Ethics Commission Recommendations from Ethics Commission

In December 2021, the Ethics Commission created an Ad Hoc Charter Reform Subcommittee to explore possible amendments to the Los Angeles City Charter relating to the powers and responsibilities of the Commission. After significant public input, the subcommittee proposed a set of recommendations that the Ethics Commission then approved.  These recommendations would make the Ethics Commission more independent, streamline and expand enforcement processes, and increase the integrity and effectiveness of the Ethics Commission.

I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Attorney be requested to prepare and present the documents necessary to place before the voters on the next available ballot a measure to:

• Prohibit members of the Ethics Commission from employing or being employed by a City bidder, contractor, or developer, and from having any direct and substantial financial interest in any work taken by the City; 
• Permit appointing authorities to remove their appointees to the Ethics Commission; 
• Change the 30-day deadline for filling Ethics Commission vacancies to 90 days; 
• Eliminate the term limit for the Executive Director and establish a salary range for the Executive Director; 
• Specify that all Ethics Commission staff positions are exempt from the City’s civil service provisions; 
• Establish a minimum annual budget for the Ethics Commission, specifying that while the Commission is within budget, its budget requests and expenditures are not subject to approval or hiring freezes; 
• Apply to all legislation recommended by the Ethics Commission the same procedure that applies to rules and regulations it adopts and change the deadline for City Council action to 90 days after the legislation is transmitted to the City Council; 
• Eliminate the requirement that the Executive Director conduct a probable cause hearing in an enforcement matter; 
• Increase the fixed maximum administrative penalty to $10,000 per violation and authorize the Ethics Commission to enforce this penalty; 
• Specify that the Ethics Commission’s legal services be provided by independent outside counsel; 
• Eliminate the three-judge panel from the special prosecutor selection process, allow the Ethics Commission to select a special prosecutor from a list of pre-approved special prosecutors, and increase the special prosecutor appropriation to $500,000; 
• Authorize the Ethics Commission to place its policy recommendations directly on the ballot and submit them to the City voters in the event that (i) those recommendations are first proposed for enactment by the Council, and (ii) the Council fails to enact such recommendations within 120 days.