These laws exist in every political subdivision of the United States. They vary in strength only on the way they are written, and for the limited number of cases that have been able to challenge them.
A state of emergency places control of all government operations soley in the hand of the Chief Elected Official for the political subdivision, the only control is from a higher-level political subdivision. This person may or may not be educated in legal issues, emergency issues, or have any interest in this subject, although it is a critical part of the job of a leader.
At least, this is my understanding. Always good for these people to have competent legal council around.
Absolutely correct and a part of the National Incident Management Plan. It's a long read, but worth a look:
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/NIMS is a defacto alternative governance plan for the USA.
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