A. There is hereby created the Rural Area Development Task Force. The Task Force shall consist of eleven (11) members to be selected as follows:

1. One member to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

2. One member to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;

3. Five members to be appointed by the Governor, each of whom shall have demonstrated experience or interest in one or more issues affecting rural development, including, but not limited to, private sector financial expertise, economic development at the state or local level, agricultural economics, health care services, communications technology, business site location decisions, rural housing or such other areas of expertise as the Governor deems to be in the best interests of service as a member of the Task Force;

4. One member who shall be the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce or a designee;

5. One member who shall be the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry or a designee;

6. One member to be selected by the board of directors of Rural Enterprises, Inc.; and

7. One member to be selected by Oklahoma Association of Regional Councils, with the advice and consent of each of the substate planning districts.

B. The Task Force shall select from among its membership a chair and vice-chair. The Task Force shall be authorized to meet at such times as may be required in order to perform the duties imposed upon it by law.

C. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the Task Force shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and the Oklahoma Open Records Act. For purposes of providing assistance to the Advisory Team for the Rural Action Partnership Program, the Rural Area Development Task Force shall be authorized to conduct meetings by teleconference or videoconference, if required. For purposes of any action requiring a vote of the Task Force to provide such assistance to the Advisory Team, the Task Force may take such action by affirmative vote of a simple majority of the members of the Task Force present or participating in such teleconference or videoconference.

D. The Task Force shall study and examine ways in which the State of Oklahoma:

1. Can effectively develop its rural economy;

2. Promote rural areas of the State of Oklahoma for purposes of business site location efforts;

3. Support the Oklahoma Department of Commerce in implementation of the Rural Action Partnership Program and existing efforts to assist rural areas of the state with economic development efforts;

4. Can modify existing incentives or create additional incentives that are likely to result in the formation of business capital and job creation which directly benefits the communities located in primarily rural areas of the state;

5. Can modify existing incentives or create additional incentives that promote and support individuals engaged in agriculture, aquaculture, farming, ranching, agricultural product processing and all forms of business activity that add significant value to inputs developed with labor and capital originating from the state; and

6. Take such other actions as may be conducive to the improvement of the rural Oklahoma economy and creation of quality employment in rural areas and to enhance the quality of life for rural residents.

E. The Task Force may request such assistance as it may require from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, and such other entities of state government as the Task Force may deem relevant to its mission and duties.

F. Staff assistance for the Task Force shall be provided by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the State Senate.

G. The Task Force shall examine the final recommendations of any previous Task Force, Commission, working group, association or other entity that has previously undertaken a study of rural economic development efforts within the ten (10) years preceding the effective date of this act. The Task Force shall determine the extent to which any of such recommendations have been implemented, either pursuant to changes in state law or policy, and to the extent possible, the Task Force shall determine whether the implementation of the recommendation from such prior studies was effective.

H. The Task Force shall develop recommendations specifically designed to improve the economic development of rural areas of the State of Oklahoma, whether through formation of business capital, job creation, job training, agricultural development, small business formation and entrepreneurship programs, or other method identified by the Task Force as having potential for improvement of economic and related conditions in rural areas of the state.

I. On and after the effective date of this act, the Task Force shall provide such assistance to the Advisory Team for the Rural Action Partnership Program as may be required.

Added by Laws 2003, c. 269, § 1, emerg. eff. May 26, 2003. Amended by Laws 2004, c. 471, § 3, eff. July 1, 2004.