§ 2-81. Structure of the Ethics Review Board.

(a)

In accordance with Article XIII of the City Charter, the independent Ethics Review Board has the powers and duties specified in Article XIII of the City Charter, chapter 2, article III (Ethics Code), and chapter 2, article VII (Municipal Campaign Finance Code), and other powers and duties prescribed by ordinance.

(b)

Composition . The Ethics Review Board shall consist of eleven (11) members. The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall nominate one (1) member of the Board. Each nominee must be confirmed by a majority of City Council members.

(c)

Terms of office. Initial Board appointments shall be made so that terms are staggered, with six (6) members to serve an initial term of two (2) years and five (5) members to serve an initial term of three (3) years, determined after appointment by lottery. Subsequent appointments shall be for a term of two (2) years beginning on the day after the expiration of the preceding full term. No member of the Board shall serve for more than three (3) full terms.

(d)

Qualifications. Members of the Board shall have good moral character and shall be residents of the City. No member of the Board shall be:

(1)

A salaried City official or employee;

(2)

An elected public official;

(3)

A candidate for elected public office;

(4)

An officer of a political party;

(5)

A campaign treasurer, campaign manager, officer or other policy or decision-maker for the campaign of any candidate for elected public office;

(6)

A campaign treasurer, campaign manager, officer or other policy or decision-maker for any political action committee as defined in the Texas Election Code;

(7)

A member of any City board or commission other than the Ethics Review Board;

(8)

A member of any City board or commission for which the position is appointed by City Council; or

(9)

A lobbyist required to register under division 5 (Lobbyists).

Further, no member of the Ethics Review Board shall have any convictions for a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or shall have been found in violation of any provision of the Ethics Code. The San Antonio Police Department will conduct a criminal background check through the NCIC system for each applicant to the Board.

The City Council shall support the inclusion of at least one (1) attorney and one (1) individual with expertise in finance or accounting within the membership of the Ethics Review Board.

(e)

Removal. Members of the Ethics Review Board may be removed from office for cause by a majority of the City Council only after a public hearing at which the member was provided with the opportunity to be heard. Grounds for removal include: failure to satisfy, or to continue to satisfy, the qualifications set forth in subsection (d); substantial neglect of duty; gross misconduct in office; inability to discharge the powers or duties of office; or violation of any provision in this Code of Ethics or a conviction of a felony or crime of moral turpitude.

(f)

Vacancies. The City Council shall fill any vacancy on the Board by a person who will serve the remainder of the unexpired term. The nomination to fill a vacancy shall be made by the member of City Council (or his or her successor) who had nominated the person whose successor is to be selected to fill the vacancy.

(g)

Recusal. A member of the Ethics Review Board shall recuse himself or herself from any case in which, because of familial relationship, employment, investments, or otherwise, his or her impartiality might reasonably be questioned. A Board member may not participate in official action on any complaint:

(1)

That the member initiated;

(2)

That involves the member of City Council who nominated him or her for a seat on the Ethics Review Board; or

(3)

During the pendency of an indictment or information charging the member with any felony or misdemeanor offense, or after a finding of guilt of such an offense.

If the number of Board members who are recused from a case is so large that an Ethics Review Board cannot be convened to consider the complaint, the Mayor shall nominate a sufficient number of ad hoc members so that the case can be heard. Ad hoc members of the Ethics Review Board must be confirmed by a majority vote of the City Council and serve only for the case in question.

(h)

Chair and vice-chair. Each year, the Board shall meet and elect a chair and a vice-chair from among its members, who will serve one-year terms and may be re-elected. The chair or a majority of the Board may call a meeting of the Board. The chair shall preside at meetings of the Ethics Review Board and perform other administrative duties. The vice-chair shall assume the duties of the chair in the event of a vacancy in that position.

(i)

Panels. Each year, at the time of the election of a chair and vice-chair, the chair will also make panel assignments. In the event of vacancies or absences, the chair may make reassignments as needed so that each panel has no fewer than three (3) members of the Board.

(j)

Reimbursement. The members of the Ethics Review Board shall not be compensated but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

(Ord. No. 2013-05-09-0317, § 2(Att. B), 5-9-13; Ord. No. 2018-06-21-0491 , § 1(Att. A), 6-21-18)