The Ethics Commission was established in the City of Los Angeles to ensure that the City is conducting business with efficiency, transparency, and fairness, while also working to build public confidence in City government and election processes. The Ethics Commission is required by law to administer City and State laws related to campaign finance, City contracts as it relates to prospective contractors and developers, governmental ethics, and lobbying.
In 2023, the Council initiated a process to reform the City Charter. As part of this effort, the Ethics Commission submitted several recommendations to the City Council that would update the City Charter to expand the Commission’s authority and operational independence, as well as update administrative provisions related to the Commission’s policies and processes. The measure would amend the City Charter to:
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Add prohibitions on individuals who can be appointed to the Ethics Commission, which would prevent the nomination of an appointing authority relative or relative of other elected City officials, a political campaign consultant, or a major donor to a political campaign;
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Add qualifications for members of the Commission and the Executive Director during their tenure, including limitations on having an ownership interest in a business that contracts with or seeks discretionary approval from the City, participating as a major donor to campaigns, or providing compensated advice or services to campaigns;
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Allow for appointed members of the Ethics Commission to be removed by their appointing authorities, and increase the time frame to fill a vacancy on the Commission from 30 to 90 days;
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Increase the monetary penalty of ethics-related violations from $5,000 to $15,000, and adjust this penalty annually according to the Consumer Price Index;
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Allow the Executive Director’s designee to determine whether there is probable cause concerning a violation of provisions within the City Charter or City ordinances;
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Require the City Council to hold a public hearing on a policy proposal from the Ethics Commission within 180 days;
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Allow the Ethics Commission to retain outside legal counsel under limited circumstances, including on matters involving the City Attorney, the City Attorney’s Office, the City Attorney’s campaign, or on specific investigative and enforcement matters;
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Increase the Commission’s budget for a special prosecutor from $250,000 to $500,000, and update provisions that would authorize the Commission to select a special prosecutor from an approved list when the City Attorney declares a conflict of interest;
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Appropriate a minimum of $7 million per year beginning in fiscal year 2025-26 for the Ethics Commission’s annual operating budget, and adjust this appropriation each year based on the City’s prior year revenues, unless the Council finds that circumstances exist not to do so;
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Authorize expenditures by the Ethics Commission without prior approval from City offices or personnel when the expenditures are within the Commission’s budget, unless the Council finds that circumstances exist not to do so;
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Authorize the Ethics Commission to set the salary of the Commission’s Executive Director, and align the salary range to be consistent with the salary ranges of other City General Managers;
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Exempt employees of the Ethics Commission from civil service employment provisions; and
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Exempt the Ethics Commission from hiring freezes if the Commission operates within its approved budget.
