[Ayatollahgondola]

The Order of Succession
(or who's in charge after the big one hits)

For those of you who didn't tune in to SOS RADIO! on Tuesday July 31st, here is a condensed version of the show. The order of succession refers to the chain of command for the executive branch of the State of California, and who succedes them if they are killed or rendered unavailable due to war or enemy caused disaster.
Here are the dictating sections of the state constitution:

Article 5, section 10 of the California State Constitution,
"The Legislature shall provide an order of precedence after the Lieutenant Governor for succession to the office of Governor and for the temporary exercise of the Governor's functions."

Article 4, Section 21 of the California State Constitution.
"SEC. 21. To meet the needs resulting from war-caused or enemy-caused disaster in California, the Legislature may provide for: (a) Filling the offices of members of the Legislature should at least one fifth of the membership of either house be killed, missing, or disabled, until they are able to perform their duties or successors are elected. (b) Filling the office of Governor should the Governor be killed, missing, or disabled, until the Governor or the successor designated in this Constitution is able to perform the duties of the office of Governor or a successor is elected. (c) Convening the Legislature. (d) Holding elections to fill offices that are elective under this Constitution and that are either vacant or occupied by persons not elected thereto. (e) Selecting a temporary seat of state or county government."

The legislature enacted this section of the state government code to presumably comply with this, but I'm unsure:

12700. As used in this chapter "disaster" means a war or enemy-caused calamity, such as an attack by nuclear weapons, which renders unavailable the Lieutenant Governor, or the Attorney General, or the Secretary of State, or the Treasurer, or the Controller. "Unavailable" means that any such officer is either killed, missing or so seriously injured as to be unable to perform his duties.
12701. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this chapter, and thereafter as soon as practicable after his election and qualification to office, each of the constitutional officers named in Section 12700 shall appoint and designate by filing with the Secretary of State the names of at least three and not more than seven citizens qualified to become candidates to the office as their respective successors in the event that such officer is unavailable as a result of disaster. Any such appointee may be replaced by the appointing officer at any time and for any reason. The appointees of the Attorney General may include persons holding the Office of Assistant Attorney General. The appointees of the Controller, Secretary of State, and Treasurer may include persons holding office as their deputies or assistants. In making appointments each constitutional officer shall give consideration to the places of residence and employment of his appointees and shall appoint from different parts of the State so that for each office for which appointments are made there shall be the greatest probability of survival in the event of a disaster of some or all of the appointees. The names of the persons designated pursuant to this section shall be submitted to, and be subject to confirmation by, the Senate as soon as possible after such designation is made. Each person appointed as provided in this section shall take the oath of office and shall deliver to the Secretary of State within 30 days after his appointment a written declaration under oath that he accepts the appointment and that he will faithfully perform the obligations imposed upon him thereby.

OK, sounds like the constitutional officers named have a duty to name their successors. So we want to know who these appointed successors are. We filed a public records request:

California Secretary of State
Debrah Bowen
1500 11th street
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Public Records Act Request

To the custodian of public records,

I am requesting access to inspect the following records:

All documents relating to the current constitutional officer's designees /appointees that fulfill the requirements of section 12701 of the California Government Code. This would include the signed oaths of affirmation.

All documents relating to the term 2003 through 2010 constitutional officer's designees /appointees that fulfill the requirements of section 12701 of the California Government Code. This would include the signed oaths of affirmation.

Save Our State

After many days, here's what they came up with:

Dear Mr. Rodrigues:
Thank: you for contacting the California Secretary of State with your two requests for documents
under the California Public Records Act.
With regard to your request for all documents relating to the current Constitutional Officers'
designees/appointees to fulfill the requirements of California Government Code section 12701 if
the officer is unavailable as a result of war or enemy-caused calamity and oaths of affirmation
for those designees/appointees, we have reviewed our files and have no records responsive to
this request.

There were documents from the term before this one, however only for the state treasurer. In fact, further review going back two decades, the state treasurer has been the only consistent filers of these required documents. Some others have done it, Dan Lundgren, March Fong, Gray Davis, John Van DeKamp, and a few others, but that's going back some years.
This current regime there are none thus far. Not a good sign as this is mandatory, not elective.

Save Our State drafted letters of demand to each derelict officer, and delivered them to each respective office:

California State Attorney General
Kamala Harris
1300 I street
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: Compliance with State Government Code section 12707

Ms Harris,

The results of a public records act request are indicating you have not complied with California State Government Code section 12701, which requires you to submit names of successors to that California State Attorney General's office, to the California Secretary of State and for confirmation by the state senate. As a constituent and the executive of a citizen advocacy group, we respectfully demand that you comply with the law without further delay.

Thank you for your consideration

Davi Rodrigues


Acting Chairman
Save Our State

Then we drafted a petition to the Governor:

CIVIL PETITION

We The Undersigned, Do Hereby Petition:

Edmund G. Brown Jr, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of California
to consider the following, and to act using executive authority to remedy these grievances

Whereas this great state has an executive branch whose duties include the immediate management and caretaking of the State's citizens and residents during war caused disaster; and,

Whereas the Governor of this State is the commander of the State Militia, State Guard, and California National Guard; and,

Whereas many of California's citizens are currently performing their duties as soldiers in the California National Guard, The United States Army, The United States Marine Corp, The United States Air Force, and the United States Coast Guard; and,

Whereas those California citizens serving in those aforementioned military branches are doing so due to elevated threats to the security of this nation and this state; and,

Whereas those threats are so compelling that the President of the United States has ordered this state's citizen soldiers to battle in far away lands, infringed upon the citizen's 4th amendment rights, and signed into law the National Defense of America Act; and,

Whereas the previously aformentioned citizens/soldiers deserve a clearly known, stated, and understood chain of command should a disaster occur rendering the current chain of command at the executive level unavailable; and,

Whereas the State Legislature has provided section 12701 of the State Government Code directing the state's elected constitutional officers to appoint successors to their respective offices to act in their stead should a war caused disaster render them unavailable; and,

Whereas public records presently show that the current constitutional officers have failed to designate or appoint successors as prescribed by that state law; so,

We the undersigned, also signing for our own associates, do hereby respectfully request that you act using your executive authority under article 5, section 4; and under article 5, section 1, of the California State Constitution to compel the State's constitutional officers to remedy and correct this grievance

Signing for the following on this 30th day of July, 2012:

Save Our State, a California non-profit public benefit corporation
Jean E Mcleod - Chief Financial Officer
Davi Anthony Rodrigues - Chief Executive Officer
All Save Our State Associates So Designating Their Agreement

We have made further records requests in regards to the legislatures requirement to comply with the section of the constitution that says
"The Legislature shall provide an order of precedence after the Lieutenant Governor for succession to the office of Governor and for the temporary exercise of the Governor's functions."

We'll keep you advised when they answer.

I urge you all to either download or otherwise listen to the SOS RADIO broadcast recording from this evening because it goes into a bit more important detail, and explains why this is important

Listen now:
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web...49065&cmd=apop


Download and listen later:
http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-92684/TS-649065.mp3