{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-108.5","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 47-2-108.5","heading":"Oklahoma State Award Program Committee","body":"A. 1. There is hereby created the Oklahoma State Award Program\n\nCommittee. The purpose of the Committee is to create, establish\n\neligibility requirements and make recommendation for awarding the\n\nOklahoma Medal of Valor for meritorious service, the Oklahoma\n\nDistinguished Meritorious Service Medal for extended exemplary\n\nservice to the state and the Oklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma Blue\n\nHeart for serious line of duty injuries for law enforcement and\n\npublic safety members employed by municipal, county, state and\n\nemployees of federal agencies working in Oklahoma.\n\n2. There is hereby established the Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the\n\nOklahoma Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal and the Oklahoma\n\nRed Heart and Oklahoma Blue Heart, along with authorized\n\nappurtenances, for award by the Governor, in the name of the state,\n\nto any person who has demonstrated meritorious achievement, or a\n\ndistinct act of courage, shown distinguished meritorious service to\n\nthe state over an extended period of service or who has incurred\n\ninjury or wounds, while performing or actively engaged in public\n\nservice activities. The Oklahoma Red Heart is limited to municipal\n\nfirefighters employed by cities and towns. The Oklahoma Blue Heart\n\nis limited to law enforcement and public safety members employed by\n\nmunicipal, county, state and employees of federal agencies working\n\nin Oklahoma.\n\n3. The purpose of each award is to formally recognize\n\nextraordinary acts of valor by public safety members and citizens of\n\nOklahoma who engage in extraordinary acts of bravery and valor and\n\nto formally recognize public safety members in Oklahoma who have\n\nbeen seriously injured in the line of duty and to acknowledge the\n\ndistinguished meritorious service of citizens to the state.\n\nB. The members of the Oklahoma State Award Program (OSAP)\n\nCommittee shall have experience in the field of public safety and\n\npublic service. The OSAP Committee shall be composed of nine (9)\n\nmembers as follows:\n\n1. The Lieutenant Governor, who shall serve as chair;\n\n2. The Adjutant General of the Oklahoma National Guard;\n\n3. The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety;\n\n4. The Director of the Department of Corrections;\n\n5. The Director of the Department of Transportation;\n\n6. The President of the Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association;\n\n7. The President of the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of\n\nPolice;\n\n8. The President of the Oklahoma State Firefighters\n\nAssociation; and\n\n9. The President of the Oklahoma Sheriffs and Peace Officers\n\nAssociation.\n\nC. Except at any meeting to select recipients of the Oklahoma\n\nMedal of Valor, the Oklahoma Distinguished Meritorious Service\n\nMedal, the Oklahoma Red Heart or the Oklahoma Blue Heart, each\n\nmember, other than the chair, may be represented by a designee;\n\nprovided, the designee must be an active member in good standing\n\nwith the agency or association to which the appointed member\n\nbelongs. The Chairman reserves the right to appoint an advisory\n\nboard to collect, review and make initial award recommendations to\n\nthe OSAP Committee. The advisory board will be comprised of\n\ndesignees from the nine-member OSAP Committee.\n\nD. The Committee shall conduct its first meeting no later than\n\nninety (90) calendar days after the appointment of the last member.\n\nThe Committee shall meet at the direction of the chair, and shall\n\nnormally meet not less than once each year and not more than three\n\ntimes each year.\n\nE. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum to\n\nconduct business.\n\nF. The members of the Committee shall serve without\n\ncompensation, except that the members may be reimbursed for\n\nreasonable and necessary expenses arising from Committee activities\n\nor business. Such expenses shall be paid by the respective agencies\n\nat which the member is employed at the time the expense is incurred.\n\nG. No member of the OSAP Committee shall solicit, seek or\nconduct business.\n\nF. The members of the Committee shall serve without\n\ncompensation, except that the members may be reimbursed for\n\nreasonable and necessary expenses arising from Committee activities\n\nor business. Such expenses shall be paid by the respective agencies\n\nat which the member is employed at the time the expense is incurred.\n\nG. No member of the OSAP Committee shall solicit, seek or\n\nrequest individuals to submit individuals for awards. OSAP\n\nCommittee members may explain the program to interested individuals.\n\nThe Committee may secure directly from any department or agency such\n\ninformation as the Committee deems necessary to carry out its\n\nduties.\n\nH. The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety shall\n\npromulgate rules to establish the following:\n\n1. Design of the Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the Oklahoma\n\nDistinguished Meritorious Service Medal and the Oklahoma Red Heart\n\nor the Oklahoma Blue Heart and any authorized appurtenances proposed\n\nby the Adjutant General;\n\n2. Criteria for eligibility for award of the Oklahoma Medal of\n\nValor, the Oklahoma Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal or the\n\nOklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma Blue Heart proposed by the Adjutant\n\nGeneral;\n\n3. Criteria for the proper wear of the Oklahoma Medal of Valor,\n\nthe Oklahoma Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal or the Oklahoma\n\nRed Heart or the Oklahoma Blue Heart proposed by the Adjutant\n\nGeneral;\n\n4. Method of purchasing the Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the\n\nOklahoma Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal or the Oklahoma Red\n\nHeart or Oklahoma Blue Heart;\n\n5. Order of precedence relating to other state awards; and\n\n6. Other rules deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of\n\nthis section.\n\nI. The Committee shall consider candidates for award for the\n\nOklahoma Medal of Valor, the Oklahoma Distinguished Meritorious\n\nService Medal or the Oklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma Blue Heart only\n\nfrom the applications received. The OSAP Committee may go into\n\nexecutive session to deliberate and select recommended recipients.\n\nThe Chair shall present to the Governor the names of recommendations\n\nas Medal recipients.\n\nJ. The Committee shall not disclose any information which may\n\ncompromise an ongoing law enforcement investigation or information\n\nthat is otherwise required by law to be kept confidential. Only the\n\nfinal recommendation for receipt of the Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the\n\nOklahoma Distinguished Service Medal and the Oklahoma Red Heart or\n\nOklahoma Blue Heart shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Records\n\nAct.\n\nK. The Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the Oklahoma Distinguished\n\nService Medal and the Oklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma Blue Heart may\n\nnot be awarded to any person who was not selected by the Committee.\n\nL. The award of the Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the Oklahoma\n\nDistinguished Service Medal and the Oklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma\n\nBlue Heart may be rescinded for suitable cause. The Chair, with the\n\nconsent of the Committee, shall forward the recommendation for\n\nrescission to the Governor. The final decision to rescind must be\n\napproved by the Governor.\n\nM. The Oklahoma Medal of Valor, the Oklahoma Distinguished\n\nService Medal or the Oklahoma Red Heart or Oklahoma Blue Heart may\n\nbe awarded posthumously and may be presented to such representative\n\nof the deceased's family as may be deemed appropriate by the\n\nGovernor.","path":["OK Code","Title 47"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os47.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"bfc91854cad41465f14f53342fa21e5cb0b8f49aff881c55fba89d8e32ca1d76","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-108.4","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-2-109"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}