This chapter shall be known as the 'Emergency Interim Succession Act.'

In the event of an attack, the Governor shall call the Legislature into session as soon as practicable and, in any case, within 90 days following the inception of the attack. If the Governor fails to issue such call, the Legislature shall, on the ninetieth day from the date of inception of the attack, automatically convene at the place where the Governor then has his office. Each legislator and each emergency interim successor, unless he is certain that the legislator to whose powers and duties he is designated to succeed or any emergency interim successor higher in order of succession will not be unavailable, shall proceed to the place of session as expeditiously as practicable at such session or at any session in operation at the inception of the attack, and at any subsequent sessions, limitations on the length of session and on the subjects which may be acted upon shall be suspended.

If, in the event of an attack, a legislator is unavailable, his emergency interim successor highest in order of succession who is not unavailable shall, except for the power and duty to appoint emergency interim successors, exercise the powers and assume the duties of such legislator. An emergency interim successor shall exercise these powers and assume these duties until the incumbent legislator, an emergency interim successor higher in order of succession, or a legislator appointed or elected and legally qualified can act. Each house of the Legislature shall, in accordance with its own rules, determine who is entitled under the provisions of this chapter to exercise the powers and assume the duties of its members. All constitutional and statutory provisions pertaining to ouster of a legislator shall be applicable to an emergency interim successor who is exercising the powers and assuming the duties of a legislator.

When an emergency interim successor exercises the powers and assumes the duties of a legislator, he shall be accorded the privileges and immunities, compensation, allowances and other perquisites of office to which a legislator is entitled. In the event of an attack, each emergency interim successor, whether or not called upon to exercise the powers and assume the duties of a legislator, shall be accorded the privileges and immunities of a legislator while traveling to and from a place of session and shall be compensated for his travel in the same manner and amount as a legislator. This section shall not in any way affect the privileges, immunities, compensation, allowances or other perquisites of office of an incumbent legislator.

In the event of an attack:

(1) Quorum requirements for the Legislature shall be suspended; and

(2) Where the affirmative vote of a specified proportion of members for approval of a bill, resolution or other action would otherwise be required, the same proportion of those voting thereon shall be sufficient.

The authority of emergency interim successors to succeed to the powers and duties of legislators and the operation of the provisions of this chapter relating to quorum, the number of affirmative votes required for legislative action and limitations on the length of sessions and the subjects which may be acted upon shall expire two years following the inception of an attack, but nothing herein shall prevent the resumption before such time of the filling of legislative vacancies and the calling of elections for the Legislature in accordance with applicable constitutional and statutory provisions. The Governor, acting by proclamation, or the Legislature, acting by concurrent resolution, may from time to time extend or restore such authority or the operation of any of such provisions upon a finding that events render the extension or restoration necessary, but no extension or restoration shall be for a period of more than one year.

With respect to local offices for which the governing bodies of cities, towns, villages, townships and counties may enact resolutions or ordinances relative to the manner in which vacancies will be filled or temporary appointments to office made, such governing bodies are hereby authorized to enact resolutions or ordinances providing for emergency interim successors to offices of the aforementioned governmental units. Such resolutions and ordinances shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter.

The provisions of this section shall be applicable to officers of political subdivisions, including, but not limited to, cities, towns, villages, townships and counties, as well as school, fire, power and drainage districts not included in Section 29-3-15. Such officers, subject to such regulations as the executive head of the political subdivision may issue, shall, upon approval of this chapter, designate by title (if feasible) or by named person, emergency interim successors and specify their order of succession. Such executive head shall review and revise, as necessary, designations made pursuant to this chapter to insure their current status. Such executive head shall designate a sufficient number of persons so that there will be three deputies or emergency interim successors or any combination thereof at any time. In the event that any officer of any political subdivision or his deputy provided for pursuant to law is unavailable, the powers of the office shall be exercised and duties shall be discharged by his designated emergency interim successors in the order specified. The emergency interim successors shall exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office to which designated until such time as a vacancy which may exist shall be filled in accordance with the Constitution or statutes or until the officer or his deputy or a preceding emergency interim successor again becomes available to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his office.

The Legislature declares:

(1) That recent technological developments make possible an enemy attack of unprecedented destructiveness, which may result in the death or inability to act of a large proportion of the membership of the Legislature;

(2) That to conform in time of attack to existing legal requirements pertaining to the Legislature would be impracticable, would admit of undue delay and would jeopardize continuity of operation of a legally constituted Legislature; and

(3) That it is therefore necessary to adopt special provisions as set out in this chapter for the effective operation of the Legislature.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this section:

(1) ATTACK. Any action or series of actions taken by an enemy of the United States resulting in substantial damage or injury to persons or property in this state whether through sabotage, bombs, missiles, shellfire or atomic, radiological, chemical, bacteriological or biological means or other weapons or methods.

(2) UNAVAILABLE. Absent from the place of session (other than on official business of the Legislature) or unable, for physical, mental or legal reasons, to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of a legislator, whether or not such absence or inability would give rise to a vacancy under existing constitutional or statutory provisions.

Each legislator shall designate emergency interim successors to his powers and duties and specify their order of succession. Each legislator shall review and, as necessary, promptly revise the designations of emergency interim successors to his powers and duties to insure that at all times there are at least three such qualified emergency interim successors.

An emergency interim successor is one who is designated for possible temporary succession to the powers and duties, but not the office, of a legislator. No person shall be designated or serve as an emergency interim successor unless he may, under the Constitution and statutes, hold the office of the legislator to whose powers and duties he is designated to succeed, but no constitutional or statutory provision prohibiting a legislator from holding another office or prohibiting the holder of another office from being a legislator shall be applicable to an emergency interim successor. An emergency interim successor shall serve at the pleasure of the legislator designating him or of any subsequent incumbent of the legislative office.

Each designation of an emergency interim successor shall become effective when the legislator making the designation files with the Secretary of State the successor's name, address and rank in order of succession. The removal of an emergency interim successor or change in order of succession shall become effective when the legislator so acting files this information with the Secretary of State. All such data shall be open to public inspection. The Secretary of State shall inform the Governor, the Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and all emergency interim successors of all such designations, removals and changes in order of succession. The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall enter all information regarding emergency interim successors for the Senate or the House in its public journal at the beginning of each legislative session and shall enter all changes in membership or order of succession as soon as possible after their occurrence. Each interim successor shall be appointed for at least one year.

Promptly after designation, each emergency interim successor shall take the oath required for the legislator to whose powers and duties he is designated to succeed. No other oath shall be required. The oath shall be administered by any person authorized by law to administer the oath to duly elected legislators.

Each emergency interim successor shall keep himself generally informed as to the duties, procedures, practices and current business of the Legislature, and each legislator shall assist his emergency interim successors to keep themselves so informed.

Whenever, in the event of an attack or upon finding that an attack may be imminent, the Governor deems the place of session of the Legislature then prescribed to be unsafe, he may change it to any place within or without the state which he deems safer and convenient.