Legislation approved by the state Senate doesn’t provide for successors to state lawmakers in the event of enemy attack. State Senator Bob Jauch says the bill (SB 227) still provides for a virtual legislature and legislative committees, and a temporary seat of government for the legislature. “We are restricted by statute to actually meet in Madison, not necessarily in this building, but to meet in Madison,” Jauch explained. “We’ll change this to enable there to be an alternative location of their is an emergency where government has to continue to function.”
Senator Bob Jauch (1:30 MP3) AUDIO: Senator Bob Jauch (1:30 MP3)
Lawmakers could not reach agreement on how their successors might be selected. Jauch says hopefully, it will never come to that. “If there is an event that precipitates the need for us to recognize the problem, it will be a real calamity,” said Jauch, who noted that several states have legislator succession plans in place which date from the Cold War era.