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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2382 By: Burns
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to militia; amending 44 O.S. 2021,
Sections 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 45, 48, 49, Section
1, Chapter 74, O.S.L. 2022 , 241, and 243 (44 O.S.
Supp. 2022, Section 233.10a) , which relate to The
Oklahoma Military Code ; clarifying personnel to staff
joint forces headquarters; providing for Adjutant
General to assign necessary persons to headquarters;
clarifying personnel in state military forces;
providing gender-neutral language; establishing term
limit for Adjutant General upon certain date;
authorizing removal for cause; modifying eligibility
criteria for Adjutant General; authorizing Governor
to waive certain eligibility requirements; directing
certain comparable rate of compensation for Adjutant
General; authorizing Adjutant Gen eral to establish
rules allowing the Military Departm ent to accept
donations to create a certain sch olarship program;
permitting delegation of o versight to a nonprofit
public charity; providing gender-neutral language;
modifying oath of office for National Guard officers;
updating language; directing Adjutant General to
prescribe policies and regulations for personnel
compensation; preempting Military Department
personnel matters; clarifying personnel discharge
procedures by the Governor as Commander in Chief;
authorizing certain personnel matters to be decid ed
according to customs and state and federal
regulations; permitting Department to purchase
information technology; removing reference to certain
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense;
striking requirement that personnel procedures be in
conformity with certain laws, rules, and regulations;
amending 44 O.S. 2021, Sections 821, 875, 905, and
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937, which relate to the Oklahoma Uniform Code of
Military Justice; prohibiting federal officials from
convening certain court-martial proceedings without
prior consent of the Governor; requiring consent to
be in writing and published by Governor; authorizing
Governor to reappoint certain dismissed officers;
providing for reappointment procedures; directing
Governor or Adjutant General to prescribe certain
regulations; prohibiting act of forgery; prescribing
punishment for forgery; modifying timing for
explanation of Code; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 21, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 21. The Military Department of the State of Oklahoma is
hereby established and shall be under the command and control of the
Governor as Commander in Chief, with the Adjutant Genera l as the
executive and administrative head thereof. The Military Department
shall be constituted of the state military forces, as d efined by
Section 801 of this title, and is hereby organized into a joint
headquarters which shall be identified as the join t forces
headquarters. The joint forces headquarters shall be jointly
staffed by Army National Guard and Air National Guard personnel of
the state military forces who, under the authority and direct ion of
the Adjutant General, shall support and assist the Adjutant General
in the exercise of command and control over state military forces
when not activated for federal duty under Title 10 of the United
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States Code. There shall be assigned to the joint force forces
headquarters, officers, enlisted personnel , and civilian employees
as may be considered necessary by the Governor as Commander in Chief
and as may be authorized by law and Army Natio nal Guard regulations
and Air National Guard regulations the Adjutant General.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 23, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 23. The Governor of the state shall be the Commander in
Chief of the Militia, and, as such, shall have supreme command o f
the military forces of the state while in the service of t he state
or until they are ordered and accepted into the actual service of
the United States within the meaning of Clauses 15 and 16 of Secti on
8 of Article I of the United States Constitution and Section 2 of
Article II of the United States Constitu tion. While in the service
of the state State of Oklahoma, he the Governor shall have power to
muster out any organization of the state military forces, discharge
enlisted men personnel, as provided herein , and perform such other
acts in keeping with the laws o f the Commander in Chief, subject to
the laws of the United States and regulations prescribed by the
President of the United States . No armed military force from
another state or territory shall be p ermitted to enter the state
without his permission of the Governor, unless such military force
be a part of the United States, or is acting under the authority of
the United States. No independent military organization, except as
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a corps of cadets at the educational institutions, shall be
permitted to bear arm s without first securing permission of the
Commander in Chief.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 24, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 24. A. The Adjutant General shall be appointed by the
Governor, by and with th e advice and consent of the Senate, and
shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. Beginning January 1,
2027, the appointment of the Adjutant General shall be for a term of
five (5) years, requiring a new reappointment process for any
additional term. The Adjutant General may be removed for cause b y
the Governor during the appointed term.
B. To be eligible to hold the office of Adjutant General of
this state, at the time of appointment the appoint ee:
1. Shall be a federally recognized and currently serving
officer of the Oklahoma National Guard and of the National Guard of
the United States for who is not presently retired nor has ever
previously retired from the Oklahoma National Guard and with no less
than three (3) years of service in the Oklahoma National Guard;
2. Shall possess at least the rank of Colonel; and
3. If not already a general officer, shall be eligible for a
Certificate of Eligibilit y pursuant to federal law and applicable
regulations issued by the Chief of the National Guard Bureau .
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C. If the Oklahoma National Guard is in active federal service
and no persons having the qualifications required in subsection B of
this section are ava ilable within the state, then the Governor may
appoint, subject to the advice and consent of the Senat e, any
suitably qualified person who at any time in the preceding ten (10)
years would have been qualified, as above, and who has served at
least two (2) years in active federal service in the grade o f
Colonel or higher pursuant to the requir ements of subsection B of
this section.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 25, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 25. A. The Adjutant General shall have the rank of
Major General and devote full time to the duties of the office.
Regardless of whether or not the Adjutant General has been
recognized federally at the rank of Major General at the time of
appointment by the Governor, the Adjutant General shall be
compensated at the same rate of pay and allowances afforded to a
Major General serving on federal Title 10 active duty with the same
time in grade.
B. The Governor may appoi nt Assistant Adjutants General for
Army and Assistant Adjutants General for Air to assist the Adju tant
General in the discharge and performance of his or her duties. When
appointing Assistant Adjutants General, the Governor shall take into
consideration the number of such positions contemplated or
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recommended by the National Guard Bureau for manning t he joint
forces headquarters of a state. Such Assistant Adjutants General
shall have the qualifications prescribed by law for the Adjutant
General and shall have the rank of Brigadier General. The Assistant
Adjutants General appointed by the Governor sha ll be considered
staff officers and not commanders excep t that, in the discretion of
the Adjutant General, specific command or supervisory authority may
be delegated by the Adjutant General to an Assistant Adju tant
General but such delegation shall be acco mplished in writing and
shall be considered a military p ublication, as defined in Section
801 of this title (Article 1).
C. Other general officers assigned t o billets within the state
military forces, includin g certain billets within the joint forces
headquarters, shall be considered staff officers and not com manders
except that, in the discretion of the Adjutant General, specific
command or supervisory author ity may be delegated by the Adjutant
General to such general officers, but such delegation shall b e
accomplished in writing and shall be considered a mili tary
publication, as defined in Section 801 of this title (Article 1).
D. The Adjutant General may emp loy a state employee in the
position of Executive A ssistant and Programs Manager for the
Military Department of the state. Said position shall be
unclassified and exempt from the Oklahoma Personnel Act and the
Merit Rules for Employment, except leave regu lations.
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SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 26, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 26. A. The Adjutant General s hall be in control of the
Military Department of the State of Oklahoma, subordinate only to
the Governor. Within the limitations and under the provisions of
law, he or she shall supervise and direct the Oklahoma National
Guard within the service of the st ate and when under state control
in all of its organization, training and other activities; shall
receive and give effect to the o rders of the Governor; a nd shall
perform such other military and de fense duties, not otherwise
assigned by law, as the Governo r may prescribe.
B. The Adjutant General, when absent from the state, may
temporarily delegate any authority vested under this ti tle and any
such duties as an agency appointing authority to an Ass istant
Adjutant General, other state officer or employee wi thin the
Military Department of the State of Oklahoma. Such temporary
delegations of authority pursuant to this subsection shall be
accomplished in writi ng. The Adjutant General may also promulga te
regulations providing for the delegation of any such aut hority.
C. The Adjutant General shall develop, publish and maintain an
organizational chart depicting the chain of command betwee n the
Adjutant General and the major commands of the Oklahoma Natio nal
Guard. Besides the major commands defined in Section 8 01 of this
title (Article 1), the Adjutant General, in his or her discretion,
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may designate other military units within the Oklaho ma National
Guard as major commands.
D. The organizational chart r equired in subsection C of this
section shall be updated no less than annually and shall include all
enlisted and officer billets assigned to joint forces headquarters
and shall depict all existing command relatio nships established by
the Adjutant General within joint forces headquarters. The
organizational chart required herein shall not be considered a
military publication within the meaning of Section 801 of this title
(Article 1).
E. In accordance with all re levant requirements of the United
States Army, the United States Air Force or the National Guard
Bureau, the Adjutant General shall develop, publish and maintain an
enlisted and officer rating scheme for all enlisted and officer
billets assigned to joint f orces headquarters. The rating scheme
required herein shall not be considered a military publication
within the meaning of Section 801 of this title (Article 1).
F. Pursuant to the rules established by the Adjutant General,
the Military Department of the State of Oklahoma is authorized to
expend appropriated and nonappropriated funds to enhance recruitin g
and retention efforts for the Oklahoma National Guard.
G. The Adjutant General may establish rules allowing the
Military Department of the State of Okl ahoma to accept donations and
bequests to create a scholarship program for the benefit of members
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of the Oklahoma National Guard. The Adjutant General may delegate
oversight of scholarship program funds to a nonprofit public charity
for the purpose of creating and administering an endowment fund for
the scholarship program.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2 021, Section 27, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 27. The Adjutant General and Assistant Adjutants
General shall be paid a sum equivalent to the pay of his/her his or
her federally recognized rank, exclusive of allowances. Other
officers and enlisted men and women and employees of the Department
shall be paid in amounts fixed by the Adjutant General and within
amounts appropriated for that purpose , according to the polic ies and
regulations prescribed by the Ad jutant General. Military Department
personnel matters shall be preempted and governed by federal law and
managed by the Adjutant G eneral.
SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 45, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 45. Oath for National Guard Officers. Each
commissioned officer, before entering upon the duties of his or her
office, shall take and subscribe to the following oath, or such
other oath as may be required by National Guard Re gulations:
"I .........., do solemnly swear tha t I will support and defen d
the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the
State of Oklahoma against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I
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will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I will obey
the lawful orders of the President of the United State s and the
Governor of the State of Oklahoma; that I make this obligation
freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and
that I will well and faithfully discharge the dutie s of the office
of ......., in the Natio nal Guard of the United St ates and the State
of Oklahoma upon which I am about to enter, so help me God."
SECTION 8. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021 , Section 48, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 48. Enlisted men personnel discharged from service in
the Oklahoma National Guard of this state shall receive a discharge
in writing in such form and with such classification as is or shall
be prescribed by National Guard regulations, and in time of peace
discharges may be given prior to the expiration of terms of
enlistment in the following cases:
By sentence of a general court-martial; by direction of the
Governor on account of disability; on account o f sentence of
imprisonment by a civil co urt whether suspended or not; on account
of a bona fide permanent change of residence to another state; and
for the purpose of enlisting in regular Army, Air Force, Navy, or
Marine Corps, and for such other causes as may be prescribed by
National Guard regulations or the Governor as Commander in Chief;
provided, that an enlisted man person who has not returned or
accounted for all of the public property for which he or she is
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responsible, shall under no circumstances receive an honorable
discharge.
SECTION 9. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 20 21, Section 49, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 49. All matters relating to organization, commissioning
and discharging of officers, enlisting and discharge o f enlisted men
personnel, discipline, and government of the Oklahoma National
Guard, not otherwise provided in this code, shall may be decided by
according to the customs, regulations, and usage of the United
States Army or the United States Air Force or National G uard
regulations.
SECTION 10. AMENDATORY Section 1, Chapter 74, O.S.L.
2022 (44 O.S. Supp. 2022, Sectio n 233.10a), is amended to read as
follows:
Section 233.10a The Military Department of the State of
Oklahoma may purchase information technology including, but not
limited to, computer hardware or software , or any services related
to software development, software modifications, or any other
services related to the operation and main tenance of computer
hardware or software or bo th, independently and without prior
approval from the Office of Management and Enter prise Services
Information Services Division.
SECTION 11. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 241, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 241. The Governor, pursuant to the authority granted
the states by Section 109 of Title 32 of t he United States Code or a
successor provision, and under such regulations as the Secretary of
Defense may prescribe for discip line in training, is hereby
authorized to enlist, orga nize, maintain, equip and discipline such
military forces other than the Oklahoma National Guard as he or she
may deem necessary to defend the state. Such forces shall be
uniformed and subject to Sections 1 thr ough 117, Sections 208
through 237, and Sections 800 t hrough 946 of this title, insofar as
such sections do not conflict with Sections 241 through 250 of this
title.
SECTION 12. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 243, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 243. A. The Governor is here by authorized to prescribe
rules and regulations governing the enl istment, organization,
administration, equipment, discipline and discharge of the personnel
of such military forces; to requisition from the Secretary of
Defense such arms and equipment as m ay be in the possession of and
can be spared by the Department of Defense and to extend thereto the
facilities of state armories, Armed Forces Reserve Centers,
readiness centers, logistics, aviation, an d training facilities,
warehouses and their equipment and such other state premises and
property as may be available for the purpose of drill and
instruction. Insofar as applicable the procedure for the
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enlistment, organization, pay, maintenance, equipmen t and
disciplining of such forces shall be in conformi ty with the law and
the rules and regulations governing and pertai ning to the National
Guard; provided, that the officers Officers and enlisted personnel
in the Oklahoma State National Guard shall not receive an y
compensation or monetary allowances from the state e xcept when
activated for state active duty, as defined in Section 801 of this
title, by order of the Governor.
B. Members of the Oklahoma State National Guard shall be
considered part of state military forces a s defined in Section 801
of this title and shall be su bject to the Oklahoma Uniform Code of
Military Justice.
C. When prescribing the rules and regulations governing
enlistment, organization, administration, equipment, discipline and
discharge of the pers onnel of the Oklahoma State National Guard, the
Governor shall issue such rules and regulations in the form of an
executive order or in a series of such orders. An executive order
or a series of such orders prescribing the rules and regulations
governing enlistment, organization, administration, equipment,
discipline and discharge of the personnel of the Oklahoma State
National Guard shall also be pu blished by the Adjutant General as a
military publication.
SECTION 13. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 821, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 821. RESERVED. ARTICLE 21. Convening of court-martial
by federal officials.
In no case shall the President of the United States, the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, a
military officer serving on active duty within the meaning of T itle
10 of the United States Code, or any other federal o fficial convene
a court-martial proceeding pursuant to The Oklahoma Military Code
unless prior consent has been granted by the Governor. Such
consent, if granted by the Governor, shall be accom plished in
writing and shall be published by the Governor.
SECTION 14. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 875, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 875. ARTICLE 75. Restoration.
A. Under such regulations as the Adjutant General may
promulgate, all rights, privileges, and property affected by an
executed part of a court-martial sentence which has been set aside
or disapproved, except an executed dismissal or discharge, shall be
restored unless a new trial or rehearing is ordered and su ch
executed part is included in a sentence imposed upon the new trial
or rehearing.
B. If a previously executed sentence of dishonorable or bad-
conduct discharge is not imposed on a new trial, the Adjut ant
General shall substitute therefor a form of disch arge authorized for
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administrative issuance unless the accused is to serve ou t the
remainder of his or her enlistment.
C. If a previously executed sentence of dismissal is not
imposed on a new trial, th e Adjutant General shall substitute
therefor a form of discharge authorized for administrative issue,
and the commissioned officer dismissed by that sentence may be
reappointed pursuant to Sections 875 and 12203 of Title 10 of the
United States Code and an y applicable regulations prescribed
thereunder by the President of the United States or the Secretary
concerned solely by the Governor to such commissioned grade and with
such rank as in the opinion of the Governor that former officer
would have attained h ad he or she not been dismissed. The
reappointment of such a former officer shall be without regard to
the existence of a vacancy and shall affect the promotion status of
other officers only insofar as the Governor may direct. All time
between the dismissal and the reappointment shall be considere d as
actual service for all purposes, including the right to pay and
allowances.
D. The Governor or Adjutant General shall prescribe
regulations, with such limitations as the Governor or Adjutant
General considers appropriate, governing eligibility for pay and
allowances for the period after the date on which an executed part
of a court-martial sentence is set aside.
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SECTION 15. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 905, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 905. RESERVED. ARTICLE 105. Forgery.
Any person subject to the Oklahoma Uniform Code of Military
Justice who, with intent to defraud:
1. Falsely makes or alters any signature to, or any part of,
any writing which would, if genuine, appa rently impose a legal
liability on another or change hi s or her legal right or liability
to his or her prejudi ce; or
2. Utters, offers, issues, or transfers such a writing, known
by him or her to be so made or altered,
is guilty of forgery and shall be punished as a court-martial may
direct.
SECTION 16. AMENDATORY 44 O.S. 2021, Section 93 7, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 937. ARTICLE 137. Articles to be explained.
A. 1. The sections of the Oklahoma Uniform Code of M ilitary
Justice specified in paragraph 3 of this subsection shall be
carefully explained, either orally or in writ ing, to each officer
and enlisted member at the time of, or within one hundred twenty
(120) days after, the officer's or enlisted member's ini tial
entrance into a duty status with the state military forces.
2. Such articles shall be explained again:
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a. after the enlisted member has completed basic or
recruit training, and
b. at the time when the enlisted member reenlists within
ninety (90) days of each re-enlistment.
3. This subsection applies with respect to S ections 802, 803,
807-815, 825, 827, 831, 837 , 838, 855, 877-934, and 937-939 of this
title (Articles 2, 3, 7-15, 25, 27, 31, 37, 38, 55, 77 -134, and 137-
139).
B. The text of the Code an d of the regulations prescribed
pursuant to the Code shall be made av ailable to an officer or
enlisted member of t he state military for ces, upon request, for the
officer's or enlisted member's personal examination. Electronic or
online availability of the Code and of the regulations prescribed
pursuant to the Code shall co nstitute availability for purposes of
personal examination by offi cers or enlisted members of the state
military forces.
SECTION 17. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS,
dated 02/23/2023 - DO PASS, As Amended.