Ethics Review CommissionApril 27, 2022

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Agenda
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ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING APRIL 27, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. Austin City Hall, Boards & Commissions Room, # 1101 301 W 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Ethics Review Commission may be participating by videoconference. Public participation will be allowed in-person or by telephone. The meeting may be viewed online on ATXN2 at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public Speakers: Speakers providing in-person testimony can register to speak either online or in- person prior to the meeting. Following are instructions for registering for Remote Public Communication (formerly “Citizen Communication”): • All interested in speaking remotely during public communication or on an agenda item must register in advance no later than: Tuesday, April 26, 2022 by noon. • Call or email the staff liaison at 512-974-2915 or lizette.benitez@austintexas.gov, no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The information required is the speaker’s name, telephone number (must be the same number the speaker will use to call into the meeting), and e-mail address. If speaking on an agenda item, please provide the agenda item number(s) you wish to speak about. • • Once a request to participate has been made to the liaison, the information about how to call into the meeting on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. Additional Instructions for Public Speakers, including how to register in person during the thirty minutes prior to when the meeting being begins, are provided at the end of this Agenda. COMMISSION MEMBERS: Chair Luis Soberon Debra Danburg Michael Lovins Mikki Teneyuca Vice-Chair Mary Kahle Betsy Greenberg Donna Beth McCormick Sidney Williams AGENDA Vacancy – Mayor’s nominee Raafia Lari Nguyen Stanton CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL (formerly CITIZEN COMMUNICATION) There is no limit on the number of speakers who may speak on agenda items. A maximum of ten persons will be allowed to speak during general citizen communications on non-agenda items. 1 Each person must register to speak prior to the call to order of the meeting. Each speaker who registers to speak will be allowed three minutes to speak. Please also see the “NOTICE Regarding Public Communication (formerly “Citizen Communication”) at the end of this agenda. 1. NEW BUSINESS Discussion and possible action regarding the following: a. Annual Election of Commission Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Parliamentarian) b. Ethics Code Overview of Section 2-7-62 (Standards of Conduct) and conflict of interest provisions, Section 2-7-63, 2-7-64, and 2-7-65, and Section 2-7-2 (Definitions) 2. OLD BUSINESS Discussion and possible action regarding the following: a. Review and evaluation of the dollar limits established in Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance) and consider making recommendations to the city council as to those limits. b. Statement and/or Video of What the Commission Does & How the Public can use the Commission and Statement on Equity, Access, and the Need for Reform by the Working Group on Race, Identity, and Equity c. Content of the agenda for future meetings, including description of Commission’s jurisdiction and/or functions. d. Working group status reports and/or recommendations on the following. i. Working Group on Sanctions, Procedures, and other Issues (Chair Soberon and Commissioners Greenberg, Stanton, and Teneyuca) on the following subjects: - Commission sanctions including effectiveness, past cases, and - Potential amendments to City Code, Chapter 2-7 (Ethics and Financial recommendations. Disclosure). recommendations. - Commission procedures including effectiveness, past cases, and - Scope of work of the Commission (powers, duties, and obligations), including effectiveness, past cases, and recommendations. - Potential amendments to the Rules of the Ethics Review Commission. - Best practices for city attorney opinions including effectiveness, past cases, and recommendations. - Dollar Limits in Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance Code) 2 ii. Working Group on Race, Identity, and Equity (Commissioners Kahle, Lari, and Soberon) status report and/or recommendations on: addressing issues of race, identity, and equity including: (i) (ii) planning for presentations or trainings by the Equity Office; helping focus the Commission’s evaluation of racial injustice and how the Commission can operate more fairly and effectively in light of racial injustice. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MARCH 23, 2022 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Discussion and possible action regarding the minutes for the March 23, 2022 Regular Commission meeting 4. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS City Council Candidate Forum Planning and Update – May regular meeting The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least two (2) days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Lizette Benitez, Lynn Carter, or Meredith Mooney at the Law Department at (512) 974-2268 for additional information; TTY users’ route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Ethics Review Commission, please contact Lynn Carter at (512) 974-2171. ERC STANDARD PUBLIC COMMUNICATION INSTRUCTIONS NOTICE Regarding Public Communication (formerly “Citizen Communication”) Sign-in required: If appearing in person at the meeting, please sign in to speak with the staff liaison prior to the meeting being called to order. Please indicate the item or items on the agenda on which you are speaking, if you are speaking on an agenda item. A speaker who fails to indicate an agenda item on which the speaker desires to speak will be called to speak during Public Communication (formerly “Citizen Communication” or “Citizen Communication: General”). Time Limits: Speakers are limited to a maximum time limit of three minutes per speaker. A time period of six minutes will be allowed for a speaker who addresses the Commission through a translator or a speaker who needs an accommodation of a disability. 3 Public Communication (formerly Citizen Communication) Speakers: A maximum of ten persons may speak during Public Communication, previously known as “general citizen communications” or “citizen communication: general”, at the beginning of the meeting on any topic. Speakers will be called in the order in which the speaker signed up. Citizen Communication or Public Testimony on a Numbered Agenda Item: A speaker who signs up to speak on a numbered agenda item will be called to speak at the beginning of the meeting, or secondly, at the beginning of the agenda item and will be called in the order in which the speaker(s) signed up. Speaker comments must be relevant to the agenda item. 4