The Tap: Monday, November 28, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022. The excerpts below were compiled from issue #44 of The Tap, which was published on December 3, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• The U.S. Supreme Court reconvened for its December sitting, hearing argument in Beckles v. United States. In 2015, the court held in Johnson v. United States that the language of the Armed Career Criminal Act's (ACCA) residual clause defining "violent felony" was unconstitutionally vague. That clause defined "violent felony," in part, as a crime where "conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another" was present. Travis Beckles was convicted of a crime constituting a "crime of violence" under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines define "crime of violence," in part, as a crime that "otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another." Beckles argued that this language was substantively similar to, and as unconstitutionally vague as, the language in the ACCA that was struck down in Johnson.

• President-elect Trump met with retired General David Petraeus. Petraeus, the former director of the CIA, is considered a top candidate for the position of secretary of state. Petraeus, who oversaw military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, is on probation until April 2017 for sharing classified information with Paula Broadwell. In January 2016, Trump expressed support for Petraeus. Columnist and political commentator Charles Krauthammer called Petraeus “a spectacular choice,” saying the former general “to the world represents America at its strongest and most decisive.” Petraeus would be the second retired general appointed to a high-level position in Trump’s administration.

State

• South Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Hugh Leatherman (R) announced that he would seek re-election to his current leadership position and released a separate statement several hours later stating, "I will not leave my Senate seat to serve as Lieutenant Governor." Current Lt. Governor Henry McMaster (R) is first in line to succeed Gov. Nikki Haley (R) if she is confirmed as United Nations ambassador, a post to which she was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump (R). According to South Carolina state law, the Senate president pro tempore succeeds the lieutenant governor in the event of a vacancy. Leatherman is not required by state law to assume the lieutenant governorship; if he refuses and is re-elected, the office may remain vacant until the next election in 2018. The lieutenant governorship is not considered a powerful position in the South Carolina state government, especially compared to the state senate president pro tempore.
  • A proposed alternative to this line of succession is found in a 2012 constitutional amendment that was designed to give the governor the power to appoint the lieutenant governor in the event of a vacancy and make other election-related changes. The text of the legislation stated the amendment would first apply to the 2018 general election. State Rep. Jim Merrill (R) has claimed that the provision allowing the governor to appoint a replacement lieutenant governor would apply in the current situation. Others have stated that the entire amendment does not take effect until after 2018. Sen. Tom Davis (R) requested a motion to change the language of the 2012 amendment to clarify that it was meant to go into effect after 2018. If the motion fails and the amendment is invoked to allow McMaster to appoint his own successor, Davis said he would file a lawsuit with the South Carolina Supreme Court. South Carolina is one of 23 Republican trifectas.
• Governor-elect Doug Burgum (R) selected Michelle Kommer to serve as North Dakota commissioner of labor. Kommer will be taking over for former commissioner Troy Seibel, who resigned and will begin serving as the chief deputy attorney general of North Dakota on December 1, 2016.
• Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) appointed two new justices to the Arizona Supreme Court. These appointments will increase the number of justices from five to seven, in accordance with a law passed in May 2016. The governor selected Arizona Solicitor General John Lopez and Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Andrew Gould. These are Ducey’s second and third appointments to the state’s high court. Lopez and Gould will join the court within the next two months and must stand for retention by voters in 2018 to win full six-year terms on the state supreme court bench.
  • Georgia has also expanded its supreme court from seven justices to nine. Governor Nathan Deal (R) appointed two new justices and one successor justice to the court on November 9, during election week. To fill the two new seats on the court, Deal appointed Georgia Solicitor General Britt Grant and Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Nels Peterson. To succeed retiring Chief Justice Hugh Thompson, Deal appointed Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs. All three will take the bench on January 1, 2017, and must stand for election in 2018 in order to win full six-year terms.

Local

• In North Carolina, the Charlotte City Council voted 8-2 to approve a $94 million contract for streetcar construction. The work is set to begin in 2017 and is slated to end by the summer of 2020. The new construction will more than double the existing 1.5-mile streetcar route known as the Gold Line. The Gold Line project first began in 2009, and votes on the matter have largely followed partisan lines. The two dissenting votes on this next phase were by the two Republican members of the council, Kenny Smith and Ed Driggs. Both council members are up for election in November 2017. Charlotte is the 16th-largest city in the United States by population and the largest in North Carolina.