A. There is hereby created the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, consisting of nine (9) members to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board shall constitute a body corporate and politic and an instrumentality, agency and department of the State of Oklahoma, and exercise by the Board of the powers conferred by this act shall be deemed and shall be held to be an essential governmental function of the State of Oklahoma.

B. Beginning July 1, 2014, the membership of the Board shall transition from congressional district and at-large representation to regional representation as follows:

1. The Congressional District 1 position expiring in 2014 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 7 of the state which shall consist of Tulsa County;

2. The at-large member position expiring in 2014 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 4 of the state which shall consist of Carter, Cleveland, Garvin, Grady, Jefferson, Johnston, Love, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Pontotoc, Pottawatamie, Seminole and Stephens Counties;

3. The Congressional District 2 position expiring in 2015 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 8 of the state which shall consist of Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okmulgee, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah and Wagoner Counties;

4. The at-large position expiring in 2016 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 9 of the state which shall consist of Atoka, Bryan, Coal, Choctaw, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain, Pittsburg and Pushmataha Counties;

5. The Congressional District 4 position expiring in 2017 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 2 of the state which shall consist of Alfalfa, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Garfield, Grant, Harper, Kingfisher, Major, Roger Mills, Woods and Woodward Counties;

6. The Congressional District 5 position expiring in 2018 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 5 of the state which shall consist of Oklahoma County;

7. The at-large position expiring in 2018 shall represent Region 3 of the state which shall consist of Beckham, Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman and Washita Counties;

8. The Congressional District 3 position expiring in 2019 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing in Region 1 of the state which shall consist of Beaver, Cimarron and Texas Counties; and

9. The at-large member position expiring in 2020 shall thereafter be represented by a person residing Region 6 of the state which shall consist of Creek, Kay, Lincoln, Logan, Noble, Okfuskee, Osage, Pawnee, Payne and Washington Counties.

C. All members appointed after the effective date of this act shall be appointed for terms of seven (7) years.

D. If a member serving on the Board as of the effective date of this act resigns or is unable to complete the term of the member, the seat shall immediately transition to the applicable regional representation as provided for in subsection B of this section.

E. Each member shall be a qualified elector of this state. At all times the membership of the Board shall have represented on it at least one member well versed in each of the following major types of water use: recreational, industrial, irrigational, municipal, rural residential, agricultural, soil conservation work and oil and gas production. Not more than two members may be selected representing any one of the major types of water use. The Board shall meet at least nine times per calendar year at the discretion of the chair with not more than two consecutive calendar months between meetings. The members of the Board may be removed only for cause. Whenever a vacancy shall occur, the Governor shall appoint a qualified person to fill the unexpired term of the vacant office. Upon entering, each member of the Board shall take and subscribe to the constitutional and statutory oath of office and file the same with the Secretary of State.

F. The Board shall organize annually by electing a chair, vice-chair, and secretary from the membership of the Board, who shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the Board.

Added by Laws 1972, c. 253, § 1. Amended by Laws 1982, c. 306, § 1, emerg. eff. May 28, 1982; Laws 1992, c. 364, § 12, emerg. eff. June 4, 1992; Laws 2002, c. 375, § 24, eff. Nov. 5, 2002; Laws 2013, c. 406, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2016, c. 78, § 1, emerg. eff. April 18, 2016.