(a) Creation and composition. There is hereby created the ethics advisory commission, to be composed of 15 members appointed by the city council as a whole. The mayor shall appoint the chair, and the full city council shall appoint two vice-chairs. Regular meetings of the commission shall be attended by a quorum of the entire 15-member commission.
(b) Evidentiary hearing panels.
(1) Once an information has been submitted to the commission for an evidentiary hearing, the city secretary shall select hearing panel members on a random basis, subject to availability, to hear and adjudicate the information. The panel chair shall meet a special qualification requirement and shall act as the presiding officer of the panel. Hearing panels must include at least one other member meeting the special qualifications requirements. Only one panel may hear and adjudicate a particular ethics complaint. If a case is withdrawn and subsequently refiled, it must be returned to the panel to which it was originally assigned.
(2) The city secretary shall randomly assign commissioners to evidentiary hearing panels, except that:
(A) an information in which the complainant or respondent is a city council member shall not be heard or adjudicated by a panel whose membership includes the commissioner nominated by that city council member; and
(B) the city secretary shall make reasonable efforts to select commissioners who did not sit on the most recent evidentiary hearing panel.
(3) To the greatest extent practicable, the panels must reflect the geographic and ethnic diversity of the city.
(c) Terms of office. Each member of the commission shall be appointed for a two-year term beginning on October 1 of each odd-numbered year. All members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(d) Qualifications.
(1) Except as provided in this article, each member of the ethics advisory commission shall meet the requirements of Chapter 8 of the city code. Additionally, at least six members of the ethics advisory commission must meet a minimum of one of the following special qualifications:
(A) Possess a juris doctorate degree from an institution accredited by the American Bar Association.
(B) Formerly served as a Justice of the Peace.
(C) Currently or formerly employed as a professor or instructor at an institution of higher learning in the following disciplines:
(i) Ethics.
(ii) Criminal justice.
(D) Currently or formerly employed as an ethics officer, or similar position, in a public or private organization, aligning the practices of that organization with the stated ethical standards of the organization or enforcing the ethical standards or codes of the organization.
(2) At least two members meeting the special qualifications must be assigned to each five-member panel.
(3) No member of the commission may be:
(A) serving as a city official in another capacity or the relative of a person serving as a city official in another capacity;
(B) a city employee or the relative of a city employee;
(C) an elected public official;
(D) a candidate for elected public office;
(E) a person who, for compensation, represents the private interests of others before the city council;
(F) a paid campaign worker or a political consultant of a current city council member; or
(a) Jurisdiction.
(1) The ethics advisory commission shall have jurisdiction to review and make findings concerning any alleged violation of the laws, ordinances, and rules listed in Paragraph (2) by any person subject to those laws, ordinances, or rules, including but not limited to current city officials and employees, former city officials and employees, and persons doing business with the city.
(2) The ethics advisory commission may consider violations of the following laws, ordinances, and rules:
(B) Chapter 12A, "Code of Ethics," of the Dallas City Code;
(C) Chapter 15A, "Elections," of the Dallas City Code, except to the extent that Chapter 15A is administered and enforced by the Texas Ethics Commission;
(D) the second sentence of Chapter XVI, Section 16(a) of the city charter, which reads "No officer or employee of the city shall directly or indirectly, in any way be required to contribute to any political campaign, political party, organization which supports candidates for public office, or for any partisan political purpose whatsoever";
(E) Chapter XXII, Section 11, "Financial Interest of Employee or Officer Prohibited," of the city charter;
(F) Chapter XXIV, Section 1, "No Officer or Employee to Accept Gift, Etc., From Public Utility," of the city charter;
(G) Chapter IV, Section 5(b)(5), "Districts and Redistricting," of the city charter;
(H) Texas Local Government Code Chapter 145, "Financial Disclosure by and Standards of Conduct for Local Government Officers," as amended;
(I) Texas Local Government Code Chapter 171, "Regulation of Conflicts of Interest of Officers of Municipalities, Counties, and Certain Other Local Governments," as amended;
(J) Texas Local Government Code Chapter 176, "Disclosure of Certain Relationships with Local Government Officers; Providing Public Access to Certain Information," as amended;
(K) Section 212.017, "Conflict of Interest; Penalty," of Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212, "Municipal Regulation of Subdivisions and Property Development," as amended;
(L) conflicts of interest and gift regulations applicable to local government recipients of federal grants, including Subsection (c) of Section 200.318 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended; and
(M) any other city rule or city code or city charter provision pertaining to the ethical conduct of city officials or employees.
(b) Statute of limitations. The commission may not consider any alleged or suspected violation that occurred more than one year before the date of the filing of a complaint or more than one year before the initiation of an investigation by the inspector general. The inspector general shall not accept, process, or investigate any complaint that is filed more than one year after the date of the alleged or suspected violation. This statute of limitations is tolled during any time an investigation is halted due to ongoing criminal or civil litigation in accordance with Section 12A-47
(b)(3).
(c) Termination of city official's or employee's duties. The termination of a city official's or employee's duties does not affect the jurisdiction of the ethics advisory commission with respect to alleged violations occurring prior to the termination of the official's or employee's official duties.
(d) Powers. The ethics advisory commission has only the following powers:
(1) To establish, amend, and rescind rules and procedures governing its own internal organization and operations in a manner and form consistent with this article.
(2) To meet as often as necessary to fulfill its responsibilities.
(3) To request from the city manager through the city council the appointment of such staff as is necessary to carry out the duties of the commission.
(4) To review and dispose of informations brought by the inspector general.
(5) To make findings of fact as necessary for the disposition of an information.
(6) To approve, reject, or modify settlement agreements between the inspector general and respondents.
(7) To review invoices submitted by outside council and determine whether the legal fees and costs are reasonable and necessary in accordance with Section 12A-48(b).
(8) To make notifications and extend deadlines within the jurisdiction of the ethics advisory commission.
(9) To advise and make recommendations to the city council concerning the city's ethics code and ethics policies.
(10) To make determinations that complainants are vexatious, make findings of facts, and sanction persons who are deemed vexatious complainants.
(11) Such other powers as are specifically granted in this chapter or by the city council.
(e) Subpoenas.
(1) The ethics advisory commission has the power to issue subpoenas in accordance with Section 2-8 to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of testimony and evidence.
(2) At least 14 working days before the hearing, each party may file with the city secretary a request for subpoena of witnesses and documents, in accordance with this subsection:
(A) The request for subpoena of witnesses and documents must include:
(i) the name and address of each witness to be subpoenaed;
(ii) if documents are being subpoenaed, the specific identification of books, papers, documents, or other tangible things sought to be subpoenaed.
(B) The party requesting the subpoena shall notify the subpoenaed witness of postponements, rescheduling, and appearance times.
(C) Either party may object to a subpoena request within seven working days after receiving notice of the subpoena request. Objections to subpoenas must be in writing, submitted to the city secretary, and copied to the opposing party, who has three working days after receipt of the objections to respond in writing to the substantive reasons for the objection.
(D) The city secretary shall forward the written objections and the response to the objections, if any, to the ethics advisory commission panel chair for resolution. If the panel chair is unavailable, the objections must be ruled upon by his or her designee, who shall be a member of the hearing panel.
(E) Each party shall organize and number the responsive information ("the released documents") before turning it over to the city secretary. The released documents must be provided within an amount of time determined by the panel chair or, if no objections are filed, in an amount of time determined by the city secretary. The city secretary shall provide a complete copy of the released documents to both parties of the hearing, at the expense of the party who issued the subpoena for the documents.
(F) The individual picking up the released documents must sign for the produced information. The requesting party has three working days to submit, in writing, any objections to the completeness of the released documents. The producing party has three working days to respond, in writing, to the substantive reasons for the requesting party's objections. The city secretary shall maintain one complete copy of the released documents, to allow the panel chair to fully assess and rule on any objections to the completeness of compliance with the subpoena.
(G) The city secretary shall forward the objections and any response to the objections to the panel chair for resolution. If the panel chair is unavailable, the objections will be ruled upon by his or her designee, who shall be a member of the hearing panel.
(H) Decisions rendered by the panel chair (or his or her designee, if applicable) regarding subpoenas or responsive information are final and are not subject to further appeal.
(I) After all decisions have been rendered by the panel chair regarding the scope of documents to be released pursuant to a subpoena, the city secretary shall provide a complete copy of the released documents to both parties of the hearing, at the expense of the party who issued the subpoena for the documents.
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