There is hereby established an Office of Ethics and Accountability.

The purpose of the Office of Ethics and Accountability is to provide increased accountability and oversight in the operations of the County government by identifying fraud, abuse, and illegal acts therein.

The Office shall be headed by an Executive Director, appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council in accordance with the provisions of Section 322 of the Charter for Prince George's County, Maryland. The County Executive shall conduct an open search process for the Executive Director to meet the qualifications required under subsection (c) of this section, and may use measures, such as regional or national recognized organizations or a professional search firm(s), to review and select an Executive Director candidate for appointment. The term of office of the Executive Director shall be 4 years, and shall serve a staggered term to begin on July 1 of the second year after the County Executive and County Council are elected. An Executive Director shall not serve more than two full 4-year terms, not including any time served as Executive Director to complete an unexpired term, and shall be subject to appointment for a second 4-year term in accordance with the provisions of Section 322 of the Charter for Prince George's County, Maryland. The Executive Director shall be professionally qualified, by experience or education, in auditing, government operations, or financial management, and shall be selected solely on the basis of professional ability and personal integrity, without regard to political affiliation. The Executive Director may be removed by the County Executive prior to the expiration the term for which he was appointed only for cause, subject to the approval of the County Council by a vote of a two-thirds majority of the full Council. The cause of removal shall be stated in writing and a public hearing held on the removal.

The Executive Director shall also serve as the Executive Director of the Board of Ethics, and shall supervise the operations of the administrative staff of the Office of Ethics and Accountability, including the hiring, direction and discharge of all Office of Ethics and Accountability staff members in accordance with the County personnel laws. The Executive Director and his staff shall be compensated as provided in the classification plan of the County.

The Office of Ethics and Accountability shall be funded as a separate budget entity in the Annual Budget and Appropriation Ordinance. Any decrease in appropriations from the prior fiscal year, in either the proposed or adopted budget, shall be accompanied by a written justification for the decrease. Subject to the provisions of Article VIII of the Charter, it is authorized to expend funds derived from private grants, the State or the United States to carry out its functions and activities, and to cooperate with any agency of the State or the United States in carrying out its functions and activities.

The Office of Ethics and Accountability is authorized to engage in the following specific functions: Evaluate, investigate and inspect the activities, records, and individuals with contracts, procurements, grants, agreements, and other financial or programmatic arrangements undertaken by or on behalf of the County Government and any other function, activity, process, or operation conducted by County government; Conduct criminal, civil, and administrative investigations; Provide information and evidence that relates to criminal acts to appropriate law enforcement officials; Initiate such reviews of operations of the County Government as deemed appropriate; Receive and investigate complaints from any source or upon its own initiative concerning alleged abuse, fraud, and service deficiencies including deficiencies in the operation and maintenance of facilities; Conduct joint investigations and projects with the Office of Audits and Investigations and other oversight or law enforcement agencies. Issue public reports as set forth in Section 2-305 of this Division; Establish policies and procedures to guide functions and processes conducted by the Office; Provide support to the County Board of Ethics established by Section 2-292 of this Subtitle; Make recommendations to the County Executive and County Council which would assist in the promotion of efficiency, accountability, and integrity in County government; and Do all things necessary to carry out the functions set forth in this Division.

The Office of Ethics and Accountability is provided the following powers to accomplish the intent of this Division: The right to obtain full and unrestricted access to all records, information, data, reports, plans, projections, matters, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, and any other materials, including electronic data, of the County Government; The authority to administer oaths or affirmations and take testimony relevant to any inquiry or investigation undertaken pursuant to this Division; The right of access to the head of any public entity, when necessary for purposes related to the work of the Office; and The power to require County employees to cooperate with the Office's investigations regarding fraud, waste, corruption, illegal acts, and abuse. County employees failing or refusing to cooperate shall be subject to the discipline provisions of the Personnel Law or provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreement.

The Office of Ethics and Accountability shall refer matters, as appropriate, for further civil, criminal, and administrative action to appropriate administrative and prosecutorial agencies. When a matter is being referred to the Office of the State's Attorney for possible criminal prosecution, the Executive Director shall provide the affected individual or entity with a copy of the report or recommendations and such person or entity shall have 10 working days to submit a written explanation or rebuttal of the findings before the matter is referred, and such timely submitted written explanation or rebuttal shall be attached to the report or recommendations provided to the State's Attorney. The requirements of this subsection (a) shall not apply when the Executive Director, in conjunction with the State's Attorney, determines that supplying the affected person or entity with such report will jeopardize a pending criminal investigation. The Executive Director shall provide ongoing guidance to the Chief Administrative Officer regarding significant problems or deficiencies within the operations of the County government and provide recommendations to resolve those issues, and shall provide recommendations for specific integrity programs which emphasize detection, prevention, and correction of problems relating to fraud, corruption, and abuse within County government.

Anyone who has the authority to take or direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to this authority, take or threaten to take any action against another as reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing information to the Office of Ethics and Accountability, unless the complaint was made or the information disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity.

Investigation reports of the Office of Ethics and Accountability shall be public records subject to disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act. During the course of investigation activities, all records will be considered deliberative in process and not available for outside review. Names and identities of individuals making complaints and information protected by whistleblower protection or other legislation will not be disclosed without the written consent of the individual unless required by law or judicial process.

The Executive Director shall report the findings of the Office's work to appropriate elected and appointed leadership and to the public. The Executive Director shall report investigative matters to the appropriate administrative body for action in circumstances where such body exists, and shall report criminal investigative matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year, the Executive Director shall issue an annual report that separately lists reports and other investigative or assistance efforts completed during the fiscal year. The report shall list the accomplishments of the Office of Ethics and Accountability and shall be provided to the County Executive and the Clerk of the County Council. Upon issuance, notice shall be given to the public of the issuance of the report and the report shall be posted on the County Government website.

Investigations, inspections and reviews shall be subject to quality assurance reviews by an appropriate professional, non-partisan, objective group every three to five years. A copy of the written report resulting from this review shall be furnished to the County Executive and the County Council, and shall be made available to the public.