(a) Appointments required to be made pursuant to section 256 of this title in the month of February, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be valid if made and confirmed at any time during the then regular biennial session of the General Assembly. If not made and confirmed in such month of February, the term of office of the person appointed and confirmed thereafter shall extend to and include the day whereon his or her term would expire had he or she been appointed and confirmed in such month of February.

(b) When a vacancy occurs in an office requiring appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate, an appointment may be made to fill the vacancy. If the appointment to fill the vacancy is made during any adjournment of the General Assembly the person appointed may validly function in that office during adjournment until the Senate convenes at the next regular, adjourned, or special session and acts upon the appointment submitted forthwith by the Governor; or if the appointment to fill the vacancy is made during any session of the General Assembly, the person appointed may validly function in that office until the Senate shall act upon the appointment submitted forthwith by the Governor. Thereafter the appointee shall continue in office if the Senate consents to the appointment. (Amended 1975, No. 84, § 2, eff. April 24, 1975; 1977, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.).)