§ 2 — Declaration of purpose and findings

§ 2. Declaration of purpose and findings. The legislature hereby finds\nthat there exists a serious danger that this state will be subjected to\nenemy attack, including attack by atomic bombs or other radiological\nweapons.\n On December sixteenth, nineteen hundred fifty, because of the grave\nthreat to national security, the president of the United States declared\na state of national emergency, summoning all state and local leaders and\nofficials to cooperate fully with the military and civil defense\nagencies of the United States.\n The federal civil defense act of nineteen hundred fifty passed by\ncongress on January second, nineteen hundred fifty-one and signed by the\npresident on January twelfth, nineteen hundred fifty-one, as amended by\npublic law eighty-five-six hundred six declares it to be the policy and\nintent of the congress that the responsibility for civil defense shall\nbe vested jointly in the federal government and the states and their\npolitical subdivisions.\n Nations with communist governments presently dominate one-third of the\npopulation of the world. Some of these nations have aided and assisted\nthe nations which have perpetrated aggression in Korea. Acts of\ncommunist aggression have occurred in other parts of Asia and in Europe.\n These communist governments have conducted incessant propaganda\nattacks upon the United States and have engaged in repeated\ndemonstrations of hostility. The president of the United States has\nstated that in one of these nations there has occurred an atomic\nexplosion. Our military leaders have informed us that these nations\npossess bombers capable of flying an atomic bomb to any point in the\nstate of New York.\n The national security resources board has in its plan for organizing\ncivil defense stated that an atomic bomb exploded in a large city can\ndestroy virtually all property and lives within a radius of\nthree-fourths of a mile from the point of explosion and cause great\ndamage at even greater distance. It is estimated that a single such\nexplosion would kill nearly eighty thousand persons and severely injure\nmany more.\n In view of the professed determination of the government of the United\nStates to resist further communist aggression, and because of the\nlikelihood of resort to atomic and radiological weapons in the event of\nfurther conflict between this nation and communist aggressors, the peril\nto the people of this state is sufficiently great that the precautions\nembodied in this act must be taken.\n The present inadequate size of our armed forces, their lack of\nequipment, critical shortages in essential goods and certain production\nfacilities make necessary intensified mobilization to the end that the\ndefense of the United States be strengthened as speedily as possible.\nUnder all of the circumstances it is obvious that the enormity of the\ndefense effort which must be made by the United States will cause great\ndislocation to its normal economy. One of the further purposes of this\nact is to minimize the hardship resulting from these dislocations, and\nto permit the fullest participation by the people of this state in the\ndefense effort.\n It is the purpose of this legislation to meet these dangers and\nproblems with the least possible interference with the existing division\nof the powers of the government and the least possible infringement of\nthe liberties of the people, including the freedom of speech, press and\nassembly.\n