[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2031 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2031

 To authorize the States to implement such mechanisms as are necessary 
in a time of national crisis to ensure the continuity of the Senate in 
    the event that a quorum of the Senate is not present due to the 
  inability of the members of the Senate to discharge the powers and 
                        duties of their office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 27, 2004

    Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Lott) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                        Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the States to implement such mechanisms as are necessary 
in a time of national crisis to ensure the continuity of the Senate in 
    the event that a quorum of the Senate is not present due to the 
  inability of the members of the Senate to discharge the powers and 
                        duties of their office.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Continuity of the Senate Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. INCAPACITIES IN THE SENATE FOLLOWING A CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT.

    (a) In General.--In the event that the Senate ascertains that a 
quorum of the Senate is not present, the Majority Leader and Minority 
Leader of the Senate, or their designees, may jointly determine that 
such absence of a quorum is caused by the inability of the members of 
the Senate to discharge the powers and duties of the office during a 
time of national crisis.
    (b) State Laws.--The legislature of each State may enact such laws 
as the State determines necessary declaring who shall serve in the 
place of members that are determined to be unable to discharge the 
powers and duties of the office under subsection (a).

SEC. 3. LIMITATION.

    Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of any State under 
the Constitution of the United States to fill a vacancy in the Senate.
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