After nearly four years, Arkansas and SAP have reached a tentative settlement agreement concerning the state government's difficult ERP implementation.

In a proposed settlement, Arkansas will keep $2 million owed to SAP for the troubled computerized accounting system purchased by former Gov. Mike Huckabee's administration. The proposal also calls for software and consulting support for upgrades to the system called the Arkansas Administrative Statewide Information System (AASIS), 50 percent discount on software maintenance fees for three years, and $250,000 in cash paid to the state.

AASIS went online in 2001 and immediately caused commotion among state lawmakers about the shaky implementation and costs. Auditors estimated the implementation costs to be about $60 million in 2004. Huckabee later stated that the federal government would pay $42.6 million over a five-year period. In that same year, the state filed a lawsuit against SAP claiming the software company breached the contract by furnishing a system that was inaccessible to the blind. This lawsuit came after the 2001 lawsuit filed against the state by two blind employees, Donna Walker and Larry Wayland that stated that the system did not allow blind employees to access information on a computer screen. Per the settlement, SAP will pay $125,000 for Walker's and Wayland's attorney fees and costs.

According to Assistant Attorney General Patrick Hollingsworth, SAP and the plaintiffs have signed the proposed settlement, but it has not been signed by all the state representatives. Governor Mike Bebee and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel are said to also support the proposed settlement. Director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, Richard Weiss stated that the agreement was in the state's best interest at this point in regards to the government's overall operation. The implementation deadline has been set for August 1, 2009.

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