A. The position of president of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology is hereby reconstituted as the executive director for the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research and Development Board. The president of the Center upon the effective date of this act shall serve as the executive director for the Board at the pleasure of the Board. Subsequent executive directors shall be selected by the Board and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. The executive director shall serve as the chief executive officer of the Center and the Institute, and shall direct and supervise the administrative affairs and the general management of the Center and the Institute. The Board shall establish criteria for selecting the executive director taking into consideration national standards. The search for the executive director shall be conducted pursuant to the criteria so established.

B. The executive director:

1. May employ and terminate such other officers and employees as designated by the Board including, if necessary, legal counsel to be chosen through a request for proposal process;

2. Shall attend board meetings;

3. Shall appoint a secretary of the Board to keep a record of all proceedings and maintain and be custodian of all financial and operational records, documents and papers filed with the Center and the Institute and of the minute book of the Center and the Institute; and

4. Before accepting any applications as provided for under this act, shall prepare a business plan which shall include the analysis of funding levels of programs in other states that are shown in the report required in subsection B of Section 5060.22 of this title, and the threshold funding levels specified in subsection C of Section 5060.22 of this title.

C. The meetings of the Board shall be subject to the Open Meeting Act and the Open Records Act. Any information submitted to or compiled by the Center or the Institute with respect to the marketing plans, financial statements, trade secrets, research concepts, methods or products, or any other proprietary information of persons, firms, associations, partnerships, agencies, corporations, institutions of higher education, nonprofit research institutions or other entities shall be confidential, except to the extent that the person or entity which provided such information or which is the subject of such information consents to disclosure. Executive sessions may be held to discuss such materials if deemed necessary by the Board.

D. If a member of the Board, officer, agent or employee of the Center or the Institute has any direct or any indirect interest in any approval, contract or agreement upon which the member, officer, agent or employee may be called upon to act or vote, the board member, officer, agent or employee shall disclose the same to the secretary of the Board prior to the taking of final action by the Board concerning such contract or agreement and shall so disclose the nature and extent of such interest and the acquisition thereof, which disclosure shall be publicly acknowledged by the Board and entered upon the minutes of the Board. A Board member, officer, agent or employee who holds such an interest shall refrain from any further official involvement in regard to such contract or agreement, from voting on any matter pertaining to such contract or agreement, and from communicating with other board members, officers, agents or employees concerning said contract or agreement. Employees of the Center, including employees assigned to the Institute, shall be subject to the provisions of the Ethics Commission rules. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any contract or agreement entered into in conformity with this subsection shall not be void or invalid by reason of the interest described in this subsection, nor shall any person so disclosing the interest and refraining from further official involvement as provided for in this subsection be guilty of an offense, be removed from office, or be subject to any other penalty on account of such interest. Provided, any approval, contract or agreement made in violation of this section shall give rise to no action against the Board, the Center or the Institute.

Indirect interest shall include pecuniary or competitive advantage which exists or could foreseeably accrue as a result of the act or forbearance of the Board, Center or Institute.

E. No director or any person acting on behalf of the Board, Center or Institute executing any contracts, commitments, or agreements issued pursuant to this act shall be personally liable upon such contracts, commitments, or agreements or be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason thereof. No director or any person acting on behalf of the Board, Center or Institute shall be personally liable for damage or injury resulting from the performance of duties hereunder.

Added by Laws 1987, c. 222, § 22, operative July 1, 1987. Amended by Laws 2002, c. 484, § 7, eff. July 1, 2002.