Commission Composition and Member Qualifications
San Diego Municipal Code § 26.1103
in effect§26.1103 Commission Composition and Member Qualifications
(a) The Commission will be composed of members of the Community Review Board on Police Practices serving on December 18, 2020, until the Council has formally appointed members to the Commission, in accordance with the provisions and process set forth in this Code.
(b) The Council will not consider citizenship status in appointing members to the Commission.
(c) All members must reside in the City at the time of their appointment or reappointment and throughout their service on the Commission. The Council cannot waive this requirement.
(d) The Council must appoint members to the Commission, who reflect the diversity of the City, by including members who represent the City’s diverse geographic areas and socio-economic, cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age differences, and who have differing personal backgrounds, education, occupations, and life experiences. The Council must make appointments to specific designated seats, as follows:
(1) There must be at least one member who resides in each of the nine Council districts appointed to serve in a designated seat for each Council district. Any vacancy in these designated seats, created by a member moving out of the Council district or a change in Council district boundaries, must be addressed by the Council at the end of the member’s term.
(2) There must be two members in the age range of 18 to 24 at the time of appointment, who are appointed to serve in two designated youth seats. Once these members reach the age of 25, they are no longer eligible for reappointment to these designated seats. Any vacancy in these designated seats must be addressed by the Council at the end of the member’s term.
(3) The Council must appoint five members who reside in and represent those City residents living in low- and moderate-income United States Census tracts. Any vacancy in these designated seats, created by a member moving out of a low- or moderate-income United States Census tract, must be addressed by the Council at the end of the member’s term.
(4) The Council must appoint nine at large members, prioritizing the appointment of individuals who have had prior contact or interactions with law enforcement; individuals with experience or expertise in substance abuse addiction treatment; individuals involved or with expertise in services for or directed towards the unhoused; individuals involved or with expertise in immigration or migrant services; individuals who were or are criminal justice system impacted; individuals involved or with expertise in mental health, restorative justice, social work, or law enforcement practices and oversight; and individuals with experience or expertise in civil rights advocacy.
(e) To ensure the Commission’s independence from the Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in San Diego County, no current or former employee of the Police Department or other law enforcement agency working within the geographic boundaries of the County of San Diego may serve on the Commission. In addition, no immediate family or household member, defined as the parent, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, child, or cohabitant, of a law enforcement officer, who works or worked for a law enforcement agency within the geographic boundaries of the County of San Diego, may serve on the Commission. For purposes of this prohibition, law enforcement agencies include police departments in all cities in the County of San Diego, as well as local agency, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers and City, county, state, and federal prosecutors. This prohibition does not apply to former employees of law enforcement agencies outside of the County of San Diego, who have been separated from their law enforcement employment for at least five years.
(f) No City employee, who is on active payroll, may serve on the Commission.
(g) All prospective or nominated members of the Commission are subject to a criminal history background review prior to appointment, to be conducted in cooperation with the City’s Personnel Department. The consideration of an applicant’s or nominee’s criminal history may only take place during the final stage of the appointment process. An applicant or nominee shall not be excluded from participation on the Commission based on their criminal history background, at time of appointment, except for any of the following reasons:
(1) they have been convicted of malfeasance in office, and their civil rights have not been restored;
(2) they have been convicted of a felony and are on parole, post-release community supervision, felony probation, or mandated supervision for the conviction of a felony;
(3) they are required to register as a sex offender pursuant to California Penal Code section 290 based on a felony conviction;
(4) they are incarcerated in any prison or jail;
(5) they have been found in violation, by a state or local judicial or administrative body, of any of the following: (i) misuse of a public position for personal interests; (ii) misuse of City records; or (iii) violation of federal or state laws relating to confidentiality or City employee privacy; or
(6) they have been convicted of a violent crime against a government employee or official. For purposes of this subsection, government employee or official means a person who is employed by the United States government, the State of California, or any city, county, city and county, special district, or political subdivision of the State of California.
(h) No person shall be excluded from eligibility or disqualified to serve on the Commission for any reason other than those reasons set forth in this section. If an applicant or nominee is disqualified from appointment for any reason under this section, the City must provide a written explanation of the reason or reasons to the disqualified applicant or nominee.
(“Appointment” added 7-20-2018 by O-20961 N.S.; effective 8-19-2018.)
(Retitled from “Appointment” to “Commission Composition and Member Qualifications” and amended 10-20-2022 by O-21557 N.S.; effective 11-19-2022.)
Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Clerk, San Diego Municipal Code and City Charter (docs.sandiego.gov PDFs)URL: https://docs.sandiego.gov/municode/MuniCodeChapter02/Ch02Art06Division11.pdf#page=4Fetched: 10/28/2026