to the Commissioner of State Lands that has been:

   1. (A) Designated by the county assessor as a homestead eligible for a homestead credit under Arkansas Code § 26-26-1118; and
   2. (B) Properly claimed as a homestead by the owner;
10. (10) “Interested party” means any person, firm, corporation, or partnership holding title to or an interest in the tax-delinquent parcel by virtue of a recorded instrument at the time of certification;

11. (11)

    1. (A) “Limited warranty deed” means a unique deed generated by the Commissioner of State Lands that conveys a limited interest in a parcel in exchange for the purchaser paying the accepted bid amount for the parcel.

    2. (B) In most instances a limited warranty deed is used by a purchaser to:

       1. (i) Quiet title to the parcel; and
       2. (ii) Receive full marketable title in fee simple from a court;
12. (12) “Litigation period” means the maximum time after the sale of a tax-delinquent parcel that legal proceedings based on that sale may be initiated by statute;

13. (13)

    1. (A) “Negotiated-price auction” means a type of an unsold-property auction that occurs two (2) years or more following the tax-delinquent property auction, where the Commissioner of State Lands has the discretion to set a reserve bid amount for less than the amount of taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs of the sale.
    2. (B) Negotiated-price auctions are held solely online;

14. (14)

    1. (A) “Notice of sale” means notification sent to the owner or other interested parties identified by the Commissioner of State Lands as having a potential interest in a tax-delinquent parcel that alerts the recipient that the state is going to take an action that will deny the recipient any rights they may have in the parcel unless they take immediate action to pay the taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs due.
    2. (B) Notice is also provided by publication in a newspaper having general circulation in the county where the parcel is located;
15. (15) “Owner” means any person, firm, corporation, or partnership holding title to or an interest in the tax-delinquent parcel by virtue of a recorded instrument at the time of certification;

16. (16)

    1. (A) “Purchaser summary” means a receipt provided at the conclusion of a tax-delinquent property auction that verifies that a person or entity:

       1. (i) Is the successful bidder; and
       2. (ii) Has tendered payment in an acceptable form.
    2. (B) A purchaser summary does not convey title or guarantee a limited warranty deed will be issued;
17. (17) “Redeemer” means either the owner of the parcel or any other person, firm, corporation, or partnership without an existing ownership interest in the parcel that redeems the parcel by paying all taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs due;

18. (18)

    1. (A) “Redemption” or “redeem” means an action of payment to the Commissioner of State Lands of all delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs due to extinguish the state’s interest in the parcel.
    2. (B) Upon redemption, a redemption deed will be issued;

19. (19)

    1. (A) “Redemption deed” means a deed issued by the Commissioner of State Lands that serves as proof that:

       1. (i) Payment has been received; and
       2. (ii) The state’s interest is extinguished by the redemption.
    2. (B) Issuance of a redemption deed does not convey any title in or establish ownership to the parcel being redeemed.
    3. (C) A redemption receipt will be issued to the redeemer in the event the redeemer is not the certified record owner;
20. (20) “Redemption receipt” means a receipt issued to a redeemer certifying payment in the event the redeemer is not the certified record owner;
21. (21) “Reserve bid amount” means an amount set by the Commissioner of State Lands that represents the minimum bid amount;
22. (22) “Tax-delinquent property auction” means an auction for the sale of tax-delinquent parcels where bidders are physically assembled and bids accepted;

23. (23)

    1. (A) “Taxes” shall include any and all taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs due and owing on the parcel.
    2. (B) Any amounts owing continue to accrue additional taxes, penalties, interest, fees, and costs until such time as the parcel is either sold or redeemed;

24. (24)

    1. (A) “Unsold-property auction” means a sale consisting of bids placed online on a tax-delinquent parcel that was previously offered at a tax-delinquent property auction but not sold.

    2. (B) An unsold-property auction is:

       1. (i) Initiated solely by an online offer being made on the unsold parcel; and
       2. (ii) Sold to the highest bidder;

25. (25)

    1. (A) “Unsold-property auction closing date” means the thirtieth calendar day from the date of the receipt of the first online bid for a parcel located on the unsold-property auction list.
    2. (B) The date that the first bid is received is included in the thirty (30) calendar days; and
26. (26) “Unsold-property auction commencement date” means the date of the receipt of the first online bid for a parcel located on the unsold-property auction list.