BACKGROUND

THE PRESERVATION of life and property is an inherent constitutional responsibility of our Federal, State, and local governments. We, as county officials, neither can nor wish to shirk this duty. It is apparent, however, that we must take steps now to prepare our governments if they are to survive and operate effectively in the stark world which could exist after a nuclear attack.

Recognizing this situation, the 1957 Governors' Conference asked, by unanimous resolution, that the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization prepare a program to insure the continuity of our civil governments. In response to this resolution, the Federal Government has developed a clear and feasible Continuity of Government Program covering four fundamental points; the preservation of constitutional leadership; the preservation of essential records; the development of protected emergency operating centers; and the full and effective utilization of all government personnel, facilities, and equipment for emergency operations.

Much of this program has required the adoption of State and local legislation, including State Constitutional Amendments. The overwhelming support of the people for this program is reflected in the popular votes cast in 17 States where Continuity of Government Constitutional Amendments have been submitted for ratification. The smallest margin of approval registered for these amendments was 2 to 1. Two States registered the astounding margins of 13 to 1 and 14 to 1.

Continuity of leadership requires the establishment of legally authorized automatic successors in depth for:

1. Chief Executives

2. Executive Department Heads
3. Legislators

4. The Judiciary

5. Local Government Officials

At least three automatic successors should be provided for all such positions while key positions such as that of the Governor should have at least seven. Successors must be briefed on the duties of the office they might have to assume in an emergency. Succession lists should be reviewed and, if necessary, updated at least annually.

Essential Government records are of two general types:

1. Those needed for the emergency operations of government such as utility maps and succession lists, and

2. Those needed in the post-attack reconstruction period to protect the

YOUR COUNTY, X-DAY PLUS ONE. Will it become a ghost town, or will it flex its muscles and live again? Aided by the Continuity of Government Program, you can see to it that the life-blood of governmental service is restored.

(Photo by Kern County, Calif.)

rights and interests of citizens and their government.

County records, which frequently form the bulk of State records, are especially important. Essential records can best be preserved as part of a sound records management system. By creating preservation copies at the time the records are created, little or no added expense is involved. Essential records should be stored in facilities safe from the effects of nuclear attack, and in a form suitable to their emergency use.

If governments are to operate effectively in a war emergency they must have an emergency operating center which:

1. Provides protection against the effects of nuclear weapons for the people and equipment needed for emergency operations. This protection should be related to the weapons effects likely to occur at the location of the facility.

2. Provides means for receiving, analyzing, and displaying the effects of the attacks in the area so that informed decisions can be made by responsible officials.

3. Provides means for government leaders to issue information and instructions to the general public and the emergency forces.

4. Provides austere living accommodations and supplies for the staff. 5. Provides independent utilities so that operations can be maintained despite damage to external facilities.

The Federal Government will contribute one-half the cost of developing and equipping such facilities which meet protection and operational standards established by OCDM. (See Information Service Report No. 14. The Federal Civil Defense Contributions Program).

Such facilities should be as close to the normal operations of the government as possible. They can be developed as part of a new courthouse or office building. They provide desirable space for the daily operations of elements of the government which have emergency responsibilities. Civil defense directors and their staffs and law enforcement agencies are frequent peacetime occupants of these facilities.

All elements of government should be assigned emergency functions. Departments or other organizational units should first be classified as "emergency" or "non-emergency" based their normal functions. Those classified as "non-emergency" should then be assigned emergency duties according to the needs of the government concerned.

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The Federal government has taken the lead by preparing and urging the passage of necessary state and local legislation and constitutional amendments.

The States are showing remarkable unanimity in passing the suggested laws and adopting the suggested constitutional amendments.

The county's principal obligation, now being met by large numbers of them, is to implement the action and organizational phase of the program. The following report is designed to help you as a county official in such implementation.

CONTINUITY OF LEADERSHIP

The survival of the nation in the event of nuclear attack depends on the ability of federal, state and local governments to carry out their responsibilities and continue to func

tion.

Obviously, if the states and local governments are to meet these responsibilities, duly constituted legal authority must survive, and if the principals now holding these responsible offices are in any way incapacitated, or unable to carry out their duties, successors must be immediately available. The key to continuity of leadership is predetermined, automatic interim succession, a problem OCDM has been working on with top priority since 1957. In 1958, a "package program" of proposed legislation was prepared, containing four sample legislative acts and a consti

tutional amendment providing enabling authority. The response by the States has been overwhelming, with 45 States now having adopted parts of the program.

Every county official has a direct and vital interest in the proper succession to office and assumption of powers because the purpose of the program is:

(1) to assure continuous leadership, authority, and responsibility in executive, legislative and judicial positions.

(2) to minimize the possibility of persons assuming political power without legal authority.

(3) to increase the county's organizational effectiveness during an emergency.

(4) to facilitate the re-establishment of suspended public functions.

Finally, there is the fact that the emergency interim successor to office obtains neither title nor tenure to the position. The emergency interim successor is displaced upon the filling

of a vacancy and he is also replaced when the lawful incumbent of the office, his duly authorized deputy, or an emergency interim successor higher in rank in order of succession is again able to assume the duties of the office. With emergency interim succession, a key position in your country is not left unfilled during a critical period.

Methods of Naming Successors

Four alternate methods of naming interim successors have been advanced by OCDM:

(1) You, as the principal, would
name your successors and indi-
cate the order of succession.
(2) The successors would be desig-
nated by the Governor.
(3) The successors would be desig-
nated by the County Board as
a whole.
(4) Nominations for successors
would be advanced by the local
political party for designation
by the Governor.

You as a county official can implement this objective by:

(1) checking the attached chart to see if your state has passed the necessary enabling legislation or constitutional amendment;

(2) determining positions for which lines of succession should be established;

(3) determining the number of successors (three is recommended), order of succession, and type of action (executive, board action, ordinance, or other) required to put succession into effect;

(4) drafting and approving such required orders or legislation; OCDM has prepared in cooperation with NIMLO and NACO a sample succession ordinance which is available upon request.

(5) publishing the lists of succession and notifying the personnel concerned;

(6) establishing systems to maintain the lists on a current basis. Remember: this must all be done before an attack. Once the attack is launched and your county is under fire, it is too late.

"Since records are the indispensable memory of all governmental activity, steps must be taken to assure that they are available when and where needed."

This preamble prepared by the College of Commerce, DePaul University in the form of a Memorandum to OCDM's proposed Records Management Act states the inescapable

necessity of preserving especially those records on which the functioning of government depends.

A subcommittee of the California Assembly put it another way (in its study of the Impact of Enemy Attack):

"With vital records at hand, the task (of recovery from an attack) is infinitely easier than without them. Indeed, total lack of vital records, or even of any substantial portion of them, would create such confusion that to untangle it would absorb the combined energies of a large part of our officials and citizens for years, at a time when every ounce of energy should go into the work of reconstruction."

OCDM has divided essential records into two categories:

Category A: Records that contain information necessary to the operation of government during an emergency.

Category B: Records that contain information necessary to protect the rights and interests of citizens or which establish and affirm the powers and duties of government as they resume operations following an emergency.

These are the records which are important enough to merit special measures to insure their preservation.

At the present time, some states do not have adequate statutory authority to engage in an efficient records management program which is the necessary pre-requisite for the categorizing and preservation of es