A. There is hereby created an advisory council to be known as the "Water for 2060 Advisory Council".

B. The Advisory Council shall consist of fifteen (15) members as follows:

1. The Executive Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board;

2. Four members appointed by the Governor who shall be well versed in municipal, rural residential, and agriculture water uses, as well as water-efficiency practices and technologies;

3. Five members, with one member being from each of the congressional districts, appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, who shall be well versed in recreation, industrial, oil and gas, and irrigation water uses, as well as water and wastewater reuse practices and technologies; and

4. Five members, with one member being from each of the congressional districts, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, who shall be well versed in soil conservation, small business, and environmental water interests, as well as marginal quality and brackish water use practices and technologies.

C. Appointed members shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authority.

D. The Executive Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board shall serve as chair of the Advisory Council, with other officers selected by the Advisory Council as it deems necessary. Meetings of the Advisory Council shall be held at the call of the chair. A majority of the members of the Advisory Council shall constitute a quorum to transact business, but no vacancy shall impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of the Advisory Council. A vacancy on the Advisory Council shall be filled by the original appointing authority. Staff support for the Advisory Council shall be provided by the staff of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. Other state agencies shall provide support and information as requested by the Advisory Council.

E. The Advisory Council shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

1. Recommend incentives to encourage improved irrigation and farming techniques, more efficient infrastructure, use of water recycling/reuse systems, promotion of "smart" irrigation techniques, control of invasive species, artificial recharge of aquifers, and increased use of marginal quality and brackish waters;

2. Make recommendations regarding the expansion of education programs that modify and improve consumer water-use habits; and

3. Enhance existing, or develop new, financial assistance programs that encourage Oklahoma water systems to implement leak detection and repair programs that result in reduced loss and waste of water, as well as encourage consolidation and regionalization of smaller systems in order to utilize limited resources most efficiently.

F. The Advisory Council shall submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate no later than three (3) years following the effective date of this act.

G. Activities of the Advisory Council shall terminate no later than December 31, 2015.

Added by Laws 2012, c. 274, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2012.