Austin Ethics Review Commission affirms it lacks jurisdiction over two complaints, debates commission-initiated complaint process

The City of Austin Ethics Review Commission unanimously affirmed that it lacks jurisdiction over two complaints filed by resident and former city employee Andrew Rivera, the commission said during its Aug. 27 meeting. Commissioners also discussed whether the commission should be able to originate complaints and voted to discontinue a working group that maintained a calendar of commission duties.

The commission voted 8-0 to affirm the chair's initial jurisdictional determination on a complaint filed June 6, 2025, by Andrew Rivera against Lauren Elizabeth Middleton Pratt and then voted 8-0 to affirm that it lacks jurisdiction over a complaint filed Aug. 15, 2025, by Rivera against Megan Hilburn Herndon. Both motions were made and seconded during the meeting and passed unanimously among commissioners present.

Those motions formally upheld Chair Ross Pumphrey's preliminary determinations that the Ethics Review Commission does not have authority under the cited sections of city code to adjudicate the complaints. Commissioners debated how changes to city code in recent years affect the commission's scope and whether the auditor's office retains investigatory authority in parallel.

Andrew Rivera, who spoke…