Of the occasions we’ve seen with a need to apply the “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule, a bill proposed in the Arkansas Legislature severely needs to have the rule applied.
House Bill 1040, with the backing of the Arkansas Municipal League, would do away with the requirement that cities advertise for competitive bids for purchases under $50,000.
Cities currently are able to forego competitive bidding for purchases of $20,000 or less. Requiring bids for purchases above that is a law that, as we said, does not need fixing.
Proponents of HB 1040 say raising the amount to exempt competitive bidding allows cities to operate more efficiently, claiming it helps in emergency situations.
While there might be rare occasions during major disasters when cities would need to make immediate emergency purchases, this bill would allow for good ol’ boy financial mischief on a full-time basis. The bill is vague and ripe for abuse.
The bid requirement allows for all businesses in communities to compete to provide products or services to local governments. If the bid requirement were to be lowered, a huge amount of city purchases would be made in the dark, going to who-knows-who’s friends or relatives at prices we can safely assume wouldn’t exactly be considered competitive.
We urge our members of the legislature to protect the integrity of local governments by not supporting this bill that toys around with something that isn’t broken and doesn’t need fixing. And, you loyal readers, can help by calling your state legislators to voice opposition to HB 1040.