Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	Req. No. 6651 Page 1 1
4	4	2
5	5	3
6	6	4
7	7	5
8	8	6
9	9	7
10	10	8
11	11	9
12	12	10
13	13	11
14	14	12
15	15	13
16	16	14
17	17	15
18	18	16
19	19	17
20	20	18
21	21	19
22	22	20
23	23	21
24	24	22
25	25	23
26	26	24
27	27
28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
29	29
30	30	1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
31	31
32	32	HOUSE BILL 2385 By: Kannady
33	33
34	34
35	35
36	36
37	37
38	38	AS INTRODUCED
39	39
40	40	An Act relating to soldiers and sailors; amending 72
41	41	O.S. 2021, Section 63.2 , which relates to the
42	42	Oklahoma Veterans Commis sion; modifying appointment
43	43	process for Commission members; deleting outdated
44	44	appointment dates; specifying members serve at the
45	45	pleasure of their appointing authority; providing for
46	46	removal or replacement without cause; prohibiting
47	47	members from voting on certain issues; providing for
48	48	retention of current members ; directing vacancies to
49	49	be appointed by their appointing authori ty; and
50	50	providing an effecti ve date.
51	51
52	52
53	53
54	54
55	55
56	56	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
57	57	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 72 O.S. 2021, Section 63.2, is
58	58	amended to read as follows:
59	59	Section 63.2 A. The Oklahoma Veterans Commission shall consist
60	60	of nine (9) members all of whom shall be honorably discharged
61	61	veterans; provided, one of the members shall be a ve teran of the
62	62	Vietnam Conflict and two shall be veterans of the Persian Gulf Wars.
63	63	The members shall be selected in the following manner:
64	64	1. The state executive board or committees of the veterans '
65	65	organizations named in this section shall each submit t o the
66	66
67	67	Req. No. 6651 Page 2 1
68	68	2
69	69	3
70	70	4
71	71	5
72	72	6
73	73	7
74	74	8
75	75	9
76	76	10
77	77	11
78	78	12
79	79	13
80	80	14
81	81	15
82	82	16
83	83	17
84	84	18
85	85	19
86	86	20
87	87	21
88	88	22
89	89	23
90	90	24
91	91
92	92	Governor its respective appointing authority a list of five persons
93	93	qualified to serve as members of the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.
94	94	All appointments shall be broadly representative of the veterans of
95	95	this state in terms of age, gender, and race o r ethnicity. The list
96	96	shall be submitted to the Governor appointing authority not later
97	97	than three (3) months prior to the expiration of the terms of office
98	98	of the members of the Oklahoma Veterans Commission .;
99	99	2. The Governor shall name one member from each of the
100	100	following Veterans' groups: the American Legion; the Veterans o f
101	101	Foreign Wars; the Disabled American Veterans; the Paralyzed Veterans
102	102	of America; and one at-large member;
103	103	3. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall name one
104	104	member from the Military Order of the Purple Heart ; and one at-large
105	105	member; and
106	106	4. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall name one
107	107	member of the National Guard Association of Oklahoma and one at-
108	108	large member. The members representing the American Legion a nd the
109	109	Paralyzed Veterans of America s hall take office no later than July
110	110	1, 2015. The members representing the Veterans of Foreign Wars and
111	111	the Military Order of the Purple Heart shall take office no later
112	112	than July 1, 2016. The members representing the Disabled American
113	113	Veterans and the National Guard Association of Oklahoma shall take
114	114	office no later than July 1, 2017. The Governor shall also appoint
115	115	three members at large.
116	116
117	117	Req. No. 6651 Page 3 1
118	118	2
119	119	3
120	120	4
121	121	5
122	122	6
123	123	7
124	124	8
125	125	9
126	126	10
127	127	11
128	128	12
129	129	13
130	130	14
131	131	15
132	132	16
133	133	17
134	134	18
135	135	19
136	136	20
137	137	21
138	138	22
139	139	23
140	140	24
141	141
142	142	B. The executive officer of each veterans ' organization
143	143	operating within this state shall, on or before January 1 of th e
144	144	year in which the organization 's appointee's term expires, submit to
145	145	the Secretary of State, the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of
146	146	the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a copy
147	147	of the performance audit and the financial audit of the organization
148	148	for the immediately preceding fiscal year of the organization. Such
149	149	audits shall be conducted in accordance with auditing standards
150	150	generally accepted in the United States and shall clearly show the
151	151	total paid membership of the organizat ion and shall be certified to
152	152	by a certified public accountant. Failure to comply with this
153	153	section shall render the organization ineligible to submit a nominee
154	154	to the Governor appointing authority.
155	155	C. The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the
156	156	Governor with advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve at
157	157	the pleasure of the Governor their appointing authority and may be
158	158	removed or replaced without cause . When a vacancy on the Oklahoma
159	159	Veterans Commission occurs, the organization which is represented by
160	160	the vacant position shall submit a list of five names to the
161	161	Governor. The Governor their appointing authority and the
162	162	appointing authority shall choose a replacement from that list. No
163	163	person shall be appointed by the Governor to the Commission who is
164	164	related by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree to any
165	165	person employed by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. Any
166	166
167	167	Req. No. 6651 Page 4 1
168	168	2
169	169	3
170	170	4
171	171	5
172	172	6
173	173	7
174	174	8
175	175	9
176	176	10
177	177	11
178	178	12
179	179	13
180	180	14
181	181	15
182	182	16
183	183	17
184	184	18
185	185	19
186	186	20
187	187	21
188	188	22
189	189	23
190	190	24
191	191
192	192	member of the Commission shall be prohibited from voting on any
193	193	issue in which the member has a direct financial interest. Before
194	194	any member appointed as provided herein shall enter upon his or her
195	195	duties as a member of the Commission, he or she shall take and
196	196	subscribe to the oath of office as required by the Con stitution of
197	197	this state.
198	198	D. Present members of the Commission shall may continue in
199	199	office, subject to the appointing authority, until the expiration of
200	200	their terms and until their successors are appointed and enter upon
201	201	the duties of their offices. Appo intments shall be made for a
202	202	three-year period. Any vacancy on the Commission resulting from any
203	203	cause shall be filled by appointm ent by the Governor respective
204	204	appointing authority for the remainder of the term as provided in
205	205	this section.
206	206	E. No member of the Oklahoma Veterans Commission shall be
207	207	employed by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs during the
208	208	time of his or her service on the Oklahoma Veterans Com mission nor
209	209	shall any person who served as a member of the Oklahoma Veterans
210	210	Commission be employed by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans
211	211	Affairs subsequent to his or her service on the Commission for a
212	212	period of two (2) years.
213	213	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
214	214
215	215	59-1-6651 EK 12/15/22

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2385 Compare Versions