Appraisals

(a) The Commissioner of State Lands may appoint appraisers to inspect and appraise state-owned lands for:

(1) Sale;

(2) Transfer; or

(3) Donation.

(b) It shall be unlawful for the Commissioner of State Lands to dispose of state-owned lands without an appraisal made by appraisers appointed by the Commissioner of State Lands, except that he or she may sell or dispose of town lots and acreage descriptions of ten (10) acres or less without an appraisal.

(c) Each appraiser selected shall, by education or experience, be familiar with and know how to arrive at the value of lands, water rights, mineral rights, timber lands, rural lands, agricultural lands, and noncultivable lands, shall understand legal descriptions of real properties, shall have a working knowledge of county and state real property records, and shall be capable of passing dependable judgments upon the values of rural properties.
(d)(1) Upon entering the duties of his or her office, each appraiser shall take an oath of office as prescribed in Arkansas Constitution, Article 19, § 20.

(2) This oath shall state that he or she will not:

(A) Directly or indirectly be engaged in the purchase of state-owned lands during his or her continuance in office; and

(B) Engage in any speculation of state-owned lands or give information to any agent, friend, or secret or other partner so as to secure the advantages of that information to himself or herself or to any person, association, or company to the prejudice or exclusion of other persons.

(e) Each appraiser shall enter into bond to the state in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to be furnished by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Arkansas, conditioned that he or she will faithfully discharge all of his or her duties according to law and the rules of the Commissioner of State Lands.

(f) After qualifying as provided in this section, each appraiser shall perform his or her duties in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner of State Lands.