Executive Order  No. 490: Mandating preparation, review, updating, and electronic management of Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans

WHEREAS, the security and well-being of the people of the Commonwealth depend on our ability to ensure continuity of government;

WHEREAS, effective preparedness planning requires the identification of functions that must be performed during an emergency and the assignment of responsibility for developing and implementing plans for performing those functions;

WHEREAS, to accomplish these aims each secretariat within the executive department was directed to develop a Continuity of Government plan identifying an official line of succession for vital positions, prioritizing essential functions, designating alternate command sites, and establishing procedures for safeguarding personnel and resources; and each secretariat and agency within the executive department was directed to develop a Continuity of Operations Plan establishing emergency operating procedures, delegating specific emergency authority to key personnel, establishing reliable, interoperable communications, and providing for the safekeeping of critical systems, records, and databases;

WHEREAS, Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans have been developed by the Office of the Governor and every secretariat and agency within the executive department and all one hundred and two of these plans are currently stored in paper form at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency;

WHEREAS, to achieve a maximum state of readiness, these plans should be incorporated into the daily operations of every secretariat and agency in the executive department, and should be reviewed on a regular basis and, with respect to agencies supplying services critical in times of emergency, exercised regularly;

WHEREAS, to allow greater access to these plans, ensure their security and sustainability, and encourage more active participation and review by the secretariats and agencies, they should be maintained on a secure online database; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are collaborating with the Information Technology Department to develop an online tool and database to maintain these Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § I, Art. I, do hereby revoke Executive Order 475 and order as follows:

Section 1. Each secretariat and agency within the executive department shall continue to consider emergency preparedness functions in the conduct of its regular operations, particularly those functions which would be critical in a time of emergency.

Section 2. The Secretary of Public Safety and Security (hereinafter, "the Secretary"), in his discretion, shall designate secretariats and agencies as either critical or non-critical for the purpose of determining the detail, frequency of submission, and testing of Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans.

Section 3. The Secretary shall notify all secretariats and agencies of the completion of the online Continuity of Operation / Continuity of Government tool and database (hereinafter, "the online tool"). Within 120 days of notification of completion of the online tool, each secretariat and agency shall submit, via the online tool, the appropriate Continuity of Government plan and/or Continuity of Operations plan based upon its critical or non-critical designation.

Section 4. If the Secretary designates a secretariat or agency as critical, then that secretariat or agency shall regularly, and in no event less than once per calendar year, conduct trainings and exercises to put into practice its submitted Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans.

Section 5. These trainings and exercises shall be designed to simulate emergency situations which may arise, and shall be designed to test the effectiveness of the various components of the Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans. These exercises must, at a minimum, include transfer of command functions to an emergency relocation site and the use of emergency communication systems.

Section 6. Each designated critical secretariat within the executive department shall incorporate findings from these trainings and exercises into its Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans, and based on these findings, shall regularly, and in no event less than once per calendar year, update these plans using the online tool. Likewise, each designated critical agency within the executive department shall incorporate findings from these trainings and exercises into its Continuity of Operations plan, and based on these findings, shall regularly, and in no event less than once per calendar year, update its Continuity of Operations plan using the online tool. In addition, each critical secretariat and agency shall submit an annual report to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security detailing the trainings and exercises conducted and the actions taken to incorporate the findings of such trainings and exercises into updated Continuity of Government and Continuity of Operations plans.

Section 7. Each non-critical agency within the executive department shall conduct activities on an annual basis that support the implementation of its Continuity of Operations plan, including but not limited to ensuring that the plan is current and viable, and shall regularly, and in no event less than once per calendar year, update these plans using the online tool. In addition, each non-critical agency shall submit an annual report to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security detailing the actions taken to implement such plan.

Section 8. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security shall submit an annual report to the Office of the Governor regarding the status of the Continuity of Government plan of each secretariat within the executive department, and the status of the Continuity of Operations plan of each secretariat and agency within the executive department.

Section 9. This Executive Office shall continue in effect until amended, superseded, or revoked by subsequent Executive Order.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 26th day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and seven and of the Independence of the United States two hundred and thirty-one.

DEVAL L. PATRICK
GOVERNOR
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
Secretary of the Commonwealth