§ 3–1465. Organization; compensation; authority.

(a) The voting members of the Commission shall elect a chair from among its voting members; except, that the chair may not be a member of the Council. The Chair of the Commission, or a voting member that the Chair designates as Vice-Chair in his or her absence, shall convene all meetings of the Commission. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.

(b)(1) The voting members of the Commission, by a majority vote, shall hire an Executive Director who shall perform the duties required for the day-to-day functioning of the Commission as considered necessary by the members, including appointment of staff, selection of consultants, and the administration of meetings and report production. The Executive Director shall serve for the life of the Commission. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner that the original selection was made.

(2) The Executive Director shall receive an annual salary consistent with the District of Columbia Government Salary Schedule for Excepted Service (ES) employees, at the midpoint of Grade 10, plus fringe benefits.

(c)(1) Each voting member of the Commission shall be entitled to a stipend of $10,000 per year for their service on the Commission; except that, a member of the Council shall not receive a stipend.

(2) Voting members of the Commission shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses for up to 18 meetings of the Commission, not to exceed $2,500 per member.

(d)(1) The Commission's operations may be funded by annual appropriations or private sector assistance, or both.

(2)(A) If a special fund is established by the Commission for the receipt of operating donations from non-government sources, the fund shall be administered in accordance with established funding and auditing procedures of the District government. The expenditure of donations shall not be subject to appropriation.

(B) The Commission shall keep a record, available to the public for inspection, of all donations, assistance, and any substantial non-government in-kind contributions received. The record shall include the full name, address, and occupation or type of business of each donor.

(C) For purpose of this subsection, the term "substantial non-government in-kind contributions" includes any service reasonably valued at more than $5,000 that is received from any source other than the District or federal government.

(e)(1) The Commission shall have the authority to:

(A) Hold hearings, roundtables, and sit and act at any time and location in the District and to use space and supplies owned or rented by the District government;

(B) Request the attendance and testimony of witnesses;

(D) Seek an order from a Superior Court of the District of Columbia compelling testimony or compliance with a subpoena; and

(E) Create and operate under its own rules of procedure, consistent with this subchapter.

(2) Any member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Chair or Vice-Chair of the Commission, take any action that the Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this subchapter.

(3) The Commission may acquire directly from the head of any executive agency available information that the Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties.

(4) All Executive agencies shall cooperate with the Commission with respect to such information and shall furnish all information requested by the Commission to the extent permitted by law.

(5) The Commission shall keep confidential information received from an executive agency that is confidential, as required by law.

(f) The Commission may:

(1) Hire and fix the compensation of such personnel as the Commission considers appropriate, such as an attorney, researcher, economist, historian, genealogist, constitutional law scholar, data scientist, facilitator, forensic accountant, or mental health professional;

(2) Employ administrative, technical, and legal assistance;

(3) Procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance with applicable laws and rules; and

(4) Enter into contracts for the purposes of conducting research or surveys, preparing reports, developing a communications strategy for the release of the report, and performing other activities necessary for the discharge of the duties of the Commission with executive agencies, instrumentalities of the District, federal departments, agencies, other instrumentalities, and private entities.