CHAPTER 304. EMERGENCY INTERIM LEGISLATIVE SUCCESSION
GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 3. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE A. LEGISLATURE
CHAPTER 304. EMERGENCY INTERIM LEGISLATIVE SUCCESSION
Sec. 304.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the
Emergency Interim Legislative Succession Act.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Sec. 304.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Attack" means 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 by sabotage,
bombs, missiles, shellfire, or atomic, radiological, chemical,
bacteriological, or biological means or by other weapons or
methods.
(2) "Unavailable" means dead or unable for physical, mental, or
legal reasons to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of
a legislator, whether or not the absence or inability would give
rise to a vacancy under existing constitutional or statutory
provisions.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Sec. 304.004. DESIGNATION OF EMERGENCY INTERIM SUCCESSORS. (a)
Each legislator shall designate not less than three nor more than
seven individuals to serve as emergency interim successors if the
legislator is certified to be unavailable to serve as provided by
this chapter. Each individual designated must meet age and
residence requirements for a senator or representative, as
applicable, and must submit a written acceptance to the
legislator.
(b) To be effective, a designation must include the name and
address of the designee.
(c) As soon as practicable after a legislator takes the oath of
office for the legislator's term, the legislator shall file a
list of the legislator's designees who have accepted the
designation, ranked in order of succession, together with the
written acceptance of each designee, with the secretary of the
senate or the chief clerk of the house of representatives, as
applicable. That officer shall promptly deliver a certified copy
of the list and of each acceptance to the secretary of state.
(d) At least annually, each legislator shall review the most
recent list of emergency interim successors to the position held
by the legislator to ensure that there are at least three
qualified emergency interim successors on the list. Each
legislator shall make revisions to the list as necessary and may
make other revisions the legislator considers appropriate. A
revision designating a new emergency interim successor must be
accompanied by the written acceptance of the designee. The
secretary of the senate or chief clerk of the house, as
applicable, shall promptly deliver a certified copy of each
revision and of any accompanying acceptance to the secretary of
state.
(e) If at any time a legislator has not designated emergency
interim successors as required by this section, the lieutenant
governor or speaker of the house, as appropriate, may designate
in order of succession not more than seven individuals to serve
as emergency interim successors if that legislator becomes
unavailable. Each individual designated must meet the applicable
age and residence requirements and submit a written acceptance of
the designation. The lieutenant governor or speaker shall file
the list and the written acceptances of the designees with the
secretary of the senate or the chief clerk of the house, as
applicable, who shall deliver a certified copy of the list and of
each acceptance to the secretary of state. At any time, the
legislator in the manner provided by this section may make
revisions to the list filed under this subsection or file a
superseding list of designees.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
297, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 304.005. WHEN DESIGNATION OR REVISION TAKES EFFECT. (a)
Each designation of an emergency interim successor becomes
effective when the individual making the designation files the
designation and the designee's written acceptance with the
appropriate senate or house officer under Section 304.004.
(b) The removal of an emergency interim successor from the list
or a change in the order of succession becomes effective when an
individual authorized to make the change files that information
with the appropriate senate or house officer under Section
304.004.
(c) Information filed under this chapter is public information,
except that the home address and home telephone number of a
designee may be disclosed only if the designee, in a signed
writing filed with the secretary of the senate or chief clerk of
the house of representatives, as applicable, specifically states
that the information may be disclosed.
(d) A certified copy of a list of designated emergency interim
successors or of a revision of a list delivered to the secretary
of state under this chapter is for informational purposes only
unless the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house certifies
to the secretary of state that the applicable records of the
senate or house have been lost or destroyed or have become
unavailable in another manner, in which event the certified
records delivered to the secretary of state are treated as if
they are the original records.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
297, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 304.006. STATUS AND QUALIFICATIONS OF EMERGENCY INTERIM
SUCCESSORS. (a) An emergency interim successor is an individual
who is designated for possible temporary succession to the powers
and duties, but not the office, of a legislator.
(b) An individual may not be designated or serve as an emergency
interim successor unless that individual is legally qualified to
hold the office of the legislator to whose powers and duties the
individual is designated to succeed.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Sec. 304.007. OATH. When the designation of an emergency
interim successor becomes effective, the successor shall take the
oath required for the legislator to whose powers and duties the
successor is designated to succeed, and no other oath is
required.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Sec. 304.008. ASSUMPTION OF POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) If the
governor has declared an emergency due to enemy attack or the
immediate threat of enemy attack under Section 62, Article III,
Texas Constitution, and the lieutenant governor or speaker of the
house, as applicable, determines that a legislator is unavailable
to serve when the legislature has convened or will convene, the
lieutenant governor or speaker, as applicable, shall certify to
the secretary of state that the legislator is unavailable. If
the governor has declared an emergency due to enemy attack or the
immediate threat of enemy attack under Section 62, Article III,
Texas Constitution, and at the time and place the legislature is
scheduled to convene the lieutenant governor or speaker is absent
from the applicable house, a majority of the members of that
house who are present may determine that a member of that house
who is not present is unavailable and certify that determination
to the secretary of state.
(b) If a legislator is certified to be unavailable under
Subsection (a), the secretary of state shall notify the
legislator's emergency interim successor highest in order of
succession who is available that the emergency interim successor
is entitled to exercise the powers and duties of the legislator
who is unavailable. The secretary of state shall inform the
emergency interim successor of the date, time, and place at which
the legislature is meeting or will meet, as soon as that is
known. If the emergency interim successor declines to serve or
does not appear and begin to serve within a reasonable time as
determined by the lieutenant governor or speaker of the house, as
applicable, the secretary of state at the request of the
lieutenant governor or speaker shall notify the emergency interim
successor next in order of succession who is available that the
emergency interim successor is entitled to exercise the powers
and duties of the legislator who is unavailable.
(c) The emergency interim successor shall exercise the powers
and assume the duties of the legislator whom the individual
succeeds, except that the successor may not designate emergency
interim successors or make revisions to a designation.
(d) The emergency interim successor exercises those powers and
assumes those duties until the secretary of state notifies the
successor that the incumbent legislator, an emergency interim
successor higher in order of succession for the same position, or
a legislator elected to the same position and legally qualified
can act.
(e) Any dispute as to the qualification of an individual to
exercise the powers and assume the duties of a legislator under
this chapter shall be determined by the applicable house of the
legislature as provided by Section 8, Article III, Texas
Constitution.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
297, Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 304.009. PRIVILEGES, IMMUNITIES, AND COMPENSATION. (a) An
emergency interim successor who exercises the powers and assumes
the duties of an unavailable legislator is entitled to the
privileges, immunities, compensation, and other allowances to
which a legislator is entitled.
(b) This section does not affect the privileges, immunities,
compensation, or other allowances to which an incumbent
legislator is entitled.
(c) An emergency interim successor's performance of the powers
and duties of an unavailable legislator does not affect the
successor's entitlement to other compensation or benefits to
which the successor might otherwise be entitled. Section
812.203(a) does not apply to an individual serving as an
emergency interim successor under this chapter.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 179, Sec. 2(h), eff. Sept.
1, 1989.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
297, Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 304.010. DUTY TO REMAIN INFORMED. 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 informed.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Sec. 304.011. QUORUM; VOTES. In the event of an attack, the
quorum requirements imposed on the legislature are suspended. If
the affirmative vote of a specified proportion of members is
required to approve a bill or resolution, the same proportion of
those present and voting on the bill or resolution is sufficient
for its passage.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.