(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) "Disaster" means any happening that causes great harm or damage.

(2) "Emergency" means a sudden generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action.

(3) "Emergency interim successor" means a person designated pursuant to this Code section, in the event an officer is unavailable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of an office, until a successor is appointed or elected and qualified as may be prescribed by the Constitution, statutes, laws, charters, and ordinances of this state and its political subdivisions, or until the lawful incumbent or his successor is able to resume the exercise of the powers and the discharge of the duties of the office.

(4) "Local offices and local officers" means positions in the political subdivisions of the state.

(5) "Office" means the position of head of any and all departments, agencies, boards, or commissions of the state or any of its political subdivisions; all constitutional General Assembly offices; all constitutional and other county offices; all of the judgeships of the state and its political subdivisions; and all of the positions in the legislative departments of the state or its political subdivisions.

(6) "Officer" means the individual who shall hold an office.

(7) "Political subdivisions" means cities, counties, towns, villages, authorities, and any other bodies created by the state and exercising any of the governmental powers of the state.

(8) "State office" and "state officer" mean positions in the government of this state.

(9) "Unavailable" means either that a vacancy in an office exists as the result of any emergency as defined in paragraph (2) of this subsection and there is no deputy or other successor authorized to exercise all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of the office, or that the lawful incumbent of the office, including any deputy exercising the powers and discharging the duties of an office because of a vacancy, and his duly authorized deputy are absent or unable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office.

(b) All state officers shall within 30 days after taking office, in addition to any deputy authorized pursuant to law to exercise all of the powers and discharge the duties of office, designate by title individuals as emergency interim successors and specify their order of succession. The officer shall review and revise, as necessary, designations made pursuant to this Code section to ensure their current status. The officer will designate a sufficient number of such emergency interim successors so that there will be not less than three nor more than seven deputies or emergency interim successors or any combination thereof at any time. In the event that any state officer is unavailable following an emergency or disaster and in the event his deputy, if any, is also unavailable, the powers of his office shall be exercised and the duties of his office shall be discharged by his designated emergency interim successors in the order specified. The emergency successors shall exercise the powers and discharge the duties only until such time as the Governor under the Constitution or authority other than this Code section, or other official authorized under the Constitution or this Code section to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office of Governor, may, where a vacancy exists, appoint a successor to fill the vacancy or until a successor is otherwise appointed or elected and qualified as provided by law, or until an officer or his deputy or a preceding named emergency interim successor becomes available to exercise or resume the exercise of the powers and discharge the duties of his office.

(c) All emergency interim successors designated under this Code section shall have the same qualifications as are prescribed by law for the officer by whom they are designated.

(d) Designations of emergency interim successors to state officers shall become official upon the officer filing a list of the successors with the Secretary of State, who shall inform the Governor, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, all emergency interim successors to the officer involved, and the judge of the probate court of the county of legal residence of the successors of all such designations and any changes therein. Any designation of an emergency interim successor may be changed or altered by the officer concerned filing a notice of the change or alteration with the Secretary of State.

(e) All constitutional county officers shall within 30 days after taking office, in addition to any deputy authorized pursuant to law to exercise all the powers and discharge the duties of the office, designate by title individuals as emergency interim successors and specify their order of succession. The successors shall have the same powers, duties, and qualifications as specified by subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section for successors to state officers. Designations of the successors shall be made in the same manner as prescribed for successors to state officers in subsection (d) of this Code section.

(f) The legislative bodies of all political subdivisions of the state are authorized and directed to provide by ordinance or resolution for emergency interim successors for the officers of the political subdivisions. The resolutions and ordinances shall not be inconsistent with this Code section.

(g) At the time of their designation, emergency interim successors shall take such oath as may be required for them to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of the office to which they may succeed. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person, as a prerequisite to the exercise of the powers or discharge of the duties of an office to which he succeeds, shall be required to comply with any other provision of law relative to taking office.

(h) Emergency interim successors shall receive the same compensation as is paid the officer by whom they are appointed. The compensation shall be paid only during such time as a successor shall exercise the powers of the officer by whom he has been designated. (i) Governmental powers shall be exercised by emergency interim successors appointed under this Code section only during a period of emergency or disaster, as defined by this Code section.