AR Code § 22-6-601 (2020)
2020 Arkansas Code|Title 22 - Public Property|Chapter 6 - Sale Or Other Disposition Of State Lands|Subchapter 6 - Lands of State Institutions|§ 22-6-601. Sale procedure

 (a)  (1)  (A) The several state boards or commissions having supervision of the affairs of the charitable, penal, correctional, educational, and other institutions of the State of Arkansas and all other state boards and commissions, except the State Highway Commission, the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the State Parks, Recreation, and Travel Commission, the Division of Higher Education, and institutions of higher education, and the executive heads of all state offices, departments, divisions, and agencies, all referred to separately as “state agency”, may sell or purchase, for cash in hand and upon compliance with the provisions of this section, the lands, in whole or in part, belonging to or under the supervision or control of the respective state agency or belonging to the state and held for the use or benefit of the state agency.  (B) State agencies may purchase lands, so that the lands, in whole or in part, shall belong to or be under the supervision or control of the respective state agency or belong to the state and be held for the use or benefit of the state agency.    (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:  (A) The sale of land by the Commissioner of State Lands;  (B) The transfer of state lands to political subdivisions of the State of Arkansas;  (C) The transfer of state lands between state entities; or  (D) The exchange of state lands for other lands which are suitable for state purposes if the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration has made a recommendation to the Governor that the exchange be made and if the Governor has approved the exchange.      (b)  (1) State agencies may transfer lands in whole or in part to the Building Authority Division for the use of that agency or other state agencies.  (2) In the event that the Building Authority Division shall sell the lands at a later date, the provisions of this section shall apply, and the proceeds of the sale, less any expenses and liquidated damages, shall be deposited into the State Treasury as a nonrevenue receipt to the credit of the fund from which the agency that transferred the land to the Building Authority Division is operated.    (c)  (1) In the event that a state agency elects to sell certain of its lands or to purchase lands, the agency shall certify to the Building Authority Division its proposal for any sale or purchase.  (2)  (A) The state agency proposing the sale or purchase of land shall obtain the services of a qualified appraiser to appraise the lands so proposed to be sold or purchased, with notice to the Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services.  (B) The appraiser selected by the state agency, by education or experience, shall:  (i) Be capable of determining the value of lands, water and mineral rights, timber, and rural, agricultural, and noncultivatable lands;  (ii) Understand legal descriptions of real properties;  (iii) Have a working knowledge of county and state real property records; and  (iv) Be capable of rendering dependable judgments of the values of properties, determining the flood plains of the properties, and of previous uses of the properties, which may result in environmental remediation.    (C) The appraiser shall be licensed and certified by the Arkansas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board.  (D) The appraiser shall take an oath or certify that he or she will not, directly or indirectly, be engaged in the purchasing or selling of the land or give information to any agent, friend, secret partner, or other partner so as to secure advantages of the information to himself or herself or any person, association, or company to the prejudice or exclusion of any other person.      (d)  (1) The Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services shall furnish to the Governor:  (A) The appraisal;  (B) The agency proposal to sell or purchase; and  (C) The Building Authority Division recommendations.    (2) The Governor, if he or she approves the proposed sale or purchase, shall endorse his or her approval of the proposal and transmit a copy of the proposal to the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration and the Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services.    (e)  (1) The Building Authority Division shall give notice of the terms of the sale by publication in one (1) newspaper regularly published in Little Rock, Arkansas, and having a general circulation in the State of Arkansas, by four (4) weekly insertions therein.  (2) If there is a newspaper published in the county in which the lands are located having a general circulation therein, the notice shall also be published in that newspaper one (1) time a week for four (4) consecutive weeks, provided the land may be advertised for sale as a whole or in separate tracts.    (f) The notice shall specify a time and place, which time shall be not less than thirty (30) days from and after the date of the first insertion of the notice, for the receipt by the Building Authority Division of sealed bids for the purchase of the lands.  (g)  (1) Each bid shall be accompanied by a cashier's check, payable to the order of the state agency and drawn upon a bank or trust company doing business in this state, in an amount equal to one-tenth (1/10) of the bid.  (2) The proceeds of the cashier's check of the successful bidder shall be credited against the bid upon payment of the balance or shall be retained by the state agency as liquidated damages upon failure to tender and pay the balance of the bid price.  (3) Cashier's checks of unsuccessful bidders shall be returned to them upon the completion of the sale to the successful bidder.  (4) The Building Authority Division, at the time and place specified in the notice, or by announcement then and there, or at some other time or place, shall open the bids which have been received and proceed to accept the highest bid properly accompanied by a cashier's check for the lands in whole or in part as offered for such sale.    (h)  (1) The lands shall be sold for the highest aggregate responsible bid, and no sale shall be otherwise than for cash, nor for less than the amount of the appraisal.  (2)  (A)  (i) (a) Upon approval by the Governor, lands may be sold to the highest responsible bidder for less than the amount of the appraisal if the bid process has been utilized and it has been determined and recommended by the agency director and the Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services that further solicitation of bids is unnecessary.  (ii) If negotiations are unsuccessful, the agency may enter into negotiations with the next highest responsible bidder.    (B) Nothing shall preclude an agency from reletting bids under this section if the negotiations as stated in subdivision (h)(2)(A) of this section are unsuccessful.  (C) The Legislative Council shall review the sale of the land before the agency finalizes the sale.  (i) (1) Upon receipt from the successful bidder of the full amount of his or her bid, the state agency shall execute and deliver its deed conveying the lands to him or her and shall certify a copy of the deed to the Governor.      (3) The deed need not be acknowledged to entitle it to be recorded.  (4) The effect of the deed, the provisions of this section having been substantially complied with in the sale, shall be to vest the purchaser with the title of the lands, at law and in equity, in fee simple absolute.  (5) Any conveyance of title to lands owned by the State of Arkansas shall be subject to § 22-6-113.       (b)  Upon approval, the agency may enter into negotiations with the highest responsible bidder for the sale of the lands.    (2)  The deed shall recite in detail the compliance with the respective provisions of this section, which recitals shall be prima facie evidence of the facts so set forth.   (j) Upon receipt thereof, the proceeds of the sale, including any liquidated damages, shall be deposited into the State Treasury, as a nonrevenue receipt, to the credit of the fund from which the state agency is operated. Any unexpended balance of such proceeds remaining at the end of each fiscal year as certified to the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State by the state agency director may be carried forward until the end of the biennium following the biennium in which collected, after which any remaining balances shall be subject to § 19-5-1004.    (k)(1)  Before any agency may receive donated land, the agency director shall certify the proposed donation request to the division.    (2)  The Secretary of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services shall forward a recommendation to the Governor.    (3)  No donation shall be made without approval from the Governor.    (l)  Before a state agency purchases real property, the state agency shall consult the Building and Sites Database maintained by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to determine if there is a property available for purchase that meets the practical and financial needs and specifications of the state agency.