[Added 10-11-2011 by L.L. No. 56-2011[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Art. XXX,
Ethics Commission, added 9-28-1988 by L.L. No. 44-1988, as amended.
There is hereby established a Board of Ethics.
A.
The Board of Ethics shall consist of five members. Two members will
be appointed by the County Executive. The Presiding Officer, Majority
Leader and Minority Leader of the Suffolk County Legislature will
each appoint one member. The appointment of all members will be subject
to approval by the County Legislature. The Board shall elect one of
its members to serve as Chairperson.
B.
No more than three members of the Board shall belong to the same
political party. No person, while serving as a member of the Board,
shall hold any public office, seek election to any public office,
be a public employee in any jurisdiction, have business dealings with
the County or any elected official, hold any political party office,
appear as a lobbyist before the County or make a contribution to any
County elected official or candidate for County office.
C.
The two members appointed to the Board by the County Executive shall
be appointed to initial terms of two years; the members appointed
by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader shall be appointed
for initial terms of three years; the member appointed by the Presiding
Officer shall be appointed for an initial term of four years. Thereafter,
all members will be appointed for terms of four years.
D.
Any vacancy occurring on the Board other than by expiration of a
term shall be filled by nomination of a successor by the appropriate
appointing authority within 60 days of the creation of the vacancy.
The County Legislature shall act on such nomination within 60 days
of an appointment resolution being laid on the table for consideration.
E.
Three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and the Board
shall have the power to act by a majority vote of the entire membership
of the Board except as otherwise provided by this article.
F.
Members shall receive compensation of $200 for each Board meeting
they attend; such compensation shall not exceed $4,800 per year. The
Board shall meet at least once per month.
[Amended 11-18-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2015]
G.
Members may be removed by their appointing authority for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers or duties of office or violation of the requirements of Subsection B of this section, after written notice and opportunity to reply. The removal of members appointed by the Presiding Officer, Majority Leader and Minority Leader must be ratified by the adoption of a procedural motion by the County Legislature.
A.
The Board shall have the authority and responsibility to:
(1)
Provide ethics training and education to Suffolk County's public
servants;
(2)
Render advisory opinions to Suffolk County's public servants on ethics
and conflict of interest issues;
(4)
Conduct investigations and hearings to determine if ethics violations
have occurred and to impose penalties as authorized by local law.
A.
The Board, by a majority vote of the Board's entire membership, shall
appoint an executive director, a secretary, independent counsel and
such other staff as may be necessary to exercise its powers and fulfill
its obligations. The power to appoint and retain an executive director,
a secretary, independent counsel and other staff shall be subject
only to available appropriations provided therefor in the County operating
budget, and the actual appointment and filling of such positions shall
not be subject to approval by the County Executive or the Budget Office.
The Board shall be deemed the appointing authority for all such personnel.
The executive director, a secretary, independent counsel and support
staff shall not be part of the Suffolk County Department of Law and
shall not be supervised by the Department of Law; however, the Freedom
of Information Law ("FOIL") appeals officer in the Department of Law
shall serve as the FOIL appeals officer for the Board of Ethics. The
Board, its staff and funding shall be treated as a separate agency
for purposes of presentation and adoption in the annual County operating
budget.
[Amended 8-21-2012 by L.L. No. 45-2012; 4-25-2017 by L.L. No. 10-2017]
B.
The Board may delegate authority to the executive director and independent
counsel and such delegation shall be defined in writing, provided
that the executive director and independent counsel shall not be authorized
to issue written advisory opinions, promulgate rules, issue subpoenas,
issue final determinations of violation or make final recommendations
of, or impose, penalties.
C.
The Board's office(s) shall not be sited in a building occupied by
either the County Executive or the County Legislature.
[Added 8-21-2012 by L.L. No. 45-2012]
A.
Any reference
to the Suffolk County Ethics Commission, its members, chairman or
executive director in any other resolution, local law, charter law,
ordinance, rule, or regulation of the County of Suffolk or in any
state or federal law, rule, or regulation shall be construed in the
first instance as reference to the Board of Ethics, its members, chairperson
or executive director, anything in any other law, rule or regulation
to the contrary notwithstanding.
B.
For calendar
year 2012 only, the Board, by a supermajority vote of its total membership,
may extend the deadline referenced in any local law, charter law,
resolution, rule or regulation applicable to the Board to a date deemed
appropriate by the Board; provided, however, that the deadline for
filing financial disclosure statements may not be extended beyond
December 31, 2012 and no other 2012 deadline may be extended beyond
June 30, 2013.
C.
All property
and equipment heretofore associated with, and utilized by, the Ethics
Commission but inventoried to the Law Department, and all other property,
equipment and records and confidential files associated with, and
utilized by, the Ethics Commission wherever situated, shall be transferred
and delivered to the Board of Ethics. For purposes of this subdivision,
records and confidential files shall be construed broadly to include,
but not be limited to, financial disclosure forms, opinions, requests
for opinions, budgets, procurement documents, contracts, vouchers,
requisitions, records of accounts, if any, and correspondence, notes
and documents in any form whatsoever created or used in the ordinary
course of business of the Ethics Commission.
[Added 12-1-2020 by L.L. No. 52-2020]
All members of the Board shall receive a minimum of two hours
of training annually on all applicable provisions of law relating
to conflicts of interest and ethics at the federal, state, and County
level which are necessary for the discharge of their duties. The training
shall be provided by either the County Law Department or through an
outside counsel/trainer selected via a competitive request for proposals.