There is hereby established in state government the Fair Political Practices Commission. The Commission shall have five members, including the chair. No more than three members of the Commission shall be members of the same political party.

The chair and one additional member of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor. The Governor’s appointees shall not be members of the same political party.

Controller receives one or more lists pursuant to this section, the Controller’s appointment shall be made from one of such lists.

Members and the chair of the Commission shall serve four-year terms beginning on February 1 and ending on January 31 or as soon thereafter as their successors are qualified, except that the initial appointees under Section 83102 shall serve six-year terms. A member or chair who has been appointed at the beginning of a term is not eligible for reappointment.

Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled, within thirty days, by appointment of the same official who appointed the prior holder of the position. The provisions of Section 83102 (b) are not applicable to the filling of vacancies. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term of the member or chair whom the appointee succeeds. A vacancy or vacancies shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all of the powers of the board. Three members shall constitute a quorum.

Each member of the commission shall be an elector. A member of the commission, during the member’s tenure, shall not hold any other public office, serve as an officer of any political party or partisan organization, participate in or contribute to an election campaign, or employ or be employed as a lobbyist nor, during the member’s term of appointment, seek election to any other public office. Members of the commission may be removed by the Governor, with concurrence of the Senate, for substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers and duties of office or violation of this section, after written notice and opportunity for a reply.

The chair of the Commission shall be compensated at the same rate as the president of the Public Utilities Commission. Each remaining member shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day on which the member engages in official duties. The members and chair of the Commission shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in performance of their official duties.

The Commission shall appoint an executive director who shall act in accordance with Commission policies and regulations and with applicable law. The Commission shall appoint and discharge officers, counsel and employees, consistent with applicable civil service laws, and shall fix the compensation of employees and prescribe their duties.

The Commission may delegate authority to the chair or the executive director to act in the name of the Commission between meetings of the Commission.

For purposes of Section 19818.6, a nonclerical position under the Commission shall not be included in the same class in the civil service classification plan with any position of any other department or agency.

The principal office of the Commission shall be in Sacramento but it may establish offices, meet, and exercise its powers at any other place in the state. Meetings of the Commission shall be public except that the Commission may provide otherwise for discussions of personnel and litigation.

The Commission has primary responsibility for the impartial, effective administration and implementation of this title.

The commission shall take no action to implement this title that would abridge constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech, that would deny any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or that would deny any person the equal protection of the laws.

The Commission may adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations to carry out the purposes and provisions of this title, and to govern procedures of the Commission. These rules and regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Government Code, Title 2, Division 3, Part 1, Chapter 4.5, Sections 11371 et seq.) and shall be consistent with this title and other applicable law.

working days of the request, provided that the time may be extended for good cause. It shall be a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or criminal proceeding, if the requester, at least 21 working days prior to the alleged violation, requested written advice from the commission in good faith, disclosed truthfully all the material facts, and committed the acts complained of either in reliance on the advice or because of the failure of the commission to provide advice within 21 days of the request or such later extended time.

Upon the sworn complaint of any person or on its own initiative, the commission shall investigate possible violations of this title relating to any agency, official, election, lobbyist or legislative or administrative action. Within 14 days after receipt of a complaint under this section, the commission shall notify in writing the person who made the complaint of the action, if any, the commission has taken or plans to take on the complaint, together with the reasons for such action or nonaction. If no decision has been made within 14

days, the person who made the complaint shall be notified of the reasons for the delay and shall subsequently receive notification as provided above.

A finding of probable cause to believe this title has been violated shall not be made by the commission unless, at least 21 days prior to the commission’s consideration of the alleged violation, the person alleged to have violated this title is notified of the violation by service of process or registered mail with return receipt requested, provided with a summary of the evidence, and informed of that person’s right to be present in person and represented by counsel at any proceeding of the commission held for the purpose of considering whether probable cause exists for believing the person violated this title. Notice to the alleged violator shall be deemed made on the date of service, the date the registered mail receipt is signed, or, if the registered mail receipt is not signed, the date returned by the

post office. A proceeding held for the purpose of considering probable cause shall be private unless the alleged violator files with the commission a written request that the proceeding be public.

When the commission determines there is probable cause for believing this title has been violated, it may hold a hearing to determine if a violation has occurred. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section

11500), Part 1, Division 3, Title 2, Government Code). The commission shall have all the powers granted by that chapter. When the commission determines on the basis of the hearing that a violation has occurred, it shall issue an order that may require the violator to do all or any of the following:

Whenever the commission rejects the decision of an administrative law judge made pursuant to Section 11517, the commission shall state the reasons in writing for rejecting the decision.