(a) It is the policy of the State of Arkansas that state agencies shall follow the procedures stated in this section, except that competitive bidding shall not be used for the procurement of legal, architectural, engineering, construction management, and land surveying professional consultant services if:(1) State agencies not exempt from review and approval of the Building Authority Division shall follow procedures established by the division for the procurement of architectural, engineering, land surveying, and construction management services; and(2) Institutions of higher education exempt from review and approval of the division shall follow procedures established by their governing boards for the procurement of architectural, engineering, land surveying, and construction management professional consultant services.
(1) State agencies not exempt from review and approval of the Building Authority Division shall follow procedures established by the division for the procurement of architectural, engineering, land surveying, and construction management services; and
(2) Institutions of higher education exempt from review and approval of the division shall follow procedures established by their governing boards for the procurement of architectural, engineering, land surveying, and construction management professional consultant services.
(b) It is the policy of the State of Arkansas and its political subdivisions that political subdivisions shall follow the procedures stated in this section, except that competitive bidding shall not be used for the procurement of legal, financial advisory, architectural, engineering, construction management, and land surveying professional consultant services.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, a political subdivision of the state may elect not to use competitive bidding for other professional services not listed in subsection (b) of this section with a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the political subdivision's governing body.