Ethics Commission. | |
Executive Director and Commission Staff. | |
Rules and Regulations. | |
Conflict of Interest. | |
Suspension and Removal. | |
Reporting of Campaign Financing. |
The Ethics Commission shall consist of five members who shall serve six-year terms; provided that the first five commissioners to be appointed to take office on the first day of February, 2002 shall by lot classify their terms so that the term of one commissioner shall expire at 12:00 o'clock noon on each of the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth anniversaries of such date, respectively; and, on the expiration of these and successive terms of office, the appointments shall be made for six-year terms.
The Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, the City Attorney, the District Attorney and the Assessor each shall appoint one member of the Commission. The member appointed by the Mayor shall have a background in public information and public meetings. The member appointed by the City Attorney shall have a background in law as it relates to government ethics. The member appointed by the Assessor shall have a background in campaign finance. The members appointed by the District Attorney and Board of Supervisors shall be broadly representative of the general public.
In the event a vacancy occurs, the officer who appointed the member vacating the office shall appoint a qualified person to complete the remainder of the term. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation. Members of the Commission shall be officers of the City and County, and may be removed by the appointing authority only pursuant to Section 15.105.
No person may serve more than one six-year term as a member of the Commission, provided that persons appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term with less than three years remaining or appointed to an initial term of three or fewer years shall be eligible to be appointed to one additional six-year term. Any term served before the effective date of this Section shall not count toward a member's term limit. Any person who completes a term as a Commissioner shall be eligible for reappointment six years after the expiration of his or her term. Notwithstanding any provisions of this Section or any other section of the Charter to the contrary, the respective terms of office of the members of the Commission who shall hold office on the first day of February, 2002, shall expire at 12 o'clock noon on said date, and the five persons appointed as members of the Commission as provided in this Section shall succeed to said offices on said first day of February, 2002, at 12 o'clock noon; provided that if any appointing authority has not made a new appointment by such date, the sitting member shall continue to serve until replaced the new appointee.
During his or her tenure, members and employees of the Ethics Commission are subject to the following restrictions:
(a) Restrictions on Holding Office. No member or employee of the Ethics Commission may hold any other City or County office or be an officer of a political party.
(b) Restrictions on Employment. No member or employee of the Ethics Commission may be a registered lobbyist or campaign consultant, or be employed by or receive gifts or other compensation from a registered lobbyist or campaign consultant. No member of the Ethics Commission may hold employment with the City and County and no employee of the Commission may hold any other employment with the City and County.
(c) Restrictions on Political Activities. No member or employee of the Ethics Commission may participate in any campaign supporting or opposing a candidate for City elective office, a City ballot measure, or a City officer running for any elective office. For the purposes of this section, participation in a campaign includes but is not limited to making contributions or soliciting contributions to any committee within the Ethics Commission's jurisdiction, publicly endorsing or urging endorsement of a candidate or ballot measure, or participating in decisions by organizations to participate in a campaign.
The Commission may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and testimony, administer oaths and affirmations, take evidence and require by subpoena the production of any books, papers, records or other items material to the performance of the Commission's duties or exercise of its powers.
(Amended November 2001; November 2002; November 2003)
The Commission shall appoint and may remove an Executive Director. The Executive Director shall have a background in campaign finance, public information and public meetings and the law as it relates to governmental ethics. The Executive Director shall be the chief executive of the department and shall have all the powers provided for department heads. Subject to the civil service provisions of this Charter, the Executive Director shall have the power to appoint and remove other employees of the Commission. In addition to any other conflict of interest provisions applicable to City employees, the Executive Director and all other employees of the Commission shall be subject to the conflict of interest provisions in Section 15.100, except that the post-employment restrictions contained therein shall apply only to the Executive Director and management-level employees.
(Amended November 2001)
The Commission may adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations consistent with and related to carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Charter and ordinances related to campaign finances, conflicts of interest, lobbying, campaign consultants and governmental ethics and to govern procedures of the Commission. In addition, the Commission may adopt rules and regulations relating to carrying out the purposes and provisions of ordinances regarding open meetings and public records. The Commission shall transmit to the Board of Supervisors rules and regulations adopted by the Commission within 24 hours of their adoption. A rule or regulation adopted by the Commission shall become effective 60 days after the date of its adoption unless before the expiration of this 60- day period two-thirds of all members of the Board of Supervisors vote to veto the rule or regulation.
The City Attorney shall be the legal advisor of the Commission.
Any ordinance which the Supervisors are empowered to pass relating to conflicts of interest, campaign finance, lobbying, campaign consultants or governmental ethics may be submitted to the electors at the next succeeding general election by the Ethics Commission by a four-fifths vote of all its members.
(Amended November 2001)
Public office is a public trust and all officers and employees of the City and County shall exercise their public duties in a manner consistent with this trust. The City may adopt conflict of interest and governmental ethics laws to implement this provision and to prescribe penalties in addition to discipline and removal authorized in this Charter. All officers and employees of the City and County shall be subject to such conflict of interest and governmental ethics laws and the penalties prescribed by such laws.
(Amended November 2003)
(Repealed November 2003)
(a) ELECTIVE AND CERTAIN APPOINTED OFFICERS. Any elective officer, and any member of the Airport Commission, Asian Art Commission, Civil Service Commission, Commission on the Status of Women, Golden Gate Concourse Authority Board of Directors, Health Commission, Human Services Commission, Juvenile Probation Commission, Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors, Port Commission, Public Utilities Commission, Recreation and Park Commission, Fine Arts Museums Board of Trustees, War Memorial and Performing Art Center Board of Trustees, Board of Education or Community College Board is subject to suspension and removal for official misconduct as provided in this section. Such officer may be suspended by the Mayor and the Mayor shall appoint a qualified person to discharge the duties of the office during the period of suspension. Upon such suspension, the Mayor shall immediately notify the Ethics Commission and Board of Supervisors thereof in writing and the cause thereof, and shall present written charges against such suspended officer to the Ethics Commission and Board of Supervisors at or prior to their next regular meetings following such suspension, and shall immediately furnish a copy of the same to such officer, who shall have the right to appear with counsel before the Ethics Commission in his or her defense. The Ethics Commission shall hold a hearing not less than five days after the filing of written charges. After the hearing, the Ethics Commission shall transmit the full record of the hearing to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation as to whether the charges should be sustained. If, after reviewing the complete record, the charges are sustained by not less than a three-fourths vote of all members of the Board of Supervisors, the suspended officer shall be removed from office; if not so sustained, or if not acted on by the Board of Supervisors within 30 days after the receipt of the record from the Ethics Commission, the suspended officer shall thereby be reinstated.
(b) BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION, PLANNING COMMISSION, BOARD OF APPEALS, ELECTIONS COMMISSION, ETHICS COMMISSION, SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT OVERSIGHT BOARD, AND ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION. Members of the Building Inspection Commission, the Planning Commission, the Board of Appeals, the Elections Commission, the Ethics Commission, the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, and the Entertainment Commission may be suspended and removed pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section except that the Mayor may initiate removal only of the Mayor’s appointees and the appointing authority shall act in place of the Mayor for all other appointees.
(c) REMOVAL FOR CONVICTION OF A FELONY CRIME INVOLVING MORAL TURPITUDE.
(1) Officers Enumerated in Subsections (a) and (b).
(A) An appointing authority must immediately remove from office any official enumerated in subsections (a) or (b) upon:
(i) a court's final conviction of that official of a felony crime involving moral turpitude; and
(ii) a determination made by the Ethics Commission, after a hearing, that the crime for which the official was convicted warrants removal.
(B) For the purposes of this subsection, the Mayor shall act as the appointing authority for any elective official.
(C) Removal under this subsection is not subject to the procedures in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(2) Other Officers and Employees.
(A) At will appointees. Officers and employees who hold their positions at the pleasure of their appointing authority must be removed upon:
(i) a final conviction of a felony crime involving moral turpitude; and
(ii) a determination made by the Ethics Commission, after a hearing, that the crime for which the appointee was convicted warrants removal.
(B) For cause appointees. Officers and employees who by law may be removed only for cause must be removed upon:
(i) a final conviction of a felony crime involving moral turpitude; and
(ii) a determination made by the Ethics Commission, after a hearing, that the crime for which the appointee was convicted warrants removal.
(3) Penalty for Failure to Remove. Failure to remove an appointee as required under this subsection shall be official misconduct.
(d) DISQUALIFICATION.
(1) (A) Any person who has been removed from any federal, state, County or City office or employment upon a final conviction of a felony crime involving moral turpitude shall be ineligible for election or appointment to City office or employment for a period of ten years after removal.
(B) Any person removed from any federal, state, County or City office or employment for official misconduct shall be ineligible for election or appointment to City office or employment for a period of five years after removal.
(2) (A) Any City department head, board, commission or other appointing authority that removes a City officer or employee from office or employment on the grounds of official misconduct must invoke the disqualification provision in subsection (d)(1)(B) and provide notice of such disqualification in writing to the City officer or employee.
(B) Upon the request of any former City officer or employee, the Ethics Commission may, after a public hearing, overturn the application of the disqualification provision of subsection (d)(1)(B) if: (i) the decision that the former officer or employee engaged in official misconduct was not made after a hearing by a court, the Board of Supervisors, the Ethics Commission, an administrative body, an administrative hearing officer, or a labor arbitrator; and (ii) if the officer or employee does not have the right to appeal his or her restriction on holding future office or employment to the San Francisco Civil Service Commission.
(e) OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT. Official misconduct means any wrongful behavior by a public officer in relation to the duties of his or her office, willful in its character, including any failure, refusal or neglect of an officer to perform any duty enjoined on him or her by law, or conduct that falls below the standard of decency, good faith and right action impliedly required of all public officers and including any violation of a specific conflict of interest or governmental ethics law. When any City law provides that a violation of the law constitutes or is deemed official misconduct, the conduct is covered by this definition and may subject the person to discipline and/or removal from office.
(Amended November 2001; March 2002; November 2003; Proposition D, Approved 11/3/2020)
(Repealed November 2003)
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