Sec. 8.246. Public Hearings. The Commission shall have the authority to hold public hearings in the course of its investigations as it deems necessary. Such public hearings shall be for the purposes of information-gathering and fact-finding, and shall conform to rules of procedure which the Commission shall adopt. In connection with such hearings, the Commission may request the City Council to issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of witnesses-and the production of evidence. Following approval by the Council, the City Clerk shall upon request of the Commission issue each subpoena in the name of the City of Los Angeles and attest the same with the corporate seal thereof, and shall in each subpoena direct and require the attendance of the witness sought to be subpoenaed before the Commission at a time and place to be in said subpoenas specified. The Chief of Police shall cause all such subpoenas to be served by some member of the Police Department upon the person or persons required to attend as aforesaid. Every person who, being so subpoenaed to attend as a witness before the Commission, refuses or neglects, without lawful excuse, to attend pursuant to such subpoena, and every person who, being present before the Commission, willfully refuses to be sworn or to answer any material and proper question, or to produce, upon reasonable notice, any material and proper books, papers or documents in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable as provided in section 11.00 (m) of the Los Angeles Municipal Code for conviction of a misdemeanor thereunder. No action taken by said Commission shall conflict or interfere with the lawful performance of the powers and duties reposed in the several offices, departments, commissions and boards of the City of Los Angeles by provisions of the Los Angeles City Charter, including, but not limited to, the powers of the Handicapped Access Appeals Commission to hear and/or decide appeals from the Department of Building and Safety regarding physical access to properties. The Commission on Disability shall not consider such Appeals. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 164,772, Eff. 6-3-89.