1. (a) There is established, as an independent agency of the District government, a Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, whose purpose shall be to:

   1. (1) Administer and enforce the Code of Conduct;
   2. (2) Appoint a Director of Open Government;
   3. (3) Appoint a Director of Government Ethics;
   4. (4) Receive, investigate, and adjudicate violations of the Code of Conduct;
   5. (5) Conduct mandatory training on the Code of Conduct;
   6. (6) Produce ethics training materials, including summary guidelines for all applicable laws and regulations;
   7. (7) Produce a plain-language ethics guide;
   8. (8) Issue rules and regulations governing the ethical conduct of employees and public officials; and
   9. (9) Establish an anonymous and confidential telephone hotline for the purpose of receiving information related to violations of the Code of Conduct or other information with regard to the administration or enforcement of the Code of Conduct.

2. (b) By December 31 of each year, the Board shall submit a report to the Mayor and Council with recommendations on improving the District's government ethics and open government and transparency laws, including:

   1. (1) An assessment of ethical guidelines and requirements for employees and public officials;
   2. (2) A review of national and state best practices in open government and transparency; and
   3. (3) Amendments to the Code of Conduct, the Open Meetings Act, and the Freedom of Information Act of 1976.

History

Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 202, 59 DCR 1862

Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 1083(b)

Editor's Notes

Section 1073 of Law 19-168 provided that any matter arising after January 29, 2012, from a violation of Title I, Subtitle C of the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012, effective January 29, 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298; 59 DCR 683), or Title II, Subtitle C of the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2012, effective April 27, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-124; D.C. Official Code § 1-1161.01 et seq.), may be enforced by the Elections Board until October 1, 2012, after which pending matters shall be transferred to the Ethics Board for enforcement.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 1073 of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-413, July 25, 2012, 59 DCR 9290).

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 1073 of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-383, June 19, 2012, 59 DCR 7764).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1083(b) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1083(b) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).

Section References

This section is referenced in § 1-1161.01, § 1-1162.21, and § 1-1171.01.