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Section 2-131 . Powers and dDuties of Commission. <br /> The Commission is empowered to and shall do the following: <br /> (a) Establish and maintain a permanent office in the City of <br /> South Bend. <br /> (b) Recommend to the Mayor for appointment an executive director, <br /> or such personnel as it may deem necessary, and to prescribe <br /> their duties . <br /> (c) Adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind such rules and <br /> regulations, procedural and substantive, as may be consistent <br /> with the provisions of this article and state laws . Such <br /> rules and regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the <br /> provisions of this article as it may hereafter be amended. <br /> (d) Formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of this article <br /> and make recommendations to the City to effectuate such <br /> policies . The several departments, commissions, boards, <br /> authorities, divisions, bureaus and officers of the City may <br /> furnish the Commission, upon its request, all records, <br /> papers, and information in their possession relating to any <br /> matter before the Commission. <br /> (e) Receive and investigate charges of discriminatory practices . <br /> The Commission shall not hold hearings in the absence of a <br /> charge as herein defined. All investigations of charges <br /> shall be conducted by staff members of the Commission. <br /> (f) Issue such publications and such results of investigations <br /> and research as in its judgment will tend to minimize or <br /> eliminate discrimination because of race, color, religion, <br /> sex, handicap, disability, national origin or ancestry, or <br /> familial status in the case of housing. <br /> (g) Prepare and issue a report annually to the Common Council and <br /> Mayor, describing in detail the investigation and <br /> conciliation proceedings it has conducted and their outcome, <br /> the progress made and any other work performed and <br /> achievements towards the elimination of discrimination. <br /> (h) Prevent any person from discharging, expelling or otherwise <br /> discriminating against any other person because he filed a <br /> charge or has testified in any hearing before this <br /> Commission, or has in any way assisted the Commission in any <br /> matter under investigation. <br /> (i) Appoint hearing officers, hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, <br /> compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony <br /> of any such person under oath, and require the production for <br /> examination of any books,- and papers relating to any matter <br /> under investigation or in question before the Commission. <br /> The Commission shall have the exclusive power to subpoena, <br /> but it shall consult with the Department of Law concerning <br /> the issuance of a subpoena. The Department of Law may veto <br /> the issuance of a subpoena if and only if such an issuance <br /> would be an abuse of the Commission' s subpoena power. Abuse <br /> of the Commission' s subpoena power shall include but not be <br /> limited to use of such subpoena power for harassment <br /> purposes, issuance of a subpoena for information clearly <br /> irrelevant to the investigation being conducted, and issuance <br /> of a subpoena for information over an excessively broad span <br /> of time. Contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued <br /> pursuant to this sect inn ha 1 1 nct i tntc n nnni-om.,+ 71 1 1 <br />