# Arkansas Municipal County and State Cooperative Procurement Law Arkansas procurement authority depends on the identity of the buyer and the route used. A form label, a vendor's sole-source assertion, or competition conducted by another entity does not alone establish compliance for a particular transaction. ## Municipal purchasing For covered municipalities, Ark. Code Ann. section 14-58-104 presently identifies cooperative-purchasing and single-source exceptions in subdivisions (20) and (21). Section 14-58-303 separately supplies the municipal bidding framework and permits the governing body to waive bidding by ordinance in exceptional situations where bidding is not feasible or practical. Local form field numbers are record facts, not statutory subsection citations. (primary public record, [Arkansas Act 435 of 2021](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/arkleg.state.ar.us/arkansas-act-435-of-2021-municipal-purchasing.md)); (primary public record, [Arkansas Act 208 of 2023](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/arkleg.state.ar.us/arkansas-act-208-of-2023-municipal-bidding.md)) The Arkansas Supreme Court historically required the formal ordinance finding specified by the then-governing city-manager statute. That holding does not decide the present section 14-58-104 terminology, later ratification, or every municipal form of government. (web research 2026-08-10, [Klinger v. City of Fayetteville](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/app.midpage.ai/klinger-v-city-of-fayetteville-732-s-w-2d-859-ark-1987.md)) ## County purchasing The 2023 state threshold for the county purchasing chapter was $35,000; the adjusted threshold became $42,921 on January 1, 2025. Section 14-22-112 calls for approval by county-court order and filing with the county clerk. A signature, award letter, or clerk stamp may prove part of the sequence, but the legal effect of a particular contract depends on the complete authorization record. (primary public record, [2025 Arkansas procurement threshold adjustment notice](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/dfa.arkansas.gov/2025-arkansas-procurement-threshold-adjustment-notice.md)); (web research 2026-08-10, [Arkansas county purchasing manual](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/arcounties.org/arkansas-county-purchasing-manual-14-22-101-to-115.md)); (primary public record, [Pulaski County Purchasing Policy](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/assets.speakcdn.com/pulaski-county-purchasing-policy-2022-final.md)) ## State cooperative purchasing Section 19-11-249 authorizes cooperative purchasing by public procurement units. For state use, the implementing rules require a State Procurement Director determination, economic justification, prior approval for an individual cooperative contract, and reporting; a cooperative vehicle is not a blanket substitute for transaction-level documentation. (primary public record, [Ark. Code Ann. section 19-11-249](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/sas.arkansas.gov/ark-code-ann-19-11-249.md)); (primary public record, [Arkansas Procurement Laws and Rules](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/sas.arkansas.gov/arkansas-procurement-laws-and-rules-july-2024-r1-and-r2-to-19-11-249.md)); (primary public record, [19 CAR section 1-801](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/codeofarrules.arkansas.gov/19-car-1-801-cooperative-purchasing.md)) ## Proof boundary The corpus can establish executed documents, prices, signatures, ordinances, resolutions, competitive scoring, and filing marks. It does not establish statutory compliance merely because one of those facts appears, and the absence of a produced vote is not proof that no appropriation or legislative authorization existed elsewhere.