testing one two three testing one two three testing one two three testing one two three good morning Asha good morning Asha hey I can hear you loud and clear we're not here we're not hearing her in the room though a few words The Interpreter can hear me because I see her signing you don't I can't hear you now okay thank you thank you uh Madam Secretary are we ready to get started foreign secretary Madam Secretary Mr assistant secretary are we ready to get started the secretary stepped away can you give her five minutes please as I just hit the gavel uh five minutes yes thank you okay that was the voice of God speaking all right well we'll wait five minutes or until she appears yes I am ready Mr chairman foreign thank you Madam Secretary I'm going to order this meeting uh this is the first council meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia it is also our organizational meeting today is Tuesday January 3rd 2023 the time is 11 17 in the morning uh this meeting is being conducted as we say hybrid so most of the members are present there are a couple of members who I'm expecting will be participating virtually and this meeting is being broadcast to live on cable television as well as I believe it's streaming on the council's website I'm Phil Mendelson chairman of the council we always begin our meetings of the council I can't really call this a legislative meeting because it's an organizational meeting but um we begin our Council meetings with a moment of silence I would ask that everyone on the days in the chamber and participating virtually would respect a moment of silence Madam Secretary would you please call the roll customer Allen here council member bonds here councilmember Freeman here councilmember Gray councilmember Gray councilmember Henderson here comes from Belize George here councilmember McDuffie here chairman mendelsohn president councilmember Nigel here that's remember Parker here that's Barbara Pinto present councilmember Robert White present councilmember Treyon White that's one betray on weight Mr chairman you have a quorum uh thank you very much Madam Secretary and I want to welcome the two members of the council who are here um the new day it's a new Council period uh new Council new Council period uh we have five items on the organizational meeting agenda uh we'll begin with the rules of organization and procedure and then proceed to other resolutions that are appointments I move pr25-1 the rules of organization and procedure for the Council of the District of Columbia Council period 25. resolution of 2023 and with my motion I am moving an oral Amendment or moving an amendment orally for new members this is generally crowned on our rules require that if there's an oral amendment that our general counsel has to be able to repeat it back there are three parts to this oral amendment in rule 241 which is on page 27 which concerns the committee on Transportation in the environment to add under 241 B which is the list of agencies to add the buildback better task force or the correct title being used for the task force the second part of this oral amendment is with regard to rules 372 which is on page 55 concerning meetings deemed open to revise the paragraph four which right now says that a meeting is deemed to be open if the meeting is virtual and the public or news media are permitted to attend and we receive I received some advice from our general counsel that that conflicts with the letter of the open meetings act so what I'm proposing here is or my Amendment here is to revise that paragraph to read if the meeting is virtual and the public or news media are permitted to attend and this is permissible under the open meetings Act uh the Third change is on a rule 653 a it's one of the discipline uh provisions pages 7980 to add a new paragraph seven to read as follows the accused May participate but shall not vote on a resolution of censure so I'll read those back the first is Rule 241 to add build back better task force the second is under open meetings to clarify that a virtual meeting if it is permissible under the open meetings Act and the third is to add a provision regarding censure that the accused May participate but shall not vote on a resolution of censure found general counsel do you have that yes Mr chairman I do and are there questions from Members about these oral changes on some reality thanks Mr chairman I um I know we talked about this so I appreciate it I just want to make sure um the intent is is clear because the build back better task force has a ending point essentially I just want to make sure it's clear what we're talking about is the build back better task forces reports and recommendations which I think is the intent here I just want to make sure that's clear I would say yes I thought so thank you uh any other questions regarding the oral Amendment so what I'm moving is PR 25-1 which was filed and circulated yesterday together with these three changes which were the oral Amendment okay um I'll open it up for discussion and I think the way I'll handle this is um we have four amendments that were cited on the agenda two by council member Parker and I believe number one doesn't need to be moved because we incorporated a um the essence of that in what was circulated yesterday but I do want to take a moment just to explain it had to do with trying to get more consistency from our committees and the hearing process maybe not so much to process but the process of notice and registration and while this the language that councilmember Parker had suggested speaks to that uh there's going to be more work that's going to be done between the Committees I've asked that Mr Cash the legislative director for the committee of the whole work with the committee directors for the other committees so that we can develop better and more consistent practices with regard to how the public learns of our hearings and can register and participate in our hearings uh the goal was not that every committee is straight jacketed by a one-size-fits-all rule but that there's just more consistency um and therefore less confusion on the part of the public so that's just expanding on that issue which was the essence of what Mr Parker had proposed so I'll recognize you for amendment number two thank you Mr chairman uh first I want to thank you for embracing my suggestion to create a standard process for public witnesses to sign up and as you state it it's important to establish a sense of consistency across the council and uh for us being mindful of how that lands with the public I also want to thank D.C Justice lab the DC for democracy and power DC DC black lives the matter and the dozens of other advocacy organizations that have called for that type of change I am moving Parker amendment 2 which addresses another shortcoming on the rules and that is um to ensure that as the mayor and agency officials come to testify before the council they do so under oath um as the council's performance as we enter performance and budget oversight period uh I believe it's going to just be really important for us to expect a level of Candor of government Witnesses and requiring the mayor and other agencies under ove testifying under oath sends an important message uh about the level of seriousness that we expect but also that we can take action if necessary following said uh testimony so thank you Mr chairman oh thank you council members I did not incorporate this into rules because I'm I don't want to say this I'm not sure that I support this um I think it should be left to committees to decide whether they want to swear in Witnesses uh this would require that all communities must swear in all mayoral Witnesses and I thought it best to leave it to um the members to decide Is there further on the amendment point of um or councilmember McDuffie I'm not sure how are you planning to move it but I'm I'm you you had three oil amendments that I don't think we voted on you the oral Amendments have moved as part of the main motion if you want me to separate it out I will well I had a question about one of them just and I wasn't sure if I was out of order to ask next question um now I wasn't sure that you were moving to the next amendments but you had already moved to the the two Parker yeah uh why don't we finish with um Mr Parker's Amendment okay then I'll turn to you uh discussion on Mr Parker's amendment number two yeah yes councilman thank you um chairman um and to Mr Parker um I appreciate your um Amendment but it is and has been common practice for the council committees to install each of the um official Witnesses from the reporting on the executive and so I'm wondering are you saying that you want to take the common practice and make it the rule that we're okay just want to get some clarity on that thank you chairman councilmember Tran White yes um I wanted to ask uh councilman Parker uh is this a way to get an official uh statements from these in the case that we feel like we're not giving me one as a councilman we're having oversight over government agency and the administration I missed part of that question uh due to the connection but uh I would say there are three goals here one is to establish a level of consistency across the council as was noted some committees are already uh swearing in government Witnesses the second is to make sure that we provide a process and a foundation for us to follow up on testimony that is provided under oath uh should we need to and that gets to your question number three it it would uh I think provide a process for us to legally require a certain information be provided to the council should that be necessary appreciate the question Mr chairman councilman thank you thank you again and thank you Mr Parker I think the second Point you're making is a little different from the amendment that we have before us but I I applaud you in um having clear understanding that is important for any measure before the council that we have the opportunity to hear from the executive the operating agency so if that is a third oral Amendment uh perhaps is something that we should consider that's your intent not your intent okay that was not my intent no all righty thank you is there any further on this we'll do yes yeah it comes from Midtown um that's a quick question so process was functionally this is a threshold question for me and maybe you can answer this given your opinion on the council Mr chairman otherwise maybe the general counsel is it illegal to to lie to in testimony to a council committee um general counsel can you speak to that um well off the cuff I'm not aware of any law that makes it illegal but I think the general assumption and practice is that the um particularly with the mayor and the agency witnesses that when they come to us and testify they are testifying truthfully okay okay all right that's the only question I had thank you I thank you um if there's no further discussion we have the amendment before us uh all those in favor of the amendment say aye Mr chairman yes uh can we do a roll call vote yeah if you want thank you uh Madam Secretary would you call the role councilmember Allen council member Allen yes that's my balance yes customer bonds yes that's remember bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson councilmember Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George yes president Louis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie voters chairman Mendelson yes chairman mendels yes yes councilmember Parker yes that's remember Parker votes yes Mother Pinto yes that's remember Pinto folks yes councilmember Robert White yes councilman Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran White yes council member Tran white folks yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh the Amendments approved unanimously uh Mr McDuffie you had a question on the oral amendments actually before you go there um I know Madam general counsel that the amendment that we just approved is proposed for title VI of the rules which deals with investigations and subpoenas I think it might be better placed in Title 5 part B which concerns receiving testimony so if there's no objection from Council Members if uh general counsel would have the latitude to look at the correct placement of this rule Mr Victor but you did and the uh oral amendments I I don't need to ask a question anymore okay excellent um give me a second here at the moment okay just asking to be recognized customer Pinto thank you Mr chairman just wanted to thank you for the oral Amendment regarding the censure uh vote I think it's extremely important that as a body we hold ourselves and each other to the highest ethical standards and in the unfortunate and hopefully unlikely incident that one of us has to be centered it gets appropriate that that member does not participate in the vote on whether or not they should be censored so thank you for that thank you I'm going to recognize council member Gray customer gray you had an amendment I did thank you very much very much Mr chairman uh this amendment will correct the flaw uh in the rules uh to govern our operations uh Mr chairman uh we must uh never discriminate uh against anyone for any reason uh be it intentional or unintentional uh this measure uh will bring the council into compliance with laws that govern all workplaces uh uh across the District of Columbia our operations and decision making should be exempt should not be exempt from laws that govern or that protect human rights uh clearly Mr chairman we must hold ourselves absolutely the highest standards thank you Mr chairman uh so Mr Gray uh you're are you speaking to amendment number one or number two number one uh we have amendment number one before us is there discussion councilmember Allen uh thank you very much Mr chair um I certainly agree uh with my colleagues uh statement about we want to be it completely free of any discrimination I did have one question if I could ask to to Mr Gray and that had to do with the amendment and what potentially could create a conflict between executive and legislative functions um and I think there's absolutely no I a thousand percent agree uh with F1 uh within the amendment and within two the first half of that but when it comes to some of the issues that are administrative in a function from the from the legislative branch is the intent to have the executive branch then their offices be able to make determinations about the legislative branches works that's my only concern is just around the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branch yes I think it does uh Mr Allen uh and so this would simply be uh exercising the same uh same same efforts that we are that we're making now uh in the council that's true uh so I'm sorry so to clarify the intent is to have the executive branch then make determinations on the legislative branches actions I I believe Mr Allen that the uh staff is covered now uh and uh would expect that they would continue to be covered uh in the work that we're doing now correct about the staff I agree uh uh my question is around this amendment seems to speak to administrative actions that the council would take um and that's that's the element I'm trying to understand is if the intent is to have the executive branch be able to make determinations over administrative actions of the legislative branch thank you Mr Allen I think it should be covered um with what we're doing now I think it comes from around uh just for the record I do not support this amendment Is there further discussion uh on a Voice vote all those in favor of the amendment no all those no no no roll call Mr chairman um Madam Secretary um some will somebody call the roll sure councilmember bonds we're voting on the amendment yes the vote is amendment one amendment number one I will vote um no that's my bonds folks no councilmember Freeman no that's where crewman vote snow councilmember Gray yes customer grateful yes councilmember Henderson no council member Henderson votes no comes from Louis George yes yes remember Lewis George votes yes because remember McDuffie no that's where McDuffie votes no chairman Mendelson no chairman mendelsohn holds now councilmember Nadeau no councilmanito votes no councilmember Parker no I remember Parker felt snow councilmember Pinto oh that's our council member Pinto volcano council member Robert White no councilmember Robert Whitefield snow councilmember betray on white yes councilmember Treyon white votes yes councilmember Allen no councilmember Alan bald snow Mr chairman there are three yeses and ten no's thank you Madam Secretary the amendment fails are the agenda lists the second amendment by councilmember gray Mr Gray do you want to move that uh thank you very much Mr chairman um I'm a uh I'm proposing a committee organization uh hereby I retained the health committee uh Mr chairman first though uh we we must create a committee for councilmember Henderson uh to be able to chair in the course of this my proposal is creating an education committee this amendment is a the first step in this uh two-step process Mr chairman thank you Mr chairman uh thank you councilmember gray uh I did not support the amendment uh the uh proposals that I put forward last week to which have been a few adjustments uh reflects my sense of the consensus of the council and so I stand by that so further discussion on this amendment uh by Voice vote all those in favor uh Madam Secretary would you call the rule councilmember Freeman no councilmember Freeman votes no that's Robert Gray yes that's remember great votes yes councilmember Henderson no councilmember Henderson votes no councilman Bill Lewis George no councilmember Lewis George vote snow councilmember McDuffie no councilmember we definitely need to know chairman mendelsohn no chairman Mendelson vote snow how's Marvin a joke no councilmember Parker no councilmember Parker volcano councilmember Pinto councilmember Pinto votes now Pastor Robert White nope council member Robert Whitefield snow comes from betray on white yes councilmember Treyon white votes yes councilmember Allen no councilmember Allen told snow councilmember bonds no that's Barbara bonds folks no Mr chairman there are two yeses and 11 notes uh the amendment fails a further discussion with regard to the rules uh to be clear so the rules that are before us are the rules that were filed and circulated yesterday together with the oral Amendment that I presented and uh as amended by councilmember Parker's amendment number two uh so if there's further discussion Mr chairman councilmember Henderson um yes I had a clarifying question about uh the racial impact excuse me racial Equity impact assessment language um I in the change so they're one of the changes that are being proposed would require that the Council Office of racial Equity within 15 days after a hearing record is closed issue of racial a racial Equity impact assessment for each bill for which the hearing is held I wanted to raise this as a point of concern in terms of the workload of the poor office because there are occasions where a hearing is held on a bill but a committee does not intend to move it and yet urea will have to be written for that um are we adding additional staff support for core as a result of this increase change I think it's a fair question and I will ask Ms Smith the secretary to speak to this if she wishes to after I've said a word or two the idea for this came from the core and when I say core not the core office it's because it's the Council Office on racial Equity the idea for this came from the core uh they felt that this would help in the long run and that also as a balancing that um in balancing in terms of looking at their work that this was an advantage to them yes there's some bills on which there's a hearing that never goes to markup and trust me I I pressed staff on this point um and it's the point you're making uh but um the advantage here is that instead of waiting until the committee says hey we're going to mark up and then the court has to do the work the core has done the work much earlier and if you think back over the last three months which really were torturous the last three months which were tortuous to the Core because there were on December 6 60 bills on the agenda um they would rather front load their work and uh I do think that there could be some efficiencies as well as improvements because they'll have more time uh because if the committee makes any changes between the introduction and the committee print the core will already have done the basic work that they need for the Rio so all that will be our way they'll be better informed plus the committee will ideally be looking at racial equity as they're moving toward Marco I will add this one of the challenges is that the rules have said committees have to notify the core 10 days I can't remember if it's 10 calendar or 10 business days before a markup and some committees at best give 10 days when ideally a committee would give more notice than that so all of this is meant to ease the burden it came from core um they think this will actually help them uh Madam Secretary do you want to add to that and I'm turning to her only because she works directly with core thank you Mr chairman I agree with everything that you've said and councilmember Henderson thank you for raising it and I have on my radar finding additional funds to be able to bolster the capacity of the office um so with your help and the help of the other members I hope to be able to find additional funds for next budget period um but as the chairman said the core staff and myself and the chairman have discussed this and in terms of trying to figure out how best to move forward and how best to incorporate uh the racial Equity analysis earlier in the process um the the benefits of changing the process so that they will issue Riaz after a hearing uh far outweighs the the disadvantage of waiting until after a committee has noted uh a markup so yes we have we have waited all and and we hope uh and Pray by Council period 25 will be easier to manage great thank you thank you uh further on the rules I do want to add one thing I didn't want to bring this up earlier but just so that the record is clear the Human Rights Act does apply to the Council of the District of Columbia and over the years in fact there have been instances unfortunately where employees felt that they were discriminated against I say unfortunately because uh too often the office of human rights has upheld the allegations of discrimination so that is examples of how the human rights act does apply to the council um we have the resolution before us as I said it's uh the pr 25-1 together with the oral amendments and Mr Parker's Amendment I think we can do this by a Voice vote yeah all those in favor of PR 25-1 as amended say aye aye opposed roll call s Jim uh Mr Graves asked for a roll call before I've announced a vote um so Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Gray no that's what I'm agreeable to know councilmember Henderson yes customer Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes comes from Bill Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilmember Joe yes councilmember yes councilmember Parker yes councilmember Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert whitefolks yes councilmember Treyon white yes that's one betrayal might votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilman LeBron's votes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes Mr chairman there it's wild yeses and one now uh the resolution is approved uh the next measure is pr25-2 Council period 25 appointment of chairperson pro Tem committee chairpersons and committee membership resolution of 2023 so moved uh I think it's self-explanatory so I'm not going to say more at the moment uh there is on the agenda listed councilmember grades Amendment uh let me just good draw Mr chairman oh thank you so the amendment is withdrawn uh we have the resolution before so is there a discussion uh can we do this by Voice vote roll call Mr chairman ma'am secretary would you call the roll councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes that's remember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Middleton yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilmanito yes councilmember the dovos yes councilmember Parker yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert whitefields yes customer tranway yes councilman patrion Whitefield yes that's remember Allen yes councilmember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray no that's one of the gray votes no Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one now uh the resolution is approved I moved pr25-3 general counsel to the Council of the District of Columbia Nicole Streeter reappointment resolution of 2023. is there discussion I hope by Your Voice vote all those in favor of PR 25-3 say aye aye opposed I'm secretary I don't see your hearing no votes you agree agreed Mr chairman uh the resolution has improved unanimously I moved PR 25-4 budget director to the Council of the District of Columbia Jennifer budoff ready appointment resolution 2023 is there discussion uh again I hope we can do this by Voice vote on PR 25-4 uh you have to wait till I ask for the eyes and A's uh all those in favor say aye opposed um secretary I don't see you're hearing no votes do you agree agreed Mr chairman uh the resolutions approved unanimously I appreciated that uh robust uh vote just want to note that wish that had been around last fall with some of those anemic responses uh PR 25-5 so moved the secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia and Nasha Smith reappointment resolution of 2023 is their discussion Again by Voice vote all those in favor say aye aye opposed um secretary I don't see her hearing no votes do you agree thankfully I agree uh the resolution has improved unanimously uh we have no other business for this meeting uh the legislative meeting was noticed to begin right after this meeting uh so it'll take what five minutes three minutes the assistant Secretary of saying five the other secretary the secretary secretary is saying I was saying three but let's give them five well nobody should leave the room and all should stay on the zoom link as well all right so it's 11 54 this meeting's adjourned are we ready to start yes sir um secretary you say yes yes Mr chairman we're ready the chamber looks ready as well all right I'm going to order this meeting this is the first legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia I'm Phil Mendelson chairman of the council today is Tuesday January 3rd 2023 the time is 12 noon and this meeting is being conducted in the council chambers room 500 of the Johnny Wilson building but also uh is accessible virtually and at least one council member is participating virtually uh and this meeting is being broadcast as well on um the cable television We Begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence I would ask if members would respect that for a moment of silence Madam Secretary do you please call the roll I was on the Allen here that's one of the bonds here resin the gray yeah that's not a little storage yeah that's my name here Cameron Mendelson president how's Mom and McDowell here councilman Parker here present I'm from the Robert White president [Music] Mr chairman thank you Madam Secretary let me just say at the outset for the benefit of the public and new members our first legislative meeting of a council period is always a little bit strange because not only do we have very little business but there are some matters that are carried over from the last council meeting which our rules permit being carried over for example second readings on temporary bills uh some resolutions that have a time limit to them although none of those are on the agenda today um and as well the secretary's report uh and I believe the log of introductions will have carryovers as well um so it's just a little different that way but uh that's the business of this Council so with the next item on the agenda is the secretary's report of committee filings I recognize the chairperson McDuffie thank you Mr chairman and I'll move the way the reading of the secretary's report it's been a motion the way the reading of the report is there discussion by a Voice vote all those in favor of waiving the reading of the report say aye aye opposed I don't see or hear any no votes uh the resolution carries unanimously we have the report of uh introduction secretary's report of introductions again I'll recognize the chair Pro tem Mr McDuffie and I moved away the reading that the Secretary of report of introductions but a motion the way the reading of the report is there discussion on the motion to waive the reading all those in favor say aye aye are there any no's uh the resolution is excuse me the motion is improved unanimously we have a consent agenda are there any changes to the consent agenda hearing none Madam Secretary the vote will be on the consent agenda I believe they're uh two items three measures uh the vote is on the consent agenda would you please call the roll that's remember Lewis George yes yes councilmerman McDuffie yes that's right Duffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron Mendelson boots yes yes councilman Parker yes as remember Parker votes yes that's number Pinto yes councilmember votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member Tran white yes councilman fan white votes yes that's remember Allen yes councilmember Allen both yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember 1 Sports yes that's one of the women yes that's from the Freeman votes yes House member Gray Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh thank you thank you Madam Secretary the consent agendas approved unanimously current is a non-consent agenda uh we have a final reading and vote on the temporary Bill District of Columbia Housing Authority stabilization and reform temporary Amendment Act of 2022 bill 24-1145 this bill was approved on first reading at the council's December 20th meeting the agenda lists it is being moved by myself as well as council members councilmember bonds and I know the councilmember Robert White was very much participating on this issue at our December 20th meeting so I'll recognize each of them in a moment the um I recognize YouTube and I want to note there's an amendment uh why don't I I wanted to move the amendment and then I'll if that's okay now into them the amendment that was circulated syncs on the agenda is simply to clear up a confusion with regard to the council's review it's a technical amendment that clarifies that mayoral nominations to the Housing Authority stabilization review board will be subject to a 90-day review period by the council um and so this eliminates the contradictory reference if there's no objection the amendment will be accepted amendment is accepted we have the bill as amended before us uh discussion councilmember bonds did you want to say anything um no um chairman I think that we kind of covered the issue but I will maybe I will say something for our new members um um I want to indicate that this measure is before us for a second reading because we want to make it very clear that we're doing what we can to begin the process of healing and repair for this very important agency and most importantly for the people who find who live in a public housing communities and for those who partake of the um housing Choice voucher the federal voucher and to some degree for those that partake of the our homeless community that finds themselves using the voucher as well and so the whole idea is to put in place a governance structure that is strong and that is focused exclusively on making sure that repairs take place and that the process is one that we can measure and speak to and in that process we want to be assured that the housing organizations that represent the various public housing properties have an opportunity to have a a huge say in the process and that is that on a quarterly basis that they would have the opportunity to set the agenda for the work that is before this governing body and so I'll close with that and give it to councilmember White to expound thanks for what you wish to speak thank you customer Revenge thank you Mr chairman thank you councilmember bonds um this is an important step for um correcting and stabilizing our public housing here in the district for reasons that we all know uh we have to set our city on the course of uh developing the most stable public housing program in the nation the only way to do that is one uh with a strong governance board that includes experts in residents so that that we have folks who can see into the agency who have the expertise to second guess to ask the right questions who will work with the agency and pushing it forward we have to have great leadership which will attract great talent inside the agency and keep uh keep people inside the agency we have to have funding and we have to have a plan to move forward all of these things are necessary uh having a stabilization board is a key factor in stabilizing some public housing so that none of us are asking ourselves in five years why is public housing the same as or worse than uh it is today so if we're going to put public housing on a stable trajectory this is a necessary element um so I I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this thank you Mr chairman thank you councilmember white uh councilmember Pinto thank you chairman I appreciate all the work that's gone into this stabilization board and the compromises included therein I still believe as we talked about last Council period that deeper structural reforms are necessary from reporting to board management to who makes up that board to our repairs and maintenance funds um and to Independence and so I will be continuing to work with our colleagues on those deeper reforms and won't be supporting this bill today thank you thank you councilmember Pinto um I'm glad you said that because it is a segue for me to say that why I think it's important that folks do vote for this um and of course members who were here in the fall know the issue very well um I see this as part one of two steps and that part one is to support immediate changes so that the board can move forward well we've already adopted those changes so it's sort of necessary to be consistent with that with this legislation which is temporary and the second step is that then for the committee to take a look at the deeper structural reforms so the issue of deeper structural reforms is very much an issue and something that needs to be addressed and this gives us this gives the government time to do that that's why the emergency was critical and this temporary which simply extends that emergency uh on a temporary basis is critical so I would urge the members vote for this this is not the uh the um the the final the final step in this at all but it's a necessary step so that we can get to the final step in a more orderly way no further discussion uh by a Voice vote be on the bill as amended all those in favor say aye aye Mr chairman please report me is voting no Mr chairman please record me as voting no Madam chairman please record me the voting no as well and please record me as voting no as well Mr chairman the eyes have it with council members Lewis George Pinto Parker and Truman being recorded as no we have an emergency Bill uh the law enforcement career opportunities for district residents expansion emergency declaration resolution 2023 councilmember Allen thank you very much Mr chair in April of 2022 the council passed emergency and temporary versions of this law the temporary is set to expire on February 10 2023 the comprehensive policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 which was passed on second reading on December 20th 2022 makes with some minor Amendments of provisions of that emergency act in temporary and temporary law permanent the second round of emergency and temporary legislation is now necessary though to prevent a gap in the law between the expiration of the temporary law and the effective date of the permanent legislation so with that Mr chair I move the Declaration thank you Mr Elm so this is to fill a gap and when does the gap begin otherwise the Gap would begin that the current temporary that the council has passed would expire on February 10 2023 and the effective date of the permanent law we know will be after that date so we need to prevent the Gap from taking place and this is uh related to the expansion of the MPD Cadet program uh allowing High School seniors on a clarity uh customer Tran white yes I have a question that relates to what we are doing in part with this bill does this bill allow for those who are not high school graduates of DC to enter into the cadet program Mr Allen uh thank you Mr chair and thank you Mr White uh broadly yes so the uh the legislation of the council passed last spring was how do we help make sure there were a handful of cases where individuals who are looking to be and enter into our MPD Cadet program uh were DC residents but had graduated from a high school other than a DC high school it's a handful of cases we worked with MPD to put the language together um and then it was passed by the council uh last fall so it's one of the ways that we want to continue growing our Cadet program do we know what what is required to show uh DC residency uh at my fingertips I do not have all of that um we could certainly work with MPD the cadet program and yourself to make sure you've got all the all that information I don't have that at my fingertips I just want to say this on the record I'm probably concerned um and I do want DC students to be able to participate as Cadets I just don't want to open up because DC draws a lot of people from a lot of different areas and jurisdictions to come here uh receive training that we pay for and then they get be on the force for a little bit and they go other places and make money um and then we have a high turnover in police and I know we have a recruit class and we have a Cadet class that specifically supposed to be geared towards those coming out of high school to get into the cadet comp program to become officers I just don't want to mix the two and then we um I guess convolute those who got real DC residents or high school students get into the program um because I've seen that we've implemented like a program at Anacostia for high school students but we haven't seen the results uh as a as much as we've invested into that program and so I don't want to make I want to make sure we're not creating a pathway for other people to come benefit from city government services directly for DC high school students uh I agree um and if we look back to the way that the council so working with MPD uh last spring the initial version that had been sent to us from MPD uh we felt would create a potential loophole the way you describe um which could you know the example that was given I remember at the time was uh you could end up with an individual who grew up in Wisconsin uh moved the district at age 17 and a half uh got into a DC high school and graduated and could somehow have the same rights to get into that MPD program or Cadet program um and we really wanted to think about how do we help make sure we we don't allow the loopholes like you're talking about but really make sure we're giving this opportunity for DC residents and we worked very collaboratively with MPD we came to some really good uh agreements around that that's what was passed last spring so this is just a continuation of what we've already put in place and certainly I'm happy to work with you and of course the new chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee if we need to track down any of that additional data to provide to you in your office thank you last comment chairman if I may yeah in that example I do think that that person who moved from Wisconsin graduate from high school does qualify to be in the cadet program just wanted to add that I'm not just not just talking about students I'm talking about older adults who are trying to get into uh the police academy through other venues other vehicles that we may have uh was that a question or a statement it's a statement all right thank you uh further on the bill we have the Declaration before us Madam Secretary would you call the role the votes on the Declaration yes councilmember yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilman Miguel yes councilman the jail votes yes councilmember Parker yes councilman Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes House member Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert whitefield's yes councilman betray online yes husband betray on white votes yes because remember Allen yes that's from Alan bolts yes councilmember bonds yes that's remember bonds votes yes councilman Freeman yes that's from the free members yes councilmember gray yes that's from the great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes that's from the Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes that's from Louis George yes Mr chairman they're 13 answers the Declaration excuse me the Declaration is approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill law enforcement career opportunities for district residents expansion emergency Amendment Act of 2023 Mr Allen so move Mr chair discussion foreign any requests for discussion um since did Declaration was approved unanimously we can deal with this on a Voice vote the vote is on the bill itself all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes um secretary I don't see your hearing no votes do you agree I've made Mr chairman the bill was approved unanimously uh we have the temporary bill it's the same issue comes from Ray Allen the movements chair discussion Again by Voice vote this is on the temporary version of the bill all those in favor say aye aye are there any no votes um secretary you don't see or hear any no votes do you agree great Mr chairman Bill the temporary bill has approved unanimously uh that's going to conclude the business of this meeting the next legislative meeting regularly scheduled legislative meetings February 7th 2023 starting at noon uh we will have a committee the whole meeting in two weeks that is on January 17th uh the time is 12 20 in the afternoon and this meeting is adjourned