2020 Georgia Code
Title 38 - Military, Emergency Management, and Veterans Affairs
Chapter 3 - Emergency Management
Article 2 - Organization and Administration
§ 38-3-20. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Created; Director; Staff; Offices; Director's Duties; Disaster Coordinator

1. There is established the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency with a director of emergency management and homeland security who shall be the head thereof. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency shall be assigned to the Office of Planning and Budget for administrative purposes only as provided in Code Section 50-4-3.
2. The Governor shall appoint the director of emergency management and homeland security. He or she shall hold office at the pleasure of the Governor, who shall fix his or her compensation. The director of emergency management and homeland security shall hold no other state office.
3. The director may employ such professional, technical, clerical, stenographic, and other personnel, may fix their compensation, and may make such expenditures within the appropriation therefor, or from other funds made available for purposes of emergency management and homeland security, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of Article 9 of Chapter 3 of Title 35; Article 1, this article, and Article 3 of this chapter; and the duties of the agency and the director described in Part 4 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46, the "Georgia Emergency Telephone Number 9-1-1 Service Act of 1977," as amended.
4. The director and other personnel of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency shall be provided with appropriate office space, furniture, equipment, supplies, stationery, and printing in the same manner as provided for personnel of other state agencies.
5. The director, subject to the direction and control of the Governor, shall:
   1. Be the executive head of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and shall be responsible to the Governor for carrying out the program for emergency management and homeland security in this state;
   2. Serve as the central authority reporting to the Governor on all matters relating to homeland security;
   3. Have authority over areas involving imminent or current terrorist activity within this state, including, but not limited to, leading and directing the actions of the Homeland Security Task Force and the Emergency Operations Command where such Emergency Operations Command shall not usurp the operational authority of participating agencies but shall be responsible only for coordinating the public safety response to natural disasters, homeland security activities, and other emergencies within the state;
   4. Coordinate the activities of all organizations for emergency management and homeland security within the state;
   5. Maintain liaison with and cooperate with emergency management agencies and organizations of other states and of the federal government;
   6. Through risk and threat assessments, coordinate plans for timely and complete responses through a network of state, local, and federal organizations, including, but not limited to, the coordination of efficient and timely flow of information;
   7. Be responsible for crisis and consequence management planning, including, but not limited to, measures to identify, acquire, and plan the use of resources needed to anticipate, prevent, or resolve a threat or act of terrorism;
   8. Coordinate and review activities involving homeland security within any agency, authority, or entity of this state, including, but not limited to, homeland security activities found within the Department of Public Safety, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia National Guard, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Community Health, and the Department of Public Health;
   9. Evaluate information developed by the criminal justice community in regard to threats or potential threats of terrorism;
   10. Serve as this state's security manager for the purpose of identifying and processing state personnel for security clearances through the United States Department of Homeland Security; and
   11. Have such additional authority, duties, and responsibilities authorized by Article 1, this article, and Article 3 of this chapter as may be prescribed by the Governor and such additional authority, duties, and responsibilities as described in Article 9 of Chapter 3 of Title 35 and Part 4 of Article 2 of Chapter 5 of Title 46, the "Georgia Emergency Telephone Number 9-1-1 Service Act of 1977," as amended.
6. The director of emergency management and homeland security shall also be the disaster coordinator and shall act for the Governor when requested to do so.

(Ga. L. 1951, p. 224, § 4; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 171, § 2; Ga. L. 1981, p. 389, § 2; Ga. L. 1985, p. 468, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1258, § 3; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1017, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 372, § 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 660, § 7/HB 470; Ga. L. 2016, p. 91, § 6/SB 416; Ga. L. 2018, p. 681, § 1-2/HB 779.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, throughout this Code section, inserted "and Homeland Security" and inserted "and homeland security"; in the middle of subsection (c), inserted "Article 9 of Chapter 3 of Title 35,"; and rewrote subsection (e).

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted "Title 35; Article 1, this article, and Article 3 of this chapter; and" for "Title 35, Article 1, this article, and Article 3 of this chapter," in the middle of subsection (c); substituted the present provisions of paragraph (e)(3) for the former provisions, which read: "Have command and control authority over all operational areas involving terrorist activity within this state, including, but not limited to, the Homeland Security Task Force and the Homeland Security Central Command when activated by the Governor;"; substituted "Through risk and threat assessments, coordinate" for "Oversee all risk and threat assessments and coordinate all" at the beginning of paragraph (e)(6); in paragraph (e)(8), deleted "all" preceding "activities" near the beginning, and deleted "oversight of" following "but not limited to," in the middle; deleted "and" at the end of paragraph (e)(9); added paragraph (e)(10); and redesignated former paragraph (e)(10) as present paragraph (e)(11).

- Department of Defense generally, § 38-2-130 et seq.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Deputy director not subject to merit system.

- Deputy director of emergency management is not subject to merit system coverage because of the provisions of subsection (b). 1963-65 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 7 (issued prior to 1985 amendment, which substituted references to executive director for references to deputy director).

Position of deputy director for emergency management, being specifically excluded by law from the classified service, is not counted against the five discretionary positions which the adjutant general may designate for inclusion in the unclassified service. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-81 (issued prior to 1985 amendment, which substituted references to executive director for references to deputy director).