Okaloosa County BOCC — January 18, 2013 — Jacksonville Ethics Code — reading text

considered a full term for purposes of reappointment. A member made ineligible by reason of service of two consecutive full terms may be appointed for another term following a waiting period of three years. (b) Qualifications. Except as provided for in subsection (d) below, each member shall have one or more of the following qualifications: an attorney; a certified public accountant with forensic audit experience; a former elected official; a former judge; a higher education faculty member or former faculty member with experience in ethics; a former law enforcement official with experience in investigating public corruption; a corporate official with a background in human resources or ethics; a former board member of a City of Jacksonville independent authority; a former government executive with ethics experience. (c) Limitations. (1) No member shall be an elected or appointed official, or an employee of the City of Jacksonville or any of its independent agencies, or of any governmental agency subject to the authority of the Commission. No member shall be an active judge, an assistant state attorney or assistant public defender, or an officer of a political party. (2) Ethics Commission members shall not use their position in any manner that decreases public trust or gives the appearance of impropriety. The Ethics Commission shall establish internal operating rules or bylaws to effectuate this provision. (3) Any Commission member who files to be a candidate for public office shall immediately resign from the Commission and their position shall be deemed vacant upon filing. Jacksonville, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 26 of 37  TITLE XVI - JUDICIAL CODE Chapter 602 - JACKSONVILLE ETHICS CODE PART 12. - GENERAL PROVISIONS (4) No individual while a member of the Commission shall allow his or her name and title as a commission member to be used by a campaign in support of or against any candidate for public office. Nothing herein shall preclude a member from signing a petition in support of or against any referendum, ballot question or candidate. This rule does not prohibit any campaign contributions by a member, or a member supporting any candidate in his or her own name. (d) Selection. Each of the following persons or entities shall make an appointment of one of six Commission members whose qualifications are set forth above, to wit: the Mayor, the President of the Council, the Sheriff, the Chief Judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and the Public Defender for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Three Commission members whose only qualifications are that they have been registered voters in Duval County for six months prior to the introduction of their nomination for confirmation, shall be appointed by the Ethics Commission. All appointments should be made within 30 days of a vacancy occurring. All appointees shall be confirmed by Council but shall serve until Council confirmation or denial. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) SUBPART B. - POWERS AND DUTIES Sec. 602.921. - Duties and powers. Sec. 602.921. - Duties and powers. The Jacksonville Ethics Commission (Commission) shall be authorized to exercise such powers and shall be required to perform such duties as are hereinafter provided. The Commission shall be empowered to review, interpret, render advisory opinions and enforce Chapter 602, Ordinance Code; and, in accordance with Section 1.202 of the Charter, to exercise the following powers and duties: (a) The Commission is authorized to receive, and to investigate and issue findings with regard to any sworn written complaint alleging a violation of this Chapter or by a complaint initiated by a minimum vote of six members of the Commission alleging a violation of this Chapter. All complaints and records shall be confidential as allowed by Section 112.324, Florida Statutes, or any other applicable state law. In support of this power, the Commission is authorized to establish an ethics "hotline" to receive tips and information, each of which shall be treated with confidentiality as authorized by Florida law. The General Counsel, with the assistance of all appropriate and available offices of the City, shall assist the Ethics Commission in the investigation of complaints. The Ethics Commission may refer matters brought to its attention to the State Attorneys' Office or the Florida Commission on Ethics if it determines jurisdiction is vested in, and action is more appropriate if taken by said agencies. (b) Provide assistance and input into the management and coordination of the training and education of local officers and employees in state and local ethics, including the City's Ethics Education Program as set forth in Section 602.1001, as well as all public records and sunshine law training throughout the government. (c) The Commission may, upon employee or citizen complaint, or upon its own initiative, seek Jacksonville, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 27 of 37  TITLE XVI - JUDICIAL CODE Chapter 602 - JACKSONVILLE ETHICS CODE PART 12. - GENERAL PROVISIONS information and gather facts for the purpose of reviewing any circumstance or situation of which the Commission may become aware that appears to violate or may potentially violate an acceptable standard of ethics conduct for City officers and employees as delineated in Section 1.202(d) of the Charter. Based upon such review the Commission may make such recommendations to the Mayor and the Council as it deems appropriate; (d) Have jurisdiction to levy those civil fines or penalties authorized in this Chapter 602 for violations of the City's ethics code; (e) Act as the hiring committee, subject to Council confirmation, for the executive director of the Ethics Oversight and Compliance office. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) SUBPART C. - PROCEDURES AND DUE PROCESS Sec. 602.931. - Process for the imposition of sanctions and penalties. Sec. 602.932. - Documents and testimony. Sec. 602.933. - Cooperation of other City agencies. Sec. 602.934. - Dismissal of complaints. Sec. 602.935. - Frivolous or groundless complaints. Sec. 602.936. - Effect on other laws. Sec. 602.937. - Prospective jurisdiction. Sec. 602.938. - Personnel or other regulatory proceedings. Sec. 602.939. - Statute of limitations. Sec. 602.940. - Advisory opinions. Sec. 602.941. - Review. Sec. 602.931. - Process for the imposition of sanctions and penalties. In accordance with Section 602.921(d), and the Charter, the Commission shall perform the following duties in association with the enforcement of Chapter 602 and the imposition of sanctions and penalties including the imposition of public censures and civil penalties. (a) The Commission shall establish and post rules and procedures to provide for the investigation of citizen, hotline, employee and self-initiated complaints of violations of Chapter 602 (b) The Commission shall establish and post rules and procedures to provide for due process in the charging and prosecution of violations of Chapter 602 (c) Meetings of the Commission exempted from the provisions of section 286.011 Florida Statutes, shall be recorded and such recording shall become public upon the conclusion of the investigatory matter, by either a finding of no probable cause to proceed or a final determination by the Commission. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Jacksonville, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 28 of 37  TITLE XVI - JUDICIAL CODE Chapter 602 - JACKSONVILLE ETHICS CODE PART 12. - GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 602.932. - Documents and testimony. The Commission is authorized to exercise and utilize all procedures and processes available to city agencies, which are authorized by ordinance, the Charter, or Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, to secure the production of documents and testimonial evidence relevant to the investigation and prosecution of complaints and charges authorized by this Chapter; except that, the issuance of a subpoena to compel the production of documents or testimony shall be authorized by a circuit or county judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit upon a facial demonstration of the relevancy of the documentation or testimony to the enforcement of a provision of Chapter 602, Ordinance Code, the City of Jacksonville's Ethics Code. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Sec. 602.933. - Cooperation of other City agencies. The services of other departments, boards and agencies of the City shall be made available to the Commission at its request, subject to their ability and capacity to provide them. Other City agencies shall cooperate with the Commission in the exercise of the Commission's responsibilities. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Sec. 602.934. - Dismissal of complaints. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Part, the Commission may, at its discretion: (a) dismiss any complaint at any stage of disposition should it determine that the public interest would not be served by proceeding further, or (b) dismiss any complaint at any stage of disposition and issue a letter of instruction to the respondent when it appears that the alleged violation was inadvertent, unintentional or insubstantial. In the event the Commission dismisses a complaint as provided in this subsection, the Commission shall issue a public report stating with particularity its reasons for the dismissal. The Commission, at the request of the state attorney or any other law enforcement agency, shall stay an ongoing proceeding. The Commission shall not interfere with any ongoing criminal investigation of the state attorney or the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Sec. 602.935. - Frivolous or groundless complaints. In any case in which the Commission determines that the complaining party filed a frivolous or groundless complaint as defined in Florida Statutes, § 57.105, or a complaint filed with malicious intent or with knowledge that the complaint contains one or more false allegations, or filed with reckless disregard for whether the complaint contains material false allegations, the Commission may, upon proper notice and hearing, order the complaining party to pay any costs and attorneys' fees incurred by the Commission and/or the alleged violator. Such order may be enforced by the Circuit Court, as are other board orders of the City. (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Sec. 602.936. - Effect on other laws. The provisions of Chapter 602 shall be deemed supplemental to any other applicable county ordinance or state or federal law and are not intended to replace or repeal any provision of state or federal law, or of this Code. Jacksonville, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 29 of 37  TITLE XVI - JUDICIAL CODE Chapter 602 - JACKSONVILLE ETHICS CODE PART 12. - GENERAL PROVISIONS (Ord. 2011-167-E, § 2) Sec. 602.937. - Prospective jurisdiction. The Commission shall be empowered to consider alleged violations within its jurisdiction committed on or after the effective date of this Subpart. (Ord.