A special election will be held for three state judicial seats recently vacated by sitting judges. The state Board of Elections set the special election to coincide with the general election on November 4, 2014.

The seats up for election are for the Court of Appeals, the Superior Court in Mecklenburg County, and the Superior Court in Alamance County.

Judicial races in North Carolina are nonpartisan, statewide races, where all judicial candidates appear on the statewide ballot with no party affiliation. Each race is determined by a plurality of votes.

Candidates must file with the Board of Elections by noon on August 8, 2014, in order to appear on the special election ballot.

The Charlotte City Council has appointed a new mayor after the abrupt resignation of former mayor Patrick Cannon following his arrest on federal corruption charges.

North Carolina State Senator Dan Clodfelter was named mayor of Charlotte and will be sworn-in on Wednesday. Clodfelter will become Charlotte’s fourth mayor since the spring of 2013. His term expires in December 2015.

Photo of the Charlotte, North Carolina Skyline by Riction on Wikimedia Commons.

Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned Wednesday amid allegations of federal public corruption and taking bribes. The allegations stem from Cannon, on several occasions, accepting over $48,000 of bribes from federal undercover agents posing as businessmen seeking city contracts.

If convicted on all charges, Cannon could face up to 50 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

Cannon held the mayoral office only four months; he was elected in November 2013.

Photo of the Charlotte, N.C. skyline by Riction on Wikimedia Commons.

The State Ethics Commission has called a public hearing to introduce new rules regarding lobbying complaints. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 9, 2014, at the Capehart Crocker House, Commission Meeting Room, 424 North Blount Street, Raleigh, North Carolina. Oral comments about the new rules will be accepted at this meeting.

Written comments should be directed to Pam Cashwell via U.S. mail at 1324 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699; via fax at (919) 716-1644; or via email at pam.cashwell@doa.nc.gov. The written comment period began March 17, 2014, and will end May 5, 2014.

With the appointment of Mel Watt to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the 12th Congressional District seat in North Carolina is vacant. Governor Pat McCrory announced that he will not call a special election for that seat, but instead will wait until the regularly scheduled primary and general elections, on May 6, 2014 and November 4, 2014, respectively.

The governor’s decision has caused much controversy as many North Carolina citizens feel they will be unrepresented in Congress for an unreasonable amount of time. The 12th District encompasses an area from Charlotte through High Point to Greensboro, containing approximately 700,000 citizens.

The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP has threatened a lawsuit against the state if Governor McCrory does not change his mind. McCrory’s decision to leave the seat vacant until the regularly scheduled 2014 elections is partly due to the large expense a special election typically costs taxpayers. Despite the threat of a lawsuit, McCrory has given no indication of calling a special election.

Governor Pat McCrory has issued a proclamation calling for a special session to convene at noon on September 3, 2013.

However, if a majority of legislators write declaring they do not want to meet, no session will occur.

The purpose of the session is to consider overriding the governor’s vetoes.

Gov. Pat McCrory signed a controversial bill into law and it will change how lobbyists are able to bundle contributions. McCrory signed House Bill 589 into law Monday. McCrory eschewed a typical signing ceremony and instead announced his approval with a 95-second YouTube clip. The bill, which has been heavily criticized by voter’s rights groups, will require, among other things, voters to show identification at the polls starting with the 2016 elections.

McCrory, in his YouTube clip said, “North Carolinians overwhelmingly support a common sense law that requires voters to present photo identification in order to cast a ballot. I am proud to sign this legislation into law. Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote.”

The bill also makes it illegal for lobbyists to collect checks from one or multiple donors and deliver them to state candidates. Previously, only collecting checks from multiple donors and delivering them to a state candidate was illegal. However, under the new law, collecting a single check from one donor and delivering it to a state candidate is not allowed either. This provision of the law will go into effect on October 1.

A state appellate court has ruled that a trial court judge must reconsider the state’s large fine for lobbying law violations. Don Beason, once considered one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, was originally fined $111,000 for a violation of the state’s disclosure policy for lobbyists. This fine was eventually reduced to $30,000 after the court ruled it was too large. Beason was working on overturning the state’s “Buy America” law for Sigma Corporation, a New Jersey company who imports foreign-made iron and steel.

The state claims Beason was paid with money funneled from an Indian iron exporters’ trade association and other companies through Sigma and Beason knew of this arrangement and failed to disclose. The trial court ruled that state law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees and there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone for these clients supposedly funneling money through Sigma.

The appellate court however found the trial court failed to consider a second aspect of Beason’s case; whether Beason’s activities for the client constituted lobbying. The trial court must rule on that issue and then can determine whether the state has the power to fine Beason.

There is no time frame on when the trial court will hear the second part of this case.

The first rule details when non-lobbyist employees must register as a lobbyist. In North Carolina, an employee must register as a lobbyist if a significant part of that employee’s job duties include lobbying. The new rules stipulate that this threshold is met if at least five percent of an employee’s duties include direct or goodwill lobbying during any rolling 30 day period. Once this threshold is met, the employee must register as a lobbyist within one business day.

The second rule explains what must be included when providing a description of a reportable expenditure for the lobbyist reports. The description must identify what was given, who the third party was that received the expenditure, and the name of the event or meeting where the expenditure was given.

The third rule describes how to determine the immediate family member who is connected with a reportable expenditure. On the reports, the name of the designated individual or immediate family member connected with the expenditure must be reported. The person that must be identified is the person who either received or benefited from the expenditure, or who requested the expenditure be made on someone’s behalf.

The fourth and final rule effecting lobbying details what must be reported in connection with a lobbying event. The entire cost of a lobbying event must be reported, rather than just the costs of any gifts given. Examples of the non-gift expenditures that must be reported include supplies, facility rental, food, name badges, flowers and other decorations, planning services, and all other expenses and charges incurred in connection with the lobbying event.

The North Carolina General Assembly will have a one-day special session January 9, 2013, before convening the regular session on January 30, 2013. This one-day special session is for both houses to elect officers, adopt rules and organize the upcoming session.

This is the first time the general assembly has decided to hold this one-day special organization session, but both parties have expressed interest in continuing the idea in the future.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

DELAWARE: The Delaware General Assembly adjourned sine die early in the morning on July 1, 2012.

NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on July 3, 2012.

Arizona: “Dismissal of Arizona redistricting lawsuit requested by commission” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Kansas: “Remove politics, and redistricting map falls in line” by Scott Rothschild in the Lawrence Journal World.

Kansas: “Redistricting hearings begin in Kansas City” by Andy Marso and Aly Van Dyke in the Topeka Capitol-Journal.

Missouri: “Missouri’s U.S. House and statehouse districts will remain, court rules” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

North Carolina: “N.C. group: Panel, not lawmakers, to draw districts” by the Associated Press in the Greensboro News & Record.

Texas: “Redistricting concerns remain in Texas” by Paul J. Weber in the Daily Oklahoman.

North Carolina citizens voted in the 2012 primary last night, but some races did not yield a true winner. According to state law, if no candidate receives 40% of the vote in a primary, a second primary (or runoff) election is needed.

Over 10 races, including republican races for Lieutenant Governor and three U.S. House seats, will be headed to a runoff election.

Thanks to a new law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly last year, the primary will be held 10 weeks following the first primary, rather than the usual seven weeks. The new law took effect, because at least one of the races headed to a runoff was a U.S. Congress seat.

The runoff election will take place on July 17, 2012.

Alaska:  “High court to hear redistricting petition” by The Associated Press in The Anchorage Daily News.

Kansas: “GOP redistricting fight could mean courts make final decision” by John Hanna (Associated Press) in the Lawrence Journal World.

North Carolina: “Redistricting sets stage for fall elections” by Emery Dalesio (Associated Press) in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Washington:  “Supreme Court upholds state redistricting plan” by Warren Kagarise in the Issaquah Press.