Summary of Services

Specifically, BEGA is responsible for:

• Investigating alleged violations of the Code of Conduct, holding adversarial hearings and, where appropriate, levying sanctions;
• Issuing Advisory Opinions, providing “safe-harbor” for good-faith reliance on these opinions;
• Issuing Advisory Opinions on its own initiative;
• Conducting mandatory ethics training for District government employees;
• Updating and maintaining the District Ethics Manual;
• Receiving and reviewing public financial disclosure statements from public officials and certification statements from Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners;
• Overseeing compliance of certain government employees who must file confidential financial disclosure statements with their agency heads;
• Receiving and auditing lobbyist registration forms and lobbyist activity reports;
• Issuing binding opinions on compliance with the Open Meetings Act;
• Monitoring and providing advice on District agencies compliance with the Freedom of Information Act; and
• Assisting government agencies in the implementation of open government policies and practices.