Los Angeles County Municipal Code Art. III D - Ethics and Charter Review

The Los Angeles County Ethics Commission.

A.

By 2026, there shall be an independent Los Angeles County Ethics Commission that shall have the powers, duties and responsibilities set forth in this Charter and provided by ordinance in the County Code. The Commission shall:

(1)

Investigate allegations of misconduct by County officials;

(2)

Monitor and enforce laws in coordination with other agencies related to governmental ethics, including, but not limited to, campaign finance, conflicts of interest, lobbying, post-government employment, government contracts, and land use developer conflicts;

(3)

Regularly review the County Code and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for updates regarding governmental ethics including, but not limited to, campaign finance, conflicts of interest, lobbying, post-government employment, government contracts, and land use developer conflicts;

(4)

Develop and/or implement additional updates and features to enable searchable public data portals related to governmental ethics, including, but not limited to, all lobbying activities such as registration, activity, contributions and expenditures, to be updated in real time, or as close to real time as practicable.

B.

The Board of Supervisors, and the County Executive upon establishment of the office of County Executive, shall provide reasonable funding and staffing for the Commission.

Office of Ethics Compliance.

By 2026, there shall be an Office of Ethics Compliance established to support the Los Angeles County Ethics Commission and to accomplish the Commission's duties and objectives. The Office of Ethics Compliance shall be led by an Ethics Compliance Officer, who shall perform duties as provided in this Charter and by ordinance in the County Code.

The Board of Supervisors shall by ordinance prohibit former County officials, including a member of the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff, the Assessor, the District Attorney, the County Executive and any County employee or member of a County board or commission required to file a statement of economic interests pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974, as amended, from engaging in direct communication with any County agency, for the purpose of attempting to influence any action or decision on any matter pending before that County agency on behalf of any person or entity, other than a government agency, for a minimum of two years after leaving County service.

Governance Reform Task Force.

The Board of Supervisors shall establish a Governance Reform Task Force, with representation from the County workforce, responsible for implementation of this Charter amendment upon adoption by the voters, including robust community and stakeholder outreach. The Governance Reform Task Force's role shall be advisory to the Board of Supervisors. The Governance Reform Task Force shall convene no later than 180 days after certification of the vote and provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors within a reasonable timeframe in order to carry out the effects of the Charter amendment. The Governance Reform Task Force shall disband upon completion of implementation no later than December 3, 2028, unless otherwise directed by the Board of Supervisors. Implementation efforts and recommendations by the Governance Reform Task Force shall use existing County funding sources, and any implementation costs shall be offset by cost savings determined through the annual County budgeting process, with no additional costs to, or taxes imposed on taxpayers.

Charter Review Commission.

A.

By 2034, there shall be an advisory Charter Review Commission that shall have the duties and responsibilities set forth in this Charter and provided by ordinance in the County Code.

B.

The Charter Review Commission shall meet, at a minimum, decennially to review Los Angeles County governance and the County Charter. The Commission shall make recommendations relating to County governance and the County Charter to the Board of Supervisors. Upon transmittal of the Commission's recommendations, the Board of Supervisors must place the recommendations on the Board of Supervisors' meeting agenda and vote on the recommendations by no later than 90 days after receipt.