Preparation for Administrative Hearing
San Diego Municipal Code § 26.0435
in effect§26.0435 Preparation for Administrative Hearing
(a) Concurrent with electing to proceed with a public Administrative Hearing, the Commission shall:
(1) direct the Executive Director to schedule an Administrative Hearing on a date no later than 120 calendar days from the date the Commission ordered the hearing, however such date may be extended beyond 120 calendar days upon a showing of good cause by either Party and the approval by the Presiding Authority.
(2) direct the Executive Director to prepare a Final Administrative Complaint.
(A) If the Commission finds that Probable Cause exists for every allegation listed in the Draft Administrative Complaint, then the Final Administrative Complaint will be substantially identical to the Draft Administrative Report.
(B) If the Commission finds that Probable Cause does not exist for one or more of the allegations listed in the Draft Administrative Report, it shall instruct the Executive Director to prepare a Final Administrative Complaint that does not contain such allegations.
(C) The Executive Director shall make available to the public a copy of the Final Administrative Complaint.
(3) direct the Executive Director to provide notice to the Respondent of the Respondent’s right to have an administrative law judge serve as the Presiding Authority at the Administrative Hearing.
(A) The Executive Director shall serve such notice on the Respondent within seven calendar days of the Commission electing to proceed with an Administrative Hearing.
(B) Any Respondent deciding to exercise his or her right to have an administrative law judge serve as the Presiding Authority must notify the Executive Director in writing of that decision no later than thirty calendar days of being served with the notice provided for in subsection (a)(3)(A).
(C) If the Executive Director is notified in accordance with subsection (a)(3)(B) that one or more Respondents have decided to have an administrative law judge serve as the Presiding Authority, the Commission shall comply with that decision when appointing the Presiding Authority under subsection (b)(2).
(b) As soon as practicable, but no later than seventy-five calendar days after ordering that a public Administrative Hearing be conducted, the Commission shall take the following action:
(1) Appoint a Petitioner to prepare and present the case against the Respondent to be heard at the Administrative Hearing. The Executive Director shall serve as the Petitioner unless the Commission, at its discretion, selects someone else from a list of pre-qualified individuals retained to serve as Petitioners.
(2) Appoint a Presiding Authority to conduct the Administrative Hearing. The appointment shall be at the discretion of the Commission, except as required by subsection (a)(3)(C). The Presiding Authority shall be one of the following:
(A) The entire Commission sitting as a hearing panel; or
(B) An ad hoc subcommittee composed of three Commissioners; or
(C) A hearing officer who is either an administrative law judge provided by the California Office of Administrative Hearings, or an individual selected from a list of volunteers who have been pre-qualified to meet or exceed minimum qualification criteria for training and experience as established by the Commission.
(c) The Executive Director shall cause the Respondent to be served with the following materials, in accordance with Section 26.0443, at least sixty calendar days prior to the date of the Administrative Hearing:
(1) A copy of the Final Administrative Complaint; and
(2) written notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing. The notice shall be in substantially the following form:
“You are hereby notified that a public hearing will be held before a Presiding Authority appointed by the City of San Diego Ethics Commission on the ____ day of _____, 20____, at the hour of _____, at (location), upon the allegations made in the Final Administrative Complaint.
You have a right to attend the hearing, and may be represented by legal counsel or any other representative of your choosing. You may present any relevant evidence and will be given an opportunity to cross-examine all witnesses testifying against you. You may request the issuance of subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, records, or other items by applying to the Presiding Authority in care of the City of San Diego Ethics Commission on or before (date).”
(d) The Parties shall be entitled to pre-hearing discovery in accordance with the provisions for discovery set forth in the official Hearing Procedures adopted by the Commission. However, upon request, the Presiding Authority may, at its discretion, allow the Parties to conduct additional discovery other than what is provided for in the Hearing Procedures. The Presiding Authority shall resolve any discovery dispute.
(e) The Petitioner and Respondent may seek Subpoenas and Subpoenas duces tecum in connection with the Administrative Hearing pursuant to the provisions of Section 26.0445. Procedures for issuing, serving, objecting to, or enforcing a Subpoena or Subpoena duces tecum in connection with the Administrative Hearing shall be as set forth in Section 26.0445.
(f) Not later than seven calendar days prior to the public Administrative Hearing, the Petitioner shall, and any Respondent may, submit an administrative hearing brief to the Presiding Authority.
(1) Any brief shall outline significant legal arguments and evidence to be presented at the hearing.
(2) A brief shall not exceed twenty-five pages in length except by permission of the Presiding Authority and by a showing of good cause.
(3) When a brief is submitted by any Party pursuant to this subsection, a copy shall be served on the same date of the submission to all other Parties to the Administrative Hearing.
(g) The time limitations of this section may be extended or shortened by the Presiding Authority for good cause shown.
(h) The Petitioner or Respondent may request that preliminary matters, not related to the merits of the hearing, be heard by the Presiding Authority prior to an Administrative Hearing in accordance with Section 26.0447.
(Amended 4-7-2003 by O-19165 N.S.)
(Amended 5-11-2011 by O-20049 N.S.; effective 6-10-2011.)
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/Ch02Art06Division04.pdf#page=25Fetched: 10/28/2026