{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1703","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 69, § 69-1703","heading":"Oklahoma Turnpike Authority created - Liabilities -","body":"Members - Officers - Surety bonds - Reimbursement.\n\nA. There is hereby created a body corporate and politic to be\n\nknown as the \"Oklahoma Turnpike Authority\" and by that name the\n\nAuthority may sue and be sued, and plead and be impleaded. The\n\nAuthority is hereby constituted an instrumentality of the state, and\n\nthe exercise by the Authority of the powers conferred by this act in\n\nthe construction, operation, and maintenance of turnpike projects\n\nshall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of\n\nthe state with all the attributes thereof. Provided, however, the\n\nTurnpike Authority is authorized to carry and shall carry liability\n\ninsurance to the same extent and in the same manner as the\n\nTransportation Commission, and in addition thereto it shall be\n\nsubject to the workers' compensation laws of the state the same as a\n\nprivate construction project.\n\nB. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority shall consist of the\n\nGovernor, who shall be a member ex officio, two (2) members to be\n\nappointed by the Governor, two (2) members to be appointed by the\n\nSpeaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and two (2)\n\nmembers to be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma\n\nState Senate. The appointive members shall be residents of the\n\nstate, and shall have been qualified electors therein for a period\n\nof at least one (1) year next preceding their appointment. One\n\nappointive member shall be appointed from each of six districts of\n\nthe state, such districts to include the area as follows:\n\nDistrict 1. Oklahoma, Canadian, Cleveland, McClain and Garvin\n\nCounties.\n\nDistrict 2. Washington, Nowata, Craig, Ottawa, Rogers, Mayes,\n\nDelaware, Wagoner, Cherokee, Adair, Okmulgee, Osage, Muskogee,\n\nSequoyah, McIntosh and Haskell Counties.\n\nDistrict 3. Coal, Logan, Payne, Lincoln, Creek, Okfuskee,\n\nPottawatomie, Seminole, Hughes and Pontotoc Counties.\n\nDistrict 4. Kay, Pawnee, Garfield, Noble, Tulsa, Woods,\n\nWoodward, Major, Alfalfa and Grant Counties.\n\nDistrict 5. Cimarron, Grady, Texas, Beaver, Harper, Ellis,\n\nRoger Mills, Dewey, Custer, Caddo, Washita, Beckham, Harmon,\n\nStephens, Jefferson, Greer, Kiowa, Jackson, Tillman, Comanche,\n\nCotton, Kingfisher and Blaine Counties.\n\nDistrict 6. Carter, Love, Murray, Johnston, Marshall, Atoka,\n\nBryan, Pittsburg, Latimer, Le Flore, Pushmataha, Choctaw and\n\nMcCurtain Counties.\n\nThe Governor shall appoint the members from Districts 1 and 2.\n\nThe Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives shall appoint\n\nthe members from Districts 3 and 4. The President Pro Tempore of\n\nthe Oklahoma State Senate shall appoint the members from Districts 5\n\nand 6. Appointive members serving on the Oklahoma Turnpike\n\nAuthority on the effective date of this act shall continue to serve\n\nas members of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for the remainder of\n\nthe original terms for which they were appointed, unless sooner\n\nremoved by the appointing authority for their District. Thereafter,\n\neach appointive member shall be appointed in the manner set forth by\n\nthis section for a term of six (6) years, except that any person\n\nappointed to fill a vacancy shall be appointed to serve only for the\n\nunexpired term, and a member of the Authority shall be eligible for\n\nreappointment. Each appointed member of the Authority before\n\nentering upon the duties of office shall take an oath as provided by\n\nSection 1 of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of\n\nOklahoma. Any appointive member of the Authority may be removed at\n\nany time with cause by the appointing authority.\n\nC. The Authority shall elect one of the appointed members as\n\nchairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall also elect a\n\nSecretary and Treasurer. A majority of the members of the Authority\n\nshall constitute a quorum and the vote of a majority of the members\nthe State of\n\nOklahoma. Any appointive member of the Authority may be removed at\n\nany time with cause by the appointing authority.\n\nC. The Authority shall elect one of the appointed members as\n\nchairperson and another as vice-chairperson, and shall also elect a\n\nSecretary and Treasurer. A majority of the members of the Authority\n\nshall constitute a quorum and the vote of a majority of the members\n\nshall be necessary for any action taken by the Authority. No\n\nvacancy in the membership of the Authority shall impair the right of\n\na quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of\n\nthe Authority.\n\nD. Appointed members of the Authority shall be prohibited from\n\nvoting on any issue in which the member has a direct financial\n\ninterest.\n\nE. Before the issuance of any turnpike revenue bonds under the\n\nprovisions of this act, each appointed member of the Authority shall\n\nexecute a surety bond in the penal sum of Twenty-five Thousand\n\nDollars ($25,000.00) and the secretary and treasurer shall execute a\n\nsurety bond in the penal sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars\n\n($100,000.00), each such surety bond to be conditioned upon the\n\nfaithful performance of the duties of the office, to be executed by\n\na surety company authorized to transact business in the State of\n\nOklahoma as surety and to be approved by the Governor and filed in\n\nthe office of the Secretary of State.\n\nF. The members of the Authority shall not be entitled to\n\ncompensation for their services, but each member shall be reimbursed\n\nfor actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of the\n\nduties of such member. All expenses incurred in carrying out the\n\nprovisions of this act shall be payable solely from funds provided\n\nunder the authority of this act and no liability or obligation shall\n\nbe incurred by the Authority hereunder beyond the extent to which\n\nmonies shall have been provided under the authority of this act.\n\nG. Whenever the terms \"Oklahoma Transportation Authority\",\n\n\"Transportation Authority\" or \"Authority\", when used in reference to\n\nthe Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, appear in the Oklahoma Statutes,\n\nsuch terms shall mean the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.","path":["OK Code","Title 69"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os69.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"1a44f3ffda50679b1a11a201795626505da119d95864a414ea3a697f8b760db1","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1702","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1704"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}