During an emergency, states may have the power to pass laws that would not normally be allowed for public safety reasons. These policies can include the ability to quickly deploy resources, streamline procedures and suspend rights. The nature of the threat can determine whether a state is declared in emergency or not, although there are many situations that can prompt a state to declare a state of emergency, including natural disasters, civil unrest, armed conflict and medical pandemics and epidemics.
States can also have statutory definitions for emergencies, which can be broad enough to cover most situations. For example, New Zealand’s Civil Defence Emergency Management Act gives the government and local-body councils the power to issue a state of emergency for the entire country or within a region, and it allows them to stop ordinary work and suspend services.
Declarations of a state of emergency can have significant impacts, especially when they are long-lasting. The Argentine Constitution, for example, allows the President to make regulations in cases of a state of siege—literally Estado de Siege—and this was often used by dictators to suppress internal opposition. In the United Kingdom, a monarch on the advice of the Privy Council can make such regulations, but they can only be extended for thirty days and Parliament must agree to continue them within seven days.
In the United States, a presidential proclamation of a state of emergency is not necessary for federal officials to provide assistance to states in distress. Most federal officials have existing broad powers to address emergencies by virtue of statutory authorities without a formal state of emergency being declared, and they can assist states even if their own states do not have an official proclamation of an emergency.