(a) Service.
(1) Service may be made in the following ways:
(A) Personally, by any individual who is not a party to the matter and is at least 18 years of age, including any Commission employee other than the Executive Director or the Director of Enforcement;
(B) By first-class, certified, registered, or overnight mail; or
(C) By another method agreed upon by the parties, such as electronic mail.
(2) Service is completed in the following ways:
(A) Personal service is complete when a copy of the document is delivered to the named person at the named person’s residence or office, the office of the named person’s attorney, or the office of the named person’s designated agent for service of process.
(i) When delivered to an office, the document must be left with a clerk, with an individual in charge of the office, or in a conspicuous place in the office.
(ii) When delivered to the named person’s residence, the document must be left with an individual of suitable age and discretion who resides there.
(B) Service by mail is complete upon mailing.
(C) Service by another method is complete when the criteria agreed upon by the parties have been met.
(b) Filings. A filing is complete when the document or complaint is received by the party to whom it must be submitted.
(c) Confidentiality.
(1) Unless they are deemed public by another provision of these regulations, records and information relating to an enforcement matter are confidential and not subject to disclosure as required to preserve the confidentiality mandated by Charter Section 706.
(2) Records and information may be disclosed to a respondent, an individual designated in writing by a respondent as the respondent’s counsel or representative, a witness, a court, a prosecution or law enforcement agency, or otherwise as necessary to conduct an investigation.
(3) Commission staff may periodically report the number and types of enforcement cases, as well as other statistical enforcement data, to the members of the Commission.
(d) Cooperation. All persons shall timely cooperate with Commission investigations. Examples of what may constitute cooperation include the following:
(1) Complying with a request for information, a request for interviews, a subpoena, and a subpoena duces tecum in accordance with applicable law.
(2) Providing complete, truthful and, during investigations and formal proceedings, sworn statements.
(e) Reporting. As required by Section 20.60.4, all City departments and appointed offices shall report to the Commission on matters involving potential fraud, waste, or abuse within ten days after discovery. All City departments and appointed offices shall also report to the Commission on matters involving a potential violation of the campaign finance, governmental ethics, conflict of interests, or lobbying laws within ten days after discovery, except as prohibited by applicable law.
(f) Sanctions.
(1) A person is subject to contempt sanctions for any of the following:
(A) Disobeying or resisting a lawful order of the Commission or the hearing officer without substantial justification.
(B) Failing or refusing to timely comply with a lawful discovery order, subpoena, or subpoena duces tecum without substantial justification.
(C) Refusing to take the oath or affirmation as a witness or, after doing so, refusing to be examined.
(D) Engaging in disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior toward the hearing officer during the hearing.
(E) Breaching the peace or engaging in boisterous or violent conduct during the hearing.
(F) Unlawfully obstructing, interrupting or interfering with the hearing or investigation.
(2) The hearing officer or Director of Enforcement may request that the superior court impose contempt sanctions.
(A) The hearing officer or Director of Enforcement shall certify the facts that justify a contempt sanction.
(B) The superior court may issue an order directing the person to appear at a specified time and place and show cause why the person should not be punished for contempt.
(C) The court order and the certified statement shall be served on the person. Upon service, the superior court has jurisdiction over the contempt matter.
(D) The same procedures apply and the same penalties may be imposed as if the person had committed contempt in the trial of a civil action before the superior court.
(g) Deadlines. If a deadline identified in this chapter falls on a City holiday, a Saturday, or a Sunday, the deadline shall be moved to the next business day.
(h) Public Meetings. When the members of the Commission must act as a body, the action must be taken at a public meeting.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,907, Eff. 4-2-14.
Amended by: Ord. No. 185,034, Eff. 8-14-17.