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Under Section 19A-9 of the Ethics
Law, the Commission may investigate, on its own initiative, any matter the
Commission believes may constitute a violation of the Ethics Law or of any
of those related provisions of the Board of Appeals or Procurement laws
that the Commission enforces, if the Commission finds in writing that an
investigation is necessary to resolve the matter. The Commission may authorize
its staff, the County Attorney, special counsel or another person retained
by the Commission to conduct the investigation. The Commission must not
actively participate in any investigations.
An investigator acts under the authority of the Commission and may require
any person to:
- respond under oath to written questions within 30 days;
- produce verified copies of records within 30 days; and
- on 15 days notice, attend a deposition to answer the investigator's
questions under oath.
The investigator must disclose to the person from whom information is
sought the general nature and purpose of the inquiry. If the person refuses
to cooperate with the investigation, the investigator may seek a court
order compelling compliance.
All investigations are conducted confidentially. The investigator must
give the Commission a confidential written report of the factual findings,
sources of information and the identity of each person providing information.
The Commission may file, on its own motion, a complaint based on a report
received from an investigator, if the complaint is filed within the time
limits established by law.
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