Nationwide and in Oklahoma, the AMBER Alert program has been extremely successful in locating and recovering missing and abducted children, through the collaborative efforts of state and federal law enforcement and transportation partners, broadcasters, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Oklahoma implemented our State's AMBER Plan over ten years ago by means of Executive Order, and since that time, Oklahoma has been at the forefront of developing initiatives to rescue vulnerable, lost members of our communities. In fact, Oklahoma was one of the first states to devise a plan, similar to the AMBER Plan, to locate missing seniors. Pursuant to Section 1-1990.4 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Oklahoma Legislature authorized the Commissioner of Public Safety (Commissioner) to develop and implement a Silver Alert System to identify and recover senior citizens who are missing and at risk of harm. Accordingly, I, Mary Fallin, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant to the authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of the Oklahoma Constitution, hereby establish a new and streamlined Oklahoma AMBER Alert Committee (Committee), and direct it to coordinate its initiatives with any other state program established by Oklahoma law, like the Silver Alert System, whose mission it is to quickly locate and recover missing citizens. The Committee shall be authorized to apply for, receive, and dispense to the appropriate Oklahoma state entity all federal funding available to state AMBER Plans, including, but not limited to, funding available through the PROTECT Act of 2003 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 5791 (2013)), subject to the review and approval of the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall appoint members to the Committee, which shall be comprised of appropriate local, state, federal, and private sector representatives, including at least one representative from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (Public Safety). The Commissioner shall also designate a Public Safety representative from the Committee to serve as the Chair of the Committee. The Committee shall select and designate its Vice-Chair. The Committee shall meet at such times and places as it deems appropriate. Committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner, and may be reappointed at his or her discretion. Each Committee member shall continue to serve until a new appointment has been made for his or her position. Administrative support for the Committee, including personnel necessary to ensure the proper performance of its duties and responsibilities as established by this Order, shall be provided by Public Safety. This Executive Order shall be distributed to the Cabinet Secretary of Safety and Security and the Commissioner, who shall cause the provisions of this Order to be implemented. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this 2nd day of March, 2015. BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA Mary Fallin Chris Benge Secretary of State
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