{"data":{"id":"us-al/ala.-code-41-4-131","jurisdiction":"us-al","citation":"Ala. Code § 41-4-131","heading":"Methods for Awarding State Contracts.","body":"(a) Unless otherwise authorized by law, all state contracts shall be awarded by the use of one of the following methods:\n(1) Competitive sealed bids, pursuant to Section 41-4-132.\n(2) Competitive sealed proposals, pursuant to Section 41-4-133.\n(3) Small purchase procedures pursuant to Section 41-4-134.\n(4) A sole source procurement pursuant to Section 41-4-135.\n(5) An emergency procurement pursuant to Section 41-4-136.\n(6) A special procurement pursuant to Section 41-4-137.\n(b) In the event a bid or offer is received for the supplies or services from a person deemed to be a responsible bidder or offeror and a preferred vendor and the bid is no more than five percent greater than the bid of the lowest responsible bidder or offeror who is not deemed to be a preferred vendor, the Chief Procurement Officer or purchasing agency may award the contract to the preferred vendor.","path":["Title 41 State Government.","Chapter 4 Department of Finance.","Article 5 Division of Purchasing.","Division 3 Source Selection and Contract Formation."],"source_url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=41-4-131","current_through":"Act 2026-611","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T14:01:51Z","sha256":"a38d596324fbbf4b6ba5159964fe5c70ea706fe9702095c9c93596bbe99db00b","source_id":"us-al","stale":false,"prev":"us-al/ala.-code-41-4-130","next":"us-al/ala.-code-41-4-132"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}