diff --git a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/defaults/main.yml b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/defaults/main.yml
index 61ceebe566..96dcc6a79e 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/defaults/main.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+# Set the package install state for distribution packages
+# Options are 'present' and 'latest'
+haproxy_package_state: "latest"
+
 ## Haproxy Configuration
 haproxy_rise: 3
 haproxy_fall: 3
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_add_ppa_repo.yml b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_add_ppa_repo.yml
index f7cc6c0a32..246f1765de 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_add_ppa_repo.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_add_ppa_repo.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 - name: Install haproxy pre packages
   apt:
     pkg: "{{ item }}"
-    state: latest
+    state: "{{ haproxy_package_state }}"
   register: install_packages
   until: install_packages|success
   retries: 5
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_apt.yml b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_apt.yml
index a6533a3f82..55b83fdcc0 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_apt.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_apt.yml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 - name: Install HAProxy Packages
   apt:
     pkg: "{{ item }}"
-    state: latest
+    state: "{{ haproxy_package_state }}"
   register: install_packages
   until: install_packages|success
   retries: 5
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_yum.yml b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_yum.yml
index 67265fcb1c..810fde8005 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_yum.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/haproxy_server/tasks/haproxy_install_yum.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 - name: Install yum packages
   yum:
     pkg: "{{ item }}"
-    state: present
+    state: "{{ haproxy_package_state }}"
   register: install_packages
   until: install_packages|success
   retries: 5
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/package-state-ab251d8987422f59.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/package-state-ab251d8987422f59.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ac2c6627c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/package-state-ab251d8987422f59.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+features:
+  - The haproxy_server role now supports the ability to configure whether
+    apt/yum tasks install the latest available package, or just ensure
+    that the package is present. The default action is to ensure that
+    the latest package is present. The action taken may be changed to
+    only ensure that the package is present by setting
+    ``haproxy_package_state`` to ``present``.
+upgrade:
+  - The haproxy_server role always checks whether the latest package is
+    installed when executed. If a deployer wishes to change the check to
+    only validate the presence of the package, the option
+    ``haproxy_package_state`` should be set to ``present``.