Arkansas

Plain-language summary

Arkansas's cooperative purchasing authority sits in §19-11-249 within the Arkansas Procurement Law, supplemented by the Interlocal Cooperation Act (§25-20-101 et seq.). A 2024 amendment (Act 167) specifically added "public school construction services" to the scope of cooperative purchasing, joining commodities and services as eligible categories. The statute imposes meaningful procedural requirements that distinguish Arkansas from more permissive states: (1) cooperative purchasing agreements are limited to commodities, services, and public school construction services for which the unit may realize savings or material economic value; (2) for state agencies, the State Procurement Director must consider economic justification (comparing state contract pricing to cooperative pricing) before granting approval; and (3) any request for the Office of State Procurement to participate must be submitted to the Governor for approval. Annual reporting to the Legislative Council or Joint Budget Committee is required.

Key requirements

• →Cooperative purchasing agreements are limited to commodities, services, and (per 2024 amendment) public school construction services for which the unit may realize savings or material economic value.
• →For state agencies: the State Procurement Director must approve the agreement, considering economic justification.
• →The economic justification must include a comparison of current state contract pricing and the pricing under the proposed cooperative purchasing agreement.
• →For the Office of State Procurement to participate: the Director and Secretary of Transformation and Shared Services must submit the request to the Governor for approval.
• →Annual reports of all cooperative purchasing under §19-11-249 must be submitted to the Legislative Council (or Joint Budget Committee during session).
• →Reports must include economic justification, savings realized, description of goods or services procured, and any information requested by the Legislative Council.
• →For public school construction services in excess of the cap in §19-11-206(7), the unit may submit a waiver request to the Executive Subcommittee of the Legislative Council.

Construction services

Arkansas's framework for cooperative construction procurement is layered and significant for sales conversations. The 2024 amendment (Act 167) added "public school construction services" to §19-11-249's scope — but that's narrower than "construction services" generally. The primary cooperative purchasing statute still focuses on commodities and services. For general (non-school) public construction, Arkansas agencies typically need to satisfy both the cooperative purchasing requirements AND any applicable public works competitive bidding requirements. The economic justification and Governor-approval framework adds friction that doesn't exist in more permissive states like Texas or Louisiana. Public school districts specifically have clearer authority under the 2024 amendment. Agencies should confirm with counsel that their specific construction procurement fits within the statutory authority, satisfies the economic justification review, and obtains the required approvals.