A. There is hereby created a body corporate and politic to be known as the "Native American Cultural and Educational Authority" (Authority), and by that name the Authority may sue and be sued, and plead and be impleaded. The Authority is hereby constituted an agency of the state, and the exercise by the Authority of the powers conferred by Section 1226 et seq. of this title shall be deemed to be essential governmental functions of the state with all the attributes thereof. Provided, however, the Authority is authorized to carry liability insurance to the extent authorized by the Authority, and in addition thereto it shall be subject to the workers' compensation laws of the State of Oklahoma the same as a private employer. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) shall assist the Authority in fulfilling the responsibilities of Section 1226 et seq. of this title, as requested by the Authority.
B. 1. The Legislature hereby finds and it is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the completion and operation of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (AICCM) and the transfer of responsibility for operation and maintenance of the AICCM to the City of Oklahoma City (together with any designee thereof, hereinafter referred to as the "City") or its designee will produce significant benefits to the state and the citizens of the state, which benefits include, but are not limited to:
The Legislature further finds and declares that the State of Oklahoma and its citizens will be best served by the soonest possible completion of the AICCM and transfer of the Authority's unimproved property to the City for a complementary commercial development, with lease revenues therefrom to supply revenues to support the operations of the AICCM. The Legislature further finds that the State of Oklahoma will be best served by transferring responsibility for operations and maintenance of the AICCM to the City, and in furtherance of such purposes and intent, hereby adopts Section 1226 et seq. of this title.
2. As contemplated by the existing Amended and Restated Ground Lease Agreement between the Authority and the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority (OCIA), but only upon the execution of the agreement described in paragraph 5 of this subsection, all of the unimproved real property of the Authority, which is all of the real property held by the Authority less and except the real property described as provided for by subsection C of Section 1226.18 of this title, shall be transferred to the City. Such transfer shall be for the purpose of enabling the development of commercial facilities on such unimproved property, lease revenues of which shall be used to support the operations of the AICCM upon its completion. The Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) is hereby authorized and directed to coordinate the transfer of such real property in accordance with the provisions of Section 1226 et seq. of this title.
3. The Authority shall be terminated no later than the first day the AICCM is open to the public. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) shall make the determination of whether AICCM is open to the public for purposes of this paragraph. For purposes of this subsection, the AICCM shall mean the museum and cultural center and associated improvements constructed upon the real property described as provided for by subsection C of Section 1226.18 of this title. If the AICCM has not been opened to the public by July 1, 2020, the Director of OMES may certify that all building and site construction is complete, and upon such certification the statutory entity created by subsection C of this section shall be terminated, irrespective of whether all museum content and exhibits have been completed. Upon the termination of the Authority the functions of the Authority, including the leasing of the AICCM, the right to acquire clear title to the AICCM upon payment of all bonds, and the requirement to make lease payments to pay debt service on all bonds previously or hereafter issued by OCIA shall be transferred from the Authority to the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum Trust Authority (AICCMTA) created pursuant to Section 1226.21 of this title. Upon the termination of the Authority the remaining assets of the Authority shall be transferred to the AICCMTA; provided, that any unexpended funds held by the Authority for operational expenses of the Authority or to enable the payment of principal and interest on bonds or other obligations issued for the benefit of the Authority or the AICCM shall be specifically transferred as provided by paragraph 4 of this subsection. Assets to be transferred to the AICCMTA shall include, but not be limited to, all remaining real property and improvements, personal property, intellectual property, intangible property, rights and obligations pursuant to contract and any other assets, which assets shall be made available to the City to enable the City to exercise its rights and fulfill its obligations under the agreements contemplated by paragraph 5 of this subsection. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of OMES is hereby authorized and directed to coordinate with the City, the Authority and the AICCMTA to make such assets available for use by the City, for at least the life of outstanding bonds, by management agreement, license or otherwise, for the consideration contemplated by paragraph 5 of this subsection, and to take all steps necessary to effectuate the purpose of Section 1226 et seq. of this title. The AICCMTA, in consultation with OMES, is hereby authorized to transfer to the City any assets obtained by the Authority prior to its termination, including real property, personal property, intellectual property and intangible property, provided that measures are taken to ensure the tax-exempt status of outstanding bonds, and provided further that no such transfers shall take place in advance of the execution of the agreement contemplated by paragraph 5 of this subsection. For purposes of this paragraph, "outstanding bonds" shall include any bonds or other obligations issued by OCIA pursuant to Section 304.2 of Title 73 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
4. Unexpended funds held by the Authority for operational expenses of the Authority or to enable the payment of principal and interest on bonds or other obligations issued for the benefit of the Authority or the AICCM shall, upon termination of the Authority, transfer to the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum Postcompletion Revolving Fund created by Section 1226.22 of this title.
5. With the exception of Section 1226.20 of this title, Section 1226 et seq. of this title shall be null and void unless, prior to January 15, 2016, or not later than the expiration of sixty (60) days from such date with the approval of an extension of time, which may be less than sixty (60) days, by the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services upon a showing by the parties that such extension is likely to result in the execution of a final agreement, the Authority, the City and OMES enter into a written agreement with the following minimum provisions:
6. Notwithstanding anything herein provided, the City shall be authorized to transfer any assets, rights or responsibilities transferred to it pursuant to Section 1226 et seq. of this title to any of its instrumentalities, public trusts or designees as appropriate and, with respect to the real property described as provided for by subsection C of Section 1226.18 of this title and improvements thereon, to contract with such public and private entities as it deems proper for the purpose of exercising its rights and carrying out its obligations pursuant to agreements contemplated by Section 1226 et seq. of this title between the State of Oklahoma and the City, and with respect to the property transferred by paragraph 2 of this subsection to contract with such public and private entities, including the leasing or transfer of property to such public or private entities, as it deems proper for the purpose of carrying out the commercial development of the unimproved property.
7. Contracts and privileges which have been issued, made, granted or allowed to become effective by the statutory entity that may be terminated by the provisions of Section 1226 et seq. of this title or by any provision of law affected by Section 1226 et seq. of this title shall continue in effect according to their terms until terminated or modified by operation of law; provided, that the City shall, upon termination of the Authority, be permitted to assume the Authority's interest in such contracts.
8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any lease revenue bonds or other obligations issued prior to or after September 1, 2015, by OCIA or other state instrumentalities for the benefit of the Authority and/or completion of the AICCM shall remain in full force and effect, and any obligation, moral or otherwise, to make payments under the lease or other agreements or to service the lease revenue bonds or other obligations shall remain unaffected and in full force and effect. It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate sufficient monies to the Authority or its successor for deposit in the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum Postcompletion Revolving Fund created by Section 1226.22 of this title to cover the payment of all lease and other scheduled payments for the purpose of retiring such lease revenue bonds or other obligations.
C. The Authority shall consist of seven appointed members who are members of a federally recognized American Indian Tribe located within this state, six ex officio members and four appointed members from the business community. Each appointed member, excluding ex officio members, shall have one vote for purposes of conducting the business of the Authority. Except for the members appointed pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection, the appointed members shall be residents of the state, and shall have been qualified electors therein for a period of at least one (1) year preceding their appointment. Any member of the Authority shall be eligible for reappointment, and no member shall be removed from office except for good cause shown. Good cause may be shown in evidence of excessive failure to attend three consecutive regular Board meetings of the Authority. The chair of the Authority shall have the right to remove any member pursuant to good cause. At the expiration of any term, the person holding such office shall continue to serve until such person's duly appointed successor shall be appointed and qualified.
1. Seven members appointed to serve shall serve overlapping terms and shall be chosen as follows: three members shall be appointed by the Governor; two members shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each of these members shall be a member of a federally recognized American Indian tribe located within this state. Such tribal membership shall be determined by the respective tribes. Appointments shall be made from names provided by tribal governments, councils or other recognized tribal entities. Appointments shall be restricted to not more than one representative of any tribe. Such appointed members initially appointed shall continue in office for terms of from three (3) to seven (7) years, respectively, from the date of their appointment, with the term of each initially appointed member to be designated by the Governor at the time of the appointment, with one member to be appointed to a three-year term, two members to be appointed to a four-year term, one member to be appointed to a five-year term, one member to be appointed to a six-year term, and two members to be appointed to a seven-year term. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Upon the expiration of a term, on or after July 1, 2000, any succeeding term shall be for four (4) years.
2. The six ex officio members shall be as follows: the Oklahoma Native American Liaison, or the designee of the same; the Lieutenant Governor, or the designee of same; the Director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, or the designee of same; the Secretary of Commerce, or the designee of same; the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Arts Council, or the designee of same; and the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, or the designee of the same.
3. The four appointed members from the business community shall be chosen as follows: two members shall be appointed by the Governor; one member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and one member shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Each member shall have at least fifteen (15) years of experience in business, banking, finance or corporate law, and shall have demonstrated outstanding ability in business or industry. However, in lieu of appointing a member with such experience, one of the two members appointed by the Governor may be a person who has exhibited at least three (3) years of outstanding leadership and involvement in recognized Native American organizations and activities. Upon the expiration of a term, on or after July 1, 2000, any succeeding term shall be for four (4) years. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term.
D. The Authority shall elect one of its members as chairperson, and another as vice-chairperson, and also shall elect a secretary, treasurer and such other officers as the Authority may deem appropriate. A majority of the members of the Authority (exclusive of vacancies) shall constitute a quorum and the vote of a majority of the members (exclusive of vacancies) shall be necessary for any action taken by the Authority. No vacancy in the membership of the Authority shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the Authority.
E. Before the issuance of any revenue bonds under the provisions of Section 1226 et seq. of this title, each member of the Authority shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) and the secretary and treasurer shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), each such surety bond to be conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office, to be executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State of Oklahoma as surety, and to be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
F. The members of the Authority shall not be entitled to compensation for their services, but each member shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of duties on behalf of the Authority; provided, that members of the Authority shall be compensated for their travel expenses pursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of Section 1226 et seq. of this title shall be payable solely from funds provided under the authority of Section 1226 et seq. of this title and no liability or obligation shall be incurred by the Authority hereunder beyond the extent to which monies shall have been provided under the authority of Section 1226 et seq. of this title. With the exception of funds appropriated to the Authority for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, no further appropriations shall be made to the Authority, or to any successor state entity owning some interest in the AICCM, for the purpose of operating the AICCM; provided, however, that appropriations to pay debt service on revenue bonds or other obligations issued heretofore or hereafter by OCIA or other state agencies for the benefit of the Authority will continue until all such bonds or other obligations are fully paid.
G. The Authority is authorized to establish subcommittees as necessary to perform its functions and duties. A subcommittee may be composed of Authority members and/or nonmembers and shall not have more than five members. Nonmembers of a subcommittee shall be reimbursed by the Authority in accordance with the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
H. Members of the Authority shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 6 of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which prohibits the holding of any other office during the member's term of office on the Authority.
I. The Directors and staff of the Authority employed to perform the duties of Section 1226 et seq. of this title shall be considered employees of the Authority. The employees of the Authority shall be entitled to be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of duties on behalf of the Authority. Such compensation for travel expenses shall be paid pursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
J. Real property transferred by the Authority to any person, firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, express private trust, public trust or any other lawfully recognized entity shall be subject to the same restrictions regarding the use of such real property as contained in the instrument of conveyance by which the Authority acquired title to such real property, including, but not limited to, any restriction regarding gambling activity upon such real property.
Added by Laws 1994, c. 388, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1994. Amended by Laws 1996, c. 348, § 13, eff. July 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 394, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 372, § 5, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 320, § 2, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2005, c. 30, § 1, emerg. eff. April 6, 2005; Laws 2005, c. 146, § 2, eff. July 1, 2005; Laws 2011, c. 305, § 4; Laws 2015, c. 339, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2015; Laws 2018, c. 170, § 1, eff. July 1, 2018.