(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 If a case is withdrawn and subsequently refiled, it must be returned to the panel to which it was originally assigned.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