(a) Each employee, member of a board or commission, or a public official of the District government must at all times maintain a high level of ethical conduct in connection with the performance of official duties, and shall refrain from taking, ordering, or participating in any official action which would adversely affect the confidence of the public in the integrity of the District government.

(a-1) As a matter of public policy, each employee, member of a board or commission, or a public official of the District is encouraged to report, pursuant to subchapter XV-A of this chapter, any violation of a law or rule, or the misuse of government resources, as soon as the employee, member of a board or commission, or a public official becomes aware of the violation or misuse of resources.

(a-2)(1) Upon commencement of employment, any person required to file pursuant to §§ 1-1162.24 and 1-1162.25 (“Filers”) shall be provided with an ethics manual and information about the Code of Conduct.

(2) No later than 90 days after commencement of employment, Filers, and members appointed by the Mayor to a board or commission pursuant to § 1-523.01, shall certify that they have undergone ethics training developed by the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability. The required training may be provided electronically, in person, or both as considered appropriate by the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.

(3) Filers shall certify on an annual basis that they have completed at least one ethics training program within the previous year.

(a-3) Notwithstanding the penalty provisions of this chapter, any public official who knowingly violates any provision of subsection (a-2) of this section may be subject to an adverse performance action but not termination.

(b) The Mayor shall issue rules and regulations governing the ethical conduct of all District employees after consultation with the District of Columbia Board of Education, the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, and recognized labor representatives of District employees, and shall require the submission by designated employees at a policy making, contract negotiating, or purchasing level of reports of financial interest in matters which may create conflicts of interest. The Mayor shall provide for the annual auditing of all reports filed under the authority of this subsection.

(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 1801, 25 DCR 5740; Feb. 24, 1987, D.C. Law 6-177, § 3(y), 33 DCR 7241; Sept. 26, 1990, D.C. Law 8-169, § 2(b), 37 DCR 4835; Aug. 1, 1996, D.C. Law 11-152, § 302(x), 43 DCR 2978; Oct. 19, 2002, D.C. Law 14-213, § 3(l), 49 DCR 8140; Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 501(c)(3), 59 DCR 1862; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 1082(f), 65 DCR 9388; Mar. 13, 2019, D.C. Law 22-250, § 4(e), 66 DCR 985.)

1981 Ed., § 1-619.1.

1973 Ed., § 1-348.1.

This section is referenced in § 1-1161.01 and § 2-359.10.

D.C. Law 14-213, in subsec. (a-1), substituted “chapter 6 of subchapter XV-A of Title 1” for “§ 1-615.03”.

D.C. Law 19-124, in subsecs. (a) and (a-1), substituted “employee, member of a board or commission, or a public official” for “employee”; and added subsecs. (a-2) and (a-3).

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-250: § 10 of D.C. Law 22-250 provided that the change made to this section by § 4(e) of D.C. Law 22-250 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1082(f) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1082(f) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 401(c)(3) of Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298, January 29, 2012, 59 DCR 683).

Repeal of § 3 of Law 6-177: Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 6-177 provided that the provisions of § 3 are repealed on the 1st day following the 36-month period after February 24, 1987.

Repeal of § 4(b) of Law 6-177: Section 3(b) of D.C. Law 8-74, effective March 15, 1990, provided that § 4(b) of D.C. Law 6-177 is repealed.