foreign foreign this meeting this is an additional meeting of the committee of the whole of the Council of the District of Columbia I'm Phil Mendelson Sherman the council and chair of the committee as a whole today is Tuesday February 7 2023 time is 11 49 in the morning this meeting is being conducted primarily live in the council chambers room 500 of the Johnny Wilson building but is also accessible uh through the zoom video conference broadcast platform and I believe there's at least one member who's participating virtually and um this meeting is also being broadcast on Council of Channel 13 and is available on the council's website which is www.dccouncil.gov oh this is an additional meeting as a committee as a whole it will be followed by a legislative meeting which will be the regular legislative meeting for the month of February there'll be three items for markup in the community of the whole and then there's an additional or measures that are being agendized for the legislative meetings through the committee of the whole uh we begin our committee the whole meetings by determining whether there is a quorum Mr Cash would you call the roll chairman Mendelson president councilmember Allen here councilmember bonds here councilmember Freeman here councilmember gray here councilmember Henderson here councilmember Lewis George councilman Lewis George councilmember McDuffie councilmember here councilmember Parker here councilmember Pinto president councilmember Robert White president council member Tran white president Mr chairman you have a quorum thank you Mr Cash uh the first item for markup is PR 25-8 which is the District of Columbia auditor Kathleen Patterson reappointment approval resolution of 2023 the purpose of this resolution would be to approve and to actually make the reappointment of Kathy Patterson as statistic of Columbia auditor for a six-year term to end February 25th 2029. he officer of the District of Columbia auditor was established by Congress through the home rule Act its mission is to support the Council of the District of Columbia by making sound recommendations that improve the effectiveness efficiency and accountability of the district government to pursuant to the home rule act the auditor is appointed by the chairman of the council subject to the approval of the majority of the council and as I noted the term is for six years the resolution would confirm the reappointment of Miss Patterson but this would be her third appointment as auditor she is currently a resident of ward 3 has resided in the district for over 45 years as a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Northwestern University a master of arts in English literature from Georgetown University um Miss Patterson was a member of the council uh elected first elected in 1994. served for 12 years and um I could say more but it's in the report the resolution was introduced by me on January 3rd of this year committee as a whole had a public hearing on January 30th the committee the whole has received no testimony or comics in opposition to the reappointment of Miss Patterson I believe members are familiar with the work of the office of the District of Columbia auditor and so I moved the print apps there's no objection I'll move both the print and the reports together would leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion councilman thank you very much I just have a question about the length of the appointment um six years um just curious as to how our government arrived at that being the length of service in this position I think you're going to have to ask Congress and I think you're going to ask have to ask a lot of congressmen who were there in 1973 and might not still be there um I'm guessing that the theory was that they wanted uh an independent office that is an adjunct to the council that outlasts in terms of the term uh the the terms of current members of the council so though every one of us who's here today uh we would have to go through a re-election to be here six years from now but Miss Patterson would be the auditor for the full six years well thank you very much I think it was just important for the public to know that this is not a mandate set by the council that is set by Congress so that we all understand that we continue to have imposition on our government by the United States uh Congress so thank you very much sure um I'm guessing that uh well I'm not guessing this the auditor is somewhat analogous to the general accountability office and uh the head of the general General accountability office what's the title The Controller General has served a term of I believe 15 years I'm not proposing that no because you indicated this is a mandate from Congress so they would have to correct impose that well thank you very much I just wanted the public to understand what this is about thank you thank you for further discussion Mr chairman can I add yes customer from regardless of where the requirement comes from for the time period I think we're we're very lucky to have Kathy Patterson in this role for another six years I think she's done just a great job so far and I look forward to her next six years thank you councilmember Robert White did you want to be recognized uh yes thank you Mr chairman I I wanted to have my voice of support I think the the level of uh thoroughness and professionalism from auditor Patterson is exceptional uh I think she adds incredible value to uh our body and to our city and even where we disagree I appreciate uh her her voice and her work so I look forward to supporting her uh continue work in that position thank you I would Echo what my colleagues has already said um and just offering appreciation to uh Miss Patterson for her work uh and the professionalism of her office I would also just encourage um the district and residents to take heed to many of the reports that the office is putting out and us as a body to take action on many of the recommendations coming from the auditor's office so looking forward to supporting this nomination this is nothing further uh we will have a role called the vote is on both the print and Report with lead for staff Mr Cash would you call the role councilmember bonds yes councilman bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman OTS councilmember Gray yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman mendelsohn votes yes council member Nadeau yes councilman Adele votes yes councilmember Harker yes councilmember Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes council member Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes council member trian white yes councilmember Tran white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Allen votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the um motion which is the print reporter approved unanimously Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is um secretaries the record complete once the hearing record and reporter files modern budget director does the measure ciscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does not objection this message will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the next item for business is PR 25-48 the Pennsylvania Avenue East small area plan approval resolution of 2023. the purpose of this resolution is to approve the proposed Pennsylvania Avenue East small area plan which was prepared by the DC office of planning and further into the comprehensive plan this measure was submitted to the Council on November 28 2022 it would be deemed approved later this month foreign Hall held a hearing on this resolution on the small area plan on January 30th 2023 as I said it was originally introduced last November uh which some members will recall was a very at the end of November it was a very busy time so the Community Hall did not have the ability to take it out in the last several weeks of the council period Pennsylvania Avenue East study area is located in ward 7. it is comprised of the one and a half mile long half mile wide corridor Corridor centered on Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast running between the Souza bridge and Southern Avenue the Pennsylvania Avenue East smaller your plan is organized along four themes Economic Development and Retail opportunity Transportation access and connectivity housing opportunities and affordability and vibrant public realm and Urban Design or the Pennsylvania Avenue East smaller you plan the planning process coordinated by the office of planning included substantial public engagement beginning in April 2021 from that time until July 2022 a number of virtual community meetings were held to engage the public with additional in-person meeting opportunities convened to develop the plan in all the planning process included 25 community events led by the office planning in a series of online engagements the draft plan was released for public comment on September 1st 2022 the mayor there was a mayoral public hearing on October 1st 2022 um the uh small area plan does include an implementation chapter outlining how the plan will be implemented through private development and public investment the um and this would be led by government agencies property owners and Community Partners over years and decades the um smaller this small area plan is the third small area plan completed since adoption of the comprehensive plan Amendment Act of 2021 a new requirement of the comprehensive plan is planning through a racial Equity lens to that end the Pennsylvania Avenue East small area plan includes a section entitled equity in place it describes how the plan was developed through such a lens the this small area plan is only an early step to Envision changes to Pennsylvania Avenue East this that meaning the smaller plan will be followed by a number of zoning commission and other planning processes that will provide additional input from the public this plan starts that process as I indicated this was introduced at the request of the mayor on November 28 2022 the committee of the whole held a hearing on January 30th of this year there was testimony from about a half dozen Witnesses if I remember correctly one witness testified in opposition and the others were supportive generally the comments that the Committees received have been supportive of the small area plan without a projection I'll move both the print and the report with leave for staff commit technical conforming editorial changes is there a discussion uh the vote will be on both the print and Report with Lee for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes councilmember gray votes yes council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes council member NATO yes councilmember votes yes council member Parker yes councilmember Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes council member Tryon white yes councilmember Tran white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilman round votes yes council member bonds yes council member bonds votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh thank you Mr Cash uh the print reporter approved unanimously I'm general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretaries to record complete once the hearing record and and committee reporter filed Madam budget director does the measures for school impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does not objection dispension will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the third and final measure for markup in the committee the whole is Bill 25-20 closing of a portion of half Street Southwest adjacent to square 660 Act of 2023 this bill would close an 889 square foot portion of half Street Southwest adjacent to Lot 12 and square 660 between Potomac Avenue Southwest and R Street Southwest the portion of Half street that will be closed pursuant to this bill is currently unimproved and was recently used as a construction staging area by the district department of transportation for the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and South Capitol Street Corridor projects the applicant for this closure does not yet have plans to develop the site but is in the process of Master planning to determine the most appropriate use for the property uh the right-of-way affected by this bill was landlocked between the Inside Edge of the sidewalks on half Street and the property in Lot 12 as I noted the applicant does not have plans to develop the site as and doesn't have the plans finalized for developing the site but is in the process of Master planning to determine the most appropriate use and design for the property the applicant also owns Square 662 which is bounded by half Street R Street s Street all in southwest which will be the site of a multi-phase mixed-use development uh the sliver of Half street to be closed was dedicated for Highway purposes in 1935 as part of a plan to extend the district's Rail lines to Buzzard point um the I will say the committee the whole staff was unable to actually find this uh section of the right-of-way in the highway plan itself Highway plan which hasn't been updated for five years um reading from the report and assuming this is approved the committee finds that the portion of Half street has depicted on the attached surveyor's plan is unnecessary for Street purposes the closure will allow the owner of the land in square 660 to develop a plan for the appropriate development of the property accordingly the committee recommends approval of the committee print bill bill 25-20 was previously introduced on September 28 2022 as Bill 24-1026. the committee of the whole held a public hearing on that bill 24-1026 on December 12 2022. this bill has 25-20 was reintroduced by councilmember Allen on January 11th 2023 uh since the bill is identical to the last Council period on which the hearing was held what roughly two months ago we are relying on the hearing record from December 12 2022. as I recall the committee received no testimony or comments in opposition to the bill I moved the there's no objection I'll move both to print and Report would leave for the staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes as their discussion vote will be on both the print report would lead for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember Gray yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendels yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilmember nadeaux yes councilmember nadeaux votes yes council member Parker yes councilmember Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes councilman Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilman Robert White votes yes council member trayan white yes councilmember Tran white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilman Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilman bonds votes yes council member Freeman yes councilman recruitment votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the uh motion which was both the print report are approved unanimously um general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete once the report is filed and budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does that objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting we'll turn now to consideration of measures from other committees as a reminder to members questions may be asked but not debate uh if there's no objection we'll take the first three items in Block each of them is a nomination to the board of veterinary medicine and all three were reported out of the committee on health the r25-41 board of veterinary medicine Daniel teach confirmation resolution of 2022 PR 25-42 border veterinary medicine Sophie Stenner confirmation resolution 2022 and PR 25-43 Board of veterinary medicine Amy Haywood confirmation resolution of 2022. these three were reported out of the committee on Health chaired by council member Christina Henderson councilmember Henderson did you present the measures thank you Mr chairman the proposed measures would appoint three members to the board of veterinary medicine which regulates the practices of veterinarians Veterinary techs and veterinary euthanasia Techs in the District of Columbia and advises the mayor with respect to regulations for veterinary facilities PR 24 excuse me 25-41 would confirm the reappointment of Dr Daniel teach for his third term as a licensed Veterinary member of the board he has served as the chairperson of the board for the past two years Dr Tish um taish excuse me has been practicing veterinary medicine in the district the past 19 years and is currently the owner and medical director of The District veterinary hospital he received his Bachelor of Science in animal science and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Ohio State University he is a resident of the district currently living in ward 6. PR 25-42 would confirmed Dr Sophie stinner as the licensed Veterinary member of the board for her first three-year term she's currently an associate veterinarian at Union veterinary clinic in the district Dr stinner received her Bachelor of veterinary medicine from the University of London has a small animal surgical certificate from the British small animal veterinary Association she's also a resident of Ward 6. PR 25-43 would confirm Amy Haywood's reappointment for her third term as a Veterinary Tech member of the board of veterinary medicine she's currently a licensed Veterinary Tech and consultant for the American Animal Hospital Association she received her Associate in Science degree in Veterinary technology from Purdue University and she is also a resident of Ward 6. yes all three are residents of Ward 6. the proposed resolutions were introduced on December 7 2022 by you Mr chairman at the request of the mayor and referred to the committee on Health on December 20th 2022 the council did not take up these resolutions in Council period 24 so they were reintroduced on January 6 and without cancer action these resolutions would be deemed approved on February 12th given the type excuse me types timeline the committee did not hold a public Roundtable on the nominees but instead requested written responses from all the nominees to a vetting questionnaire that covered any potential conflicts of interest as well as a written statement on the qualifications and interest to serve on the board all of those documents are attached to the respective committee reports the committee marked up these resolutions unanimously on January 30th 2023 and with that I moved these resolution resolutions and asked that they be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting thank you councilmember Henderson is are there questions from members Madam general counsel are these three measures legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes they are I'm secretaries to record complete for each yes Madam budget director do the measures physical impact statements comply with Council requirements yes they do objection these measures will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the final item for consideration is PR 25-19 director of The Office of cable television film media and entertainment Latoya Foster confirmation resolution 2022. this measure was reported out of the committee on Recreation libraries and youth Affairs shared by councilmember Treyon white senior councilmember White thank you chairman uh Jim referred PR 25-019 director officer cable television film media entertainment Latoya Foster confirmation resolution 2022. the committee on Recreation Library youth Affairs uh held a hearing on November 5th to the committee on November 15 2022 the committee held a public Roundtable on the resolution November 21st 2022. the record for the round table closed uh on November the 28th 2022 and the committee filed for the record for the round table with the office of the secretary for seven years uh Miss false had served as Deputy Communications for director of office of Mayor Muriel Bowser and this position she served as the chief spokesperson for Mary Bowser while developing and managing their daily operations and comprehensive communication strategies for the executive office and more than a hundred government agencies and departments prior to this position foster service communications director for the office of The Honorable mayor mayor marionberry Junior for two years she oversaw the communication strategies and operations for this office while Gathering the background information for Barry's Memoir the incredible life of marinberg for five years prior Foster worked with working executive producer for ending no for WJLA ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8 and this is your moment for the world Network TV the largest Christian Broadcasting Network in the in the world in this role she served as an on-air personality for weekly public affairs program integrating national International politicians and business leaders entertainers and professional athletes she identified developed and researched weekly topics based on current events served as media contact and spokesperson for the program and manage the program's website and social media efforts on January 31st 2023 the committee on Recreation library and youth Affairs held a committee meeting was considered a vote on PR 25-0019 the director of offered cables a television film media entertainment Latoya Foster confirmation resolution of 2023 I recognize the presence of a quorum consistent of council members McDuffie Nadeau and Barnes the resolution passed unanimously and it was approved and was timely filed with the secretary's office on February 1st 2023. 2023 due to Ms Foster's personal professional experience which demonstrates both her leadership and experience in accordance with the requirements of the position the committee recommended the council confirms her nomination thank you chairman thank you councilmember white are there questions from members I'm Federal council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretaries to record complete yes it is medical budget director does the measures physical impact statement comply with counseling requirements yes it does the objection dispatch will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting that concludes the business for this community the home meeting uh we will take a couple minutes how much time is needed two minutes we will take a couple minutes and then start the legislative meeting the time is 12 16 and this meeting is adjourned all right I'm going to order this meeting this is a meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia this is a regular meeting of the council this is the third legislative meeting of the council in Council period 25. I'm Phil Mendelson chairman of the council today is Tuesday February 7 2023 the time is 12 25 in the afternoon and this eating is being conducted both in person and virtually or what we call a hybrid meeting most of the members are present in room 500 the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building but uh there's at least one member participating virtually view Zoom video conference broadcast platform and this being is being broadcast live on Council Channel 13 and is available on the console's website www.dccouncil.gov uh the we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence a opportunity for reflection if everyone in the chamber can uh please observe a moment of silence Madam Secretary would you call the role as remember Allen here council member bonds here councilmember Freeman president councilmember gray yeah that's Barbara Henderson here comes from Lewis George yeah councilmember McDuffie yeah Cameron mendelsohn president here councilman with Parker here councilmember Pinto present council member Robert White President White present Mr chairman you have a quorum thank you Madam Secretary uh we have the secretary's report of committee reports and special reports I'm going to recognize that chair Pro tem councilman McDuffie thank you Mr chairman I'll move to wave the reading of the secretary's report to a motion to wave readings the report is there discussion by a voice for all those in favor of the motion to waive the reading say aye aye are there any opposed you guys have it unanimously we have the secretary's report of introductions again I'll recognize that Mr McDuffie and I will move toward the reading that the secretary's report of introductions an emotion to waive the reading of the report is their discussion all those in favor of the motion to wave the reading say aye uh are there any opposed uh the artists have it unanimously we have the consent agenda before us are there any changes to the consent agenda councilmember Robert White uh thank you Mr chairman I'd like to remove items um she won on page five G1 on page five thank you uh thank you Mr chairman Bill 25-12 the continuity and condominium warranty claims temporary mnemonic that is it do you want me to explain why police do no yeah all right that's been uh removed from the consent agenda are there any other changes to the consent agenda we have the consent agenda with the one change before uh the vote will be a roll call vote on the consent agenda Madam Secretary council member Robert White yes member Robert Whitefield yes councilmember Tramway yes comes from battling yes remember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes remember great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes my former Henderson votes yes councilman councilmember Lewis George yes I'm from Louis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron mendels and votes yes councilmember Joe yes yes councilmember Parker yes former Parker votes yes council member pinzel yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh thank you Madam Secretary the consent agenda is approved unanimously uh we will turn to on page five item G1 Bill 25-12 continuity and condominium Morty claims temporary Amendment Act of 2023 councilmember Robert White oh thank you Mr chairman last month we passed emergency technical legislation to prevent an inadvertent temporary lapse in some Provisions that were included in the final version of the condominium warranty claims sort of clarification Amendment Act of 2022 we also unanimously approved a temporary version of the temporary bill but I have since been advised that the temporary version before us is no longer needed I therefore moved to postpone consideration of Bill 25-12 and definitely pursuant to rule 352. thank you chairman uh thank you Mr White so there's a motion before us to postpone indefinitely bill 25-12 I think we can dispense with this by a Voice vote but I first ask if there's discussion I'll buy a Voice vote on the motion to postpone indefinitely all in favor say aye aye aye are there any opposed uh the motion carries unanimously uh we would turn to the non-consent agenda it is Page 11 and the first item is we have two uh proposed resolutions the first is PR 25-63 compensation and working conditions agreement between the District of Columbia Public Schools and the Washington teachers union local number six of the American Federation of teachers approval resolution of 2023. councilmember bonds um thank you Mr chairman um PR 25-63 the compensation and working conditions agreement between the District of Columbia Public Schools and the Washington teachers union Local 6 of the American Federation of teachers approval resolution of 23 will approve a collective bargaining agreement between D.C public schools and the Washington teachers union which began in effect from October 1 2019 through September 30th 2023. the agreement will cover more than 5 500 teachers social workers therapists coaches and other school Personnel last week we heard from representatives from the two parties we heard from the Washington teachers union president line as well as a representative from the government the city administrator um Kevin Donahue and of course the director of the office of Labor Relations and collective bargaining Lindsay Maxwell the parties agree that this is an important contract and a necessary contract that is the result of extensive negotiations and compromise between the teachers union and the district government it is important to note that this agreement covers the time doing which we were in the throes of covid-19 pandemic from April 2020 through August 2021 for that reason the contract provides retroactive raises for all of the Washington teachers union members during that period our schools and teachers were faced with immense challenges during that period and some of the challenges persist even today consequently it also provides retention bonuses for all of the teachers union members additional bonuses for hard to fill positions and stipends for employees with specialized duties such as case managers this will allow the district to remain competitive in our efforts to attract and retain high quality instructors I'm proud that the terms of this agreement ensure that our teachers remain amongst the highest paid teachers in the nation this is a strong contract that reflects a commitment to recognizing the hard work and dedication of our teachers through the public and throughout the Public Health crisis thank you Mr chairman thank you councilmember bonds uh before I ask for discussion uh I just received a uh email uh which has the payment schedule I don't know if you've seen that yet councilor bonds um and this had been asked at the breakfast so reading just a portion of this this is a memo from uh Lindsay Maxwell who is the director of the office of Labor Relations and collective bargaining and the memo was sent through Kevin Donahue the city administrator we anticipate paying the wtu cba's FY 2023 cost of living adjustment and four percent retention bonus on March 24th because retroactive pay for FY 2021 and 22 requires funding to a supplemental budget submission that the council will vote on in May and will require additional quality control by the office of the chief technology office through the office of Chief Financial Officer and the DC human resources and DCPS we anticipate the payment this again would be for the retroactive pay to be made May 19th I don't know if that includes all the payments but those would be the major ones customer bonds um thank you um very much chairman and I'm glad you received that because as chair of the committee I have not received it but I'm always happy to know that we have finally gotten the information that we asked for well actually I think it was an email that was just sent and I think it was sent to you and not to me oh well okay well it's not showing up here that's all I can say but it may it may be it's probably in the office no problem there I am just delighted that we finally have some determination for our teachers they have been very concerned about what would be the first payout date and so we finally have that information so thank you very much for that and uh we look forward to understanding the full schedule of the payouts um as our teachers are very anxious again this is a contract that come was a period of 2019 through 2023 so thank you very much chairman thank you discussion from members councilmember Lewis George thank you chairman I just wanted to take note to thank the Washington teachers union president Jackie Pope lions for and in her entire wtu executive team for working together to get our teachers paid this contract which provides a retroactive pay increase for our teachers who work through the pandemic without a new contract this is for our teachers this is for our teachers who taught themselves how to lead a class on zoom and keep our kids learning while we all maintain social distancing as we ask our teachers to return to the classroom some before they were able to get vaccinated we were asking them to serve our kids above themselves and they Rose to that challenge I'm extremely proud of the work our teachers did and are still doing to get our kids back on track and we need them and we need to do this today to help compensate them for their earned wages they deserve this and I'm grateful to get to vote Yes on this today I also can't help but to think of former President Washington President Liz Davis today a fierce advocate for our Educators I am sorry that Liz passed before she could see this day I know she would have fought hard the negotiating table to get everything she could for uh for her members I monitored the hearing last week and it is clear we need the union and DCP DCPS to get right back to the table to make sure we don't have another prolonged period of retroactive pay again we've got too many problems as it is with teacher retention either by impact or just really tough working conditions and so we shouldn't delay paying our teachers and we can't do this again in a few years so thank you chairman and I look forward to this continued work thank you councilmember councilmember McDuffie thank you uh Mr chairman I do want to add my voice of thanks that this is finally done and I look forward to supporting it um today uh I think it's important to to recognize uh how invaluable our educators are uh to a quality public school system and frankly how much they've had to endure uh over these last few years which is much more than normal um teachers already have one of the most challenging jobs in our city our government and I really have went above and beyond over the course of the pandemic to make sure that they were providing our children with the highest level of care uh which I think is Paramount to making sure that our education system functions um I think we also have to recognize that this really I think some of the things we've heard or read make it seem like it's all about uh money and while that's vitally important um I think it really sends a signal about uh how we value our Educators and the sacrifices that they've made for our students uh over the last several years I think through retroactive pay is is vital I think the the retention bonuses are important I think the um you just mentioned the payment schedule which I know is something that's been coming up as well Mr chairman and uh that council member bonds has been working on uh I think they're all significant as well I mean the stipends for those with specialized um duties is incredibly important as well and so it shouldn't have taken this long but I'm glad that we're finally here today uh and that I can support this contract I want to also recognize as councilmember Lewis George did uh the leadership of Jackie Pope lions and her uh her executive team for all their hard work and advocacy to get us to this point today so thank you Mr chairman I think it comes from McDuffie councilmember Tran White thank you chairman um I'm excited that we have come to the day where we are our rewarding uh Frontline workers that's our teachers who sacrifice day in and day out to educate our Beautiful Minds here in the district um I know I've been to some of the rallies they've been having throughout the district early in the morning before they go to work and I spend a lot of time in the schools and I know that being a teacher in 2023 is not easy especially those months and years during the pandemic I've spoken to a lot of teachers who expressed that they uh didn't have enough resources to accomplish the tags that was set before them um but nonetheless they endured those challenges uh pick up the mantle and kept going um we've seen uh just teachers leaving the district in astronomical numbers but those who have remained to to stay and endure uh we want to reward them economically there's an old scripture that says where your heart is that your treasure will be also so so it's time to reward them with retroactive pay and also a cost of living adjustment I think they uh just do I want to thank uh the president Jacqueline Pope lions for her leadership she's been persistent she's been Vigilant about what the teachers want and we have to give it to him as the district has surpluses every year since I've been here for six years it's been coming upon us to do well due diligence and work with the mayor to see them get their just due I'm also want to give a special shout out to Liz Davis um who was a fierce lead on the front line for decades fighting for Equity um and justice for residents in DC more particularly our teachers in the Washington teachers union um it's been a journey and it's I'm glad we're able to share this moment with them and sometimes money is just not enough and I'm just glad we're able to do that part today thank you chairman thank you councilman Roy councilmember Henderson um thank you Mr chairman I want to associate my comments with all of my colleagues who have gone before me um I am happy that this agreement was finally reached um after three years um but I also uh think it's important for us to stay and it shouldn't be lost on anyone that this contract also expires in September and so that's only seven months from now and so I hope that the Union as well as um you know uh the executive and DCPS are already back at the table so that we don't go another three years of um our teachers and leaders also having to work without a contract I should also mention um that I think that there are probably some other things we should do within our labor laws to clean some things up for instance all of the staff who left or retired in the three years that it has taken for us to get this contract do not benefit from this um and I think we should think about that um and so I'll just and by saying I hope that DCPS and the wtu are already getting to work so that we could avoid this type of thing happening again thank you thank you councilman Henderson uh councilmember Allen thank you Mr chairman um three years so three years ago we were just starting to realize that there was a new virus about to change our entire lives and at that point where some of us knew exactly where we're gonna go but our teachers had been on the front lines for every day of those last three years um I am very glad that we are taking this action today and as my colleagues also noted um I think it will be unacceptable if there is not another deal figured out by the time this contract expires in seven months um as a DCPS parent I talk with the teachers all the time in my kids own school and schools around Ward six they are utterly exhausted uh they have been on the front lines of an incredible amount they are dealing with students who are in crisis and have accumulated three years worth of trauma so this is absolutely an important and right step to take I am very glad and grateful for president Lyons and for for everyone at wtu for helping fight to get this done we've got to make sure that we don't have another Gap in years because if we want to keep our teachers and Educators if we want to recruit Educators into this space we have got to show them that we've got their back and that we will value them and that is crucial to the success of our not just our schools but our entire city so I'm very grateful this is moving forward thank you to everybody who's helped have a hand in this and let's make sure that we do not allow another three years to pass because we are just going to wipe out our teachers if we do not act more quickly to get the next contract in place thank you thank you councilmember Allen councilmember Robert White uh thank you Mr chairman I I want to uh add a note of uh support and gratitude that we are here um at the finish line for this overdue contract with teachers uh when the pandemic started I had one DCPS student and now I have two and so I have had a bird's eye view for the past three years of what teachers have been managing um teaching during this time also recognizing that like me and the rest of us they have a lot going on in the rest of their lives I've been grateful for the teachers that my daughters have had uh probably more grateful that I'm not a teacher because it is very very difficult work uh I want to congratulate president Jacqueline Pope Lyons and her team and teachers for the work they've done to get us here and the administration for their work to get us here I also want to recognize that this is about more than money we have one of the the worst teacher retention rates in the country and we have to recognize how important it is if we want a stable school system if we want to keep residents and families in this system then we have got to be able to retain teachers and so we need not show um in another three years that we don't value teachers enough or that we're not going to go to bat for teachers we have to be looking at issues like the size of classes the amount of sick leave funding for social emotional learning and mental health supports full-time Librarians in schools we have to recognize the things other other than money and my hope is that when we start negotiating the next contract one it won't take this long and two that it is not such an uphill battle so celebrating being at the finish line today but also recognizing that we are at the starting blocks for the next contract and my hope is that the next contract continues to reflect how much we appreciate our teachers here in the District of Columbia thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman I have a lineup councilor oh you do yes I do yes the more people talk the more other people want to so um it's not clear to me whether this is going to be approved but um sorry we want to hear from everyone uh councilmember Freeman you're next thank you Mr chairman I think I think many of us want to be heard from because we're so grateful to be at this day it was such an enormous amount of work for the wtu to get to where we are um many of us were at those protests early in the morning in the afternoon and watch the wtu and try to support them along the way as they sought this contract I'm going to reiterate that a big thing is the money but there is much more than the money come a couple of the things that are included here um including at least two morning blocks of planning per week which is essential for Teacher development and Work Management that kind of thing goes to the kinds of things that councilmember white was just speaking to we need to change the culture inside of our schools we need to give oxygen to our teachers so that they have the time to get stronger and to and to replenish their energy so they can fully serve our children they've been sorely taxed over recent years where we are is we have some of the worst teacher retention in the country we if we're going to have a successful school system if we're going to have a successful City we need to change that that's going to be about a lot of things again the kinds of things the council member white spoke to also and others have spoken to also a lot of dissatisfaction with the evaluation system which contributes to uh to low teacher morale I think these are things that we need to be thinking about here we are after a long negotiation period and on the and about to start the next one it is absolutely imperative that this next contract not drag out in the way that the that this last one has that we need to treat this as a start it's a great step this contract but we can do better than this and we all need to put our shoulders down to make sure that our schools succeed I certainly intend to be doing that in the months to come and I hope my colleagues will join me thank you thank you councilmember council member Parker thank you Mr chairman um today is a long time coming um and with this vote um update a contract we are affirming the importance of our Educators who work tirelessly through the pandemic I want to acknowledge the hard work of the team at DC public schools as well as the Washington teachers union uh and also acknowledge as my colleagues have already called attention to that this contract expires this year and so it's going to be uh important that we begin discussions now so that we're not at the same place years from now there's also a need for parity for those Educators that have left the system that are not included in this contract and I want to extend an invitation uh to council member bonds and you Mr chairman to figure out a solution to include them in future legislation there's also a call from Charter Educators for a similar investment in them and I'm committed to working with you all to get that done what we cannot afford to do though is simply write a blank check to our Charter leas and so any investment that we make for our Charter sector which I believe is important to do we should make sure it indeed goes to our Educators who too have worked tirelessly since the pandemic but I want to just conclude by thanking our Educators and I look forward to voting for this legislation thank you councilmember Parker councilmember Pinto thank you Mr chairman I'm just trying to add my thanks to everybody who's worked so hard on this contract for many many years and really appreciate all of the comments of our colleagues today about what's gone into this our respect and gratitude to our Educators and also the importance of not um not having folks dust their hands off and think the work is finished after the vote today it is really important for stability and respect and consistency for our current Educators and our Educators who are and will be retiring that there is standardization to these processes and that people aren't waiting years and years um I'll just finish by saying I am continuing continually very concerned by how many teachers I speak to who tell me that they are paying for things their students need out of their own pocket for supplies for books sometimes it's a licensing issue sometimes it's an approval issue sometimes it's a funding issue but that is not attainable or acceptable place for us to be in our city that educators are reaching into their own Pockets to support our kids and so in addition to supporting this contract I hope we can all continue to work for adequate funding for all of our schools so that this isn't coming from our teachers Pockets thank you thank you councilman Pinto councilmember Bond's second round um thank you I just wanted to um add to this discussion um the fact that we are all very supportive of this sort of Baseline contract um it was made very clear during the hearing that there are other components that we need to wrestle with or that the teachers union and the administration will be wrestling with and I hope that we get some of those items resolved such as what my colleagues have mentioned here today but I think the bottom line is that we all have said loud and clear that we are looking forward to a new contract that can be decided within a few months as opposed to a few years as it took this particular contract and I'm hoping that teachers union and the new associators for the government are hearing us loud and clear and understand that taking three years to implement a contract that will be expiring this year almost like the moment in which you have decided on it um is is unconscionable and it does cause hardship perhaps there are those that are not included in this contract that would have been included in it if the contract had taken place some time ago but you know that's what happens with contracts and um and here we are today so I'm hoping that we will have a sense of urgency and getting a new contract together it is imperative and I'm hoping that not only will we wrestle with class size which I understand now is 25 is the the high end but we also will wrestle with retention of our teachers we must do that so thank you chairman thank you councilmember bonds uh I want to comment on a couple of things first to councilmember bonds thank you for the hearing last week and I having the hearing was in my view important uh because of the um a loud discussion of a number of critical issues one of which was whether there would be a payment roughly equal payment to the Charter sector and the while the executive didn't commit uh they said that that was they seemed to convey that that was um in the works and that it would be included in the mayor's proposed budget that we receive next month there was discussion quite a bit of discussion about the payment schedule and as I noted a few minutes ago we did receive a memo from the office of Labor Relations collective bargaining with the schedule that was also sent to the union uh and I think that's important because there's been misunderstanding with other contracts about when folks would actually get paid and then there also was discussion at the hearing about the next contract as a number of members have said here today on the Deus uh that and I remember I particularly pushed the executive that the executive has the ability to start initiate bargaining the executive was quite clear the office of Labor Relations collective bargaining was quite clear that they were waiting for the union to start negotiations um and so I think the message was conveyed that we don't want to I'll see this one take another even a year we want to see this the next contract much much sooner if there's no further discussion the vote will be on PR 25-63 and there appears to be further discussion Mr Freeman two minutes uh just briefly I I'm not sure that I heard the same thing that you heard about some sort of certainty about the way you described it in equal payment to the Charter sector um I think I thought that what the executives said said was that they were looking at that that issue and and it's really a question of if there is a payment to the Charter sector on what sort of terms should that payment be made many people have said it would be imperative that that money go directly to the teachers you you can't just take the things you want to out of a collective bargaining agreement and ignore all of the other things if you're gonna if the charter sector is to benefit from this there's got to be some kind of guidelines about how that would work and I think we should all be thinking about that um I I also want to associate myself with the comments about the teachers the DCPS teachers who left while the con contract was being negotiated I do think we should be looking at ways to try to help those teachers um but I think there's a lot of work to be done actually on the implementation of this and for the the things that may fall outside of the strict terms of the contract and we should be careful careful to be fair and also careful with the taxpayers dollars thank you thank you if there's no further discussion the vote will be on PR 25-63 um secretary would you call the roll councilmember Treon White yes remember Tryon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes welcome a great votes yes councilmember Henderson remember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes councilman Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron mendels and votes yes councilman Bernadette yes that's what I'm going to do votes yes councilmember Parker yes I'm former Parker votes yes councilmember pinton yes councilmember Pinto votes yes comes from Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the resolution and the contractor approved unanimously the next item is PR 25-15 director of The Office of Human Rights nin can confirmation resolution 2023. it comes from Ronaldo thank you chairman today I am moving PR 25-015 the director of the office of Human Rights and in Kang confirmation resolution of 2023. this resolution was originally introduced in the last Council period and referred to the committee on government operations and Facilities council member Robert White held a Roundtable on the measure on December 15th of last year and it was reintroduced and referred to our new Committee on Public Works and operations the resolution would be deemed approved tomorrow February 8th however given the critical mission of the office of Human Rights and this being a pivotal time of growth and change for the office I felt it was appropriate to give this nomination a proper vote of the full Council that was why I requested the chairman re-refer it out of our committee so that we could agendize it for today nin Kang was appointed as interim director of The Office of human rights at a time when the agency was experiencing instability in that time she has stewarded a 40 growth in the office's staff size and taken significant measure to reduce the office's caseload backlog since then the agency has been able to double its case processing rates and reduce the number of pending cases Council has asked a lot of the office of human rights which is now tasked with implementing as many as five recently passed laws continuing to grow staff and moving into a new Consolidated office space I believe ninkang has the necessary skills to continue her leadership of the office in this critical period of its history she has proven herself capable and qualified for the director position because of her previous experience as a human rights attorney and her existing understanding of the function of the office of Human Rights and its Mission thank you chairman with that I moved the resolution thank you councilman the door is there discussion council member pinto and then councilman Robert White I was trying to direct that otherwise um but I'll just say briefly I am um aware that there has been an expansion of responsibility and new legislation that has gone through the office of Human Rights and it's something that councilman Robert White then chair of the committee has flagged for all of us to be conscientious about um and I've just appreciated working with director Kang on a number of issues and thinking through how to make an idea come into practical reality and have appreciated her partnership with me and my team and look forward to a good productive year with her ahead thank you councilmember Robert White oh thank you Mr chairman I want to urge my colleagues to vote and support of uh director nincom's appointment as permanent director I was excited when the mayor announced this as uh director of Khan had been working as interim director of an agent of this agency when the office of Human Rights was not not in the best shape that that we had seen in a time where the council was continuing to put more and more on their plates I have found director kind to be a thoughtful partner even where we disagreed we we talked about it we understood where we disagreed and we work together well our teams work together well I've seen her pay attention to Staffing up the office to stabilizing uh such an important agency and focus on retention of quality staff that that she has in in the office of Human Rights I look forward to voting in favor of the uh director Khan's confirmation thank you Mr chairman thank you councilmember there's no further discussion the vote will be on pier 25-15 Madam Secretary would you call the role councilmember Allen yes councilor Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes Obama bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Gray yes I'm talking about gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes sometimes Blues George folks yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron mendels yes yes councilmember Parker yes remember Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes okay for Robert White votes yes councilmember Tree on white yes Mr chairman there are 13 guests thank you Madam Secretary the resolution has approved unanimously we'll turn now to emergency legislation uh the first measure is protecting consumers from unjust debt collection practices technical clarification Amendment we have the emergency declaration resolution 2023 pr25-87 so moved I circulated an amendment a short while ago uh so I believe I just said moved with regard to the Declaration the amendment will actually be the underlying bill which provides some additional time to Public Utilities as to applicability so members may want to look for that um it was circulated by email that amendment I moved the Declaration and I probably should say a little bit more the um the permanent law DC law 24-154 which was approved last year by the council became law last fall at an applicability date of January 1st 2023. public yield utilities are subject to the requirements of the law when attempting to collect Consumer Debt Public Utilities as are all businesses all debt collectors are subject to the law some of the requirements in the law conflict with existing requirements applicable to Public Utilities those requirements being entitled 15 of Chapter 3 of the DC Municipal regulations for example uh the debt collection law which we approved last year uh at 28-3814 D5 prohibits debt collectors from quote visiting or threatening to visit the household of a consumer at any time for the purpose of collecting a debt other than for the purpose of serving process in a lawsuit unquote however under the dcmr adopted or promulgated by the Public Service Commission utilities are required to make reasonable efforts to contact a customer prior to disconnection and this contact May explicitly include in-person notification in-person notification may be necessary when a utility is unable to reach the customer via phone or electronic mail that's just one example of the conflict to avoid confusion or negative impacts on customers or utilities is necessary to clarify that certain specific regulatory requirements for utilities that are in title 15 of Chapter 3 of DC Municipal regulations are permitted under the law that's what this emergency does and um so I moved the Declaration is there discussion councilmember Lewis George um I just had a quick question um basically my understanding it gives the utilities until May to comply with that the debt collection law the amendment will the amendment will okay and so that's like a three-month post yes postponement yes okay um and do we know why like in the meantime Washington gas is charging 40 more in last year this year uh I'm not quite sure what so the bill deals with debt collection it doesn't deal with what the rates are and presumably whatever Washington gas is charging was approved by the Public Service Commission okay so but this bill doesn't deal with rates right okay I'm just I mean I think this minute is going to help um and maybe it'll change sort of the trajectory we've been seeing with the charging that we we're seeing by Washington Gas this year yes and I'm that's the hope I'm happy to discuss this with you thank you so much further discussion on the Declaration uh we'll have a roll call vote this vote is on PR 25-87 Madam Secretary would you call the rules councilmember bonds yes councilmember Freeman yes councilmember Gray yes remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes I'm from Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes Captain Louis George yes councilmember McDuffie yes okay Duffy votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilmember no doubt yes councilmember Parker yes I want to remember Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes councilmember Robert White yes I remember Robert White votes yes councilman patran white yes councilman by Allen yes after Allen votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimously I moved the underlying bill bill 25-89 and I also will move this amendment that I circulated electronically the Amendment uh essentially what the amendment does is it says and I read this section shall apply to Public Utilities as of May 2nd 2023. uh so if there's no objection the amendment will be accepted and I'm not hearing any objection so we have the bill as amended before us uh discussion on the bill since the uh Declaration was approved unanimously uh we'll do a Voice vote on the bill as amended all those in favor of Bill 25-89 is amended to say aye aye any no votes uh the bills approved unanimously PR 25-84 Hotel enhanced cleaning and notice of service disruption clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member bonds thank you um thank you chairman in April 2022 the council passed the hotel enhanced cleaning and notice of service disruption temporary Amendment Act of 2022 this emergency and temporary legislation authorized the mayor to issue regulations that establish requirements for cleaning and maintaining DC's hotels and motels and to establish standards for public notice of lodging establishments service disruptions this important legislation protects the safety of our residents visitors and Hospitality workers by ensuring that our hotels and motels work diligently to limit of course the spread of the virus with daily cleaning of our hotel rooms we greatly reduce the likelihood of infestation and other health threats to guests and our workers moreover through the hotel industry was among though the hotel industry was among the hardest hit by the pandemic the American Hotel and Lodging Association reports that the U.S Hotel industry is projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels of demand recently WTOP reported that the hotel industry occupancy averages 70 percent in the district as of May the accommodation sub-sector in DC employed 10 500 people which is 88.6 percent more than in May of 2021. the accommodation sub sector provides lodging or short-term accommodations for travelers vacationers and others another 46 000 persons are employed in the food service sub-sector this accounts for a 48.3 percent increase while the council has protected the sub-sector with legislation throughout the pandemic the temporary bill will expire later this week on Friday the 10th of February as we see tourism in the district grow towards pre-pandemic levels it is essential that we continue to provide guests with routine and enhanced housekeeping and that's the nature of today's Bill the emergency and temporary legislation before us today will reauthorize the provisions of the previous field and will include a new section to exempt lodging establishments that operate on an Extended Stay model and I urge my colleagues to support this measure thank you Mr chairman and I moved the emergency declaration resolution thank you councilmember bonds we have the tech question before us is there discussion councilmember Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much councilor bonds for your work on this important issue um I represent Ward 2 as you know and Ward 2 has almost 70 percent of all of the hotels in the city and so I care deeply and want to see very badly more people have jobs more people come back to work more people use our public transportation to get to work um and I continue to believe that this is not the best intervention for the council to mandate the daily operations of one of our Industries I think there are a lot of important levers that we can use around pay and incentives to get people back to work um and I don't think that mandating daily room clean for our hotels is the appropriate path forward and so I am not going to be supporting this extension today but I look forward to working with you on the permanent bill so we can think about what the real challenges are for our hotel workers and trying to address them in a way that's going to prioritize their safety and well-being um and in a way that's not using a different lever to solve a different challenge thank you thank you councilmember for the discussion councilmember Freeman thank you Mr chairman to some extent I I share council member Pinto's concern about legislating in an area like this we have legislated in this area for now and and we have a gap that is coming I I was heartened this morning when there was some conversation about the parties working together to try to hammer out an agreement and deal with these issues amongst each other I think that would be the healthiest outcome that we could have I in light of that I think it's important to extend this to create a window in which that kind of negotiation can happen and I hope that the union and the hotel associations can can sort this out it is critically important both that our hotels be strong and that our downtown economy begin to come back and tourism is going to be an important part of that but also that we provide work to people who really need it so I'm hoping that together the union and the hotel association can sort it out and I'm delighted to try to give you some more time to do it Mr chairman McDuffie thank you Mr chairman I appreciate the concerns raised by both my colleagues uh and appreciate that they might be on either side of the vote on this but um I want to acknowledge how um well as the chair of the committee on business and econ Development I've been able to work with both Local 25 and the hotel association particularly over the course of the pandemic um and this is one of the areas though that that I did not directly work with uh either party on and so I was also encouraged as was councilmember Freeman in hearing that it was uh some room uh and some efforts to to work this out so that uh perhaps uh it could be ironed out in the details of permanent might reflect um some consensus um I wanted to ask through you to councilmember bonds what what what's your understanding of how negotiations are going or or if they're even happening right now and um do you plan to introduce a permanent version of this or or just so where are we with this at this point because what we're doing here is extending it both for 90 days in an emergency but it's also a temporary measure on the agenda as well yes um that that is the plan right now of course you know negotiations will take some time this is an area where I'm sure both parties are are dug in to be very honest um on one hand we want to keep everyone in our city working on the other hand we want to make sure that we um as a council do not um venture too strongly into our private sector and attempt to call the shots so it is it it's a very delicate situation uh right now we feel that in order to gain some time we just have to continue with what we have um of course we're going to run out of that time in 225 days and so we will we will we will ask both parties to spend more time negotiating in order for us to Fashion a I want to follow up uh I'm gonna reach out to you just uh offline and talk to you a little bit more about this and and I think I'm gonna reach out to both uh sides of this to see where things are uh you did move both an emergency and attempt what's the thinking behind both I mean 90 days gives them I would think ample time to to try to have something out um uh what's the thought about the temporary version in the 225 um the temporary version we feel is um is appropriate um this is again this is about employment and making sure that we keep our community employed so the 225 days gives us a little more time to really um air the linen so to speak and come to a better conclusion my plan is the support of emergency Mr chairman just about 30 seconds more my plan is to support the emergency um I do want to ask have you heard from the hotel association not not directly in the last um I would say 30 days got it thank you um I'm going to venture in here and a couple of issues so one is um I've had several discussions with Local 25 and they've reached out several times to the hotel association and I'm hopeful that with this successive emergency that the hotel association will be more willing to sit down with Local 25 and work things out so I Echo the sentiment from several other council members in that regard that ideally the uh the hotel association and the workers um come to an agreement instead of us the second thing I want to say is that 90 days may not be enough and generally our general counsel doesn't like us to do successive emergencies and uh the law is clear that we can do a successive emergency if there is a bill that's gone to the hill which is what the temporary would do so we buy ourselves more than 90 days uh by having the temporary on the agenda as well as the emergency yeah yeah I'm gonna support it but I wanted to discuss if you talk to the hotel association uh I've been waiting for them to call okay that's how it works okay uh just curious because you know everybody's talking about coming in and talking to me last fall I mean everybody's talking about both sides they had no time trouble coming in talking to me last fall everybody's talking about both sides of this but it seems like there's only one side they talked to me many times last fall so I what I would do as share the committee on business economics my door Labs fall as I what I will do as a chair committee on business you know development is reach out to both sides actually Local 25 and the hotel association see where things are um I wish I'd done it before today if I if I thought that there was not some effort to to move this along uh perhaps I would have but I do appreciate your efforts council member um um and and that you all have heard from at least one side of this but I plan to reach out to both sides thank you no further discussion comes from repento second round I don't want to be too aggressive about I see where the votes are I just want to invite all of us to think about where the line is on Intervention in Private Industry to mandate what their operations look like and if people would be supporting it for the restaurant industry for any other private business to say here's how many people you have to hire and here's how you have to conduct your business I just invite all of us to think about that line as we continue to proceed down this path thank you thank you council member if there's no further discussion I believe we have the Declaration before us Madam Secretary would you call the roles PR 25-84 councilmember Freeman yes Transformer Truman votes yes councilmember Gray yes I'm from the gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes I'm from Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George yes comes from Lewis George votes yes councilman by big Duffy yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron mendels and votes yes councilman benedo yes from an adult votes yes councilmember Parker yes Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto no answer Pinto votes no councilmember Robert White yes remember Robert White votes yes councilman betray on white yes councilmember Tran white votes yes councilmember Allen yes yes councilmember bonds yes one terminal bonds votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one now I'm sorry Madam Secretary with the vote again was 12-1 correct Mr chairman uh the Declaration is approved thank you Madam Secretary we have the underlying Bill Bill 25-85 our councilmember bonds some movement Mr chairman for discussion I will do a Voice vote on this uh because the Declaration was uni uh called the one um the vote is on Bill 25-85 all those in favor say aye aye are there any no votes Mr chairman please record me as voting now councilmember Pinto will be recorded as voting no the bill is approved next measure is local business Enterprise clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2023. councilmember McDuffie thank you Mr chairman uh this uh new round of emergency and temporary legislation that we're going to take up soon uh will extend the council's action last June which close the loophole in the district CBE law that allowed many large out of District businesses to legally certify as local business enterprises the temporary is set to expire on February 10th the committee on business and income development is the waiting release of the district's disparity study that hopefully will inform what additional legislative changes may be warranted to update and further expand the CBE act and perhaps as the committee has indicated for the last few years create a minority and women business Enterprise program in the District of Columbia finally until then this new round of legislation is necessary to ensure that truly local firms continue to have a fair shot in the district governance contract and procurement process with that I would move the Declaration thank you Mr McDuff we have the Declaration before us is there discussion councilor Parker Mr chairman uh a question for uh councilmember McDuffie is there an update on the delay of the disparity study no but but I welcome you to join me in the oversight hearing for the deputy member client in Economic Development where I will certainly pose that question yeah uh I think it is uh it's it's long overdue I think it's extraordinarily important we have not had an mbu program in the District of Columbia since the courts uh uh overruled it back in 1991. so I've been working diligently on this over the past few years I know uh the dimpad has uh a contractor who had been engaged in doing the study and I plan to follow up with them happy to work with you on that thanks further discussion the vote will be on the Declaration PR 25-97 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Gray yes I'm from the gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes I'm former Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes councilman who is George folks yes councilmember McDuffie yes I want to remember McDuffie velcius chairman Mendelson yes Cameron mendels and votes yes councilman Adele yes votes yes councilmember Parker yes council member Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes I remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes I remember Robert White votes yes councilman patrion White yes customer violin councilmember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes performer bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes Professor frumin votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the declaration has approved unanimously thank you Madam Secretary we have the underlying Bill Bill 25-97 councilmember McDuffie some movements during discussion Mr Declaration was a few approved unanimously we'll do a Voice vote all those in favor say aye aye I don't hear any no's uh the bill is approved unanimously next measure is medical cannabis clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2023 PR 25-98 council member McDuffie thank you Mr chairman as a part of the March 2021 through 2022 medical cannabis facility licensing round all medical cannabis facility registration applicants were constrained by a cap on the number of cultivation Center and dispensary registrations permitted in each Ward the Caps are limited in applicants ability to secure affordable appropriate cultivation Center and dispensary facilities for their proposed cannabis businesses the available properties within the permitted Wards were limited and some had issues such as inadequate power 88 access and other issues regarding essential building infrastructure the applicants were forced to select such facilities when other more appropriate facilities exists in other Wars that would require substantially fewer Capital expenditures by the tenants to make necessary improvements to the facilities medical cannabis licenses were a conditionally issued to two Equity impact Enterprises who were awarded a total of two cultivation Center registrations and one dispensary registration on September 28th of last year the medical cannabis Amendment Act of 2022 enacted on January 30th removed the caps on the number of cultivation Center and retailer and uh the retailers are what we formally refer to as dispensaries but it removed the caps on the number of cultivation Center and retailer registrations per war with this change in the law the Enterprises who were awarded the licenses on September 28 2022 must still operate under caps removed by the ACT shortly thereafter but in these businesses at a significant disadvantage as they are unable to obtain more optimal properties that are compliant and available for cultivation Center retailer operations this emergency I will remedy this issue and enable the Enterprises to have the option to change their cultivation Center or retail location to another compliant property that was previously unavailable to them due to the cap emergency legislation is the mini act which is projected to become a law at the end of March to allow these businesses the ability to locate the optimal properties which will enable them to begin operations more quickly and better serve registered patients as the ACT will permit other successful applicants to do that very thing with that I would move the Declaration thank you councilmember we have the Declaration before us as our discussion other than to note that I'm co-introducing or co-moving this and obviously in support uh the vote will be a roll call vote on PR 25-98 um secretary would you call the roll councilmember Henderson yes that's Robert Henderson votes yes comes remember Lewis George yes I can't believe it's George well it's yes councilmember McDuffie yes I'm from McDuffie votes yes chairman Nelson yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilman Joe yes councilmember Parker yes Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes I remember Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran White yes comes from Allen yes councilmember bonds yes yes councilmember Gray yes what number gray votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has improved unanimous so we we have the underlying bill bill 25-99 um councilman McDuffie so moved discussion uh by a Voice vote all those in favor of the bill say yes or I uh opposed uh the odds haven't the yeses have it unanimously um the next measure is General obligation bonds and bond anticipation notes for fiscal years 2023-2028 authorization emergency declaration resolution of 2023. otherwise known as pr25-96 councilmember McDuffie thank you again Mr chairman this emergency measure is necessary to ensure that the District of Columbia can bar in a timely manner and take advantage of favorable market conditions to provide funding for or to reimburse the district for funds already expanded on fiscal year 2023 capital projects approved and undertaken pursuant to the district's fiscal year 2023 budget and financial plan this legislation is identical to the legislation that the committee on business and economic development held a public hearing on in December 2022 that was reintroduced in Council period as bill um I think 25-4 uh and it's pending in committee with that I would move the emergency declaration thank you councilman McDuffie we have the Declaration before this is our discussion uh we'll have a roll call vote on PR 25-96 Madam Secretary comes from Louis George yes that's remember Louis George yes councilmember McDuffie yes I can remember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron Nelson votes yes councilman Adele yes councilmember Parker yes councilmember Parker votes yes councilmember pincho yes council member Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes councilmember Tramway yes councilmember Allen yes remember Allen votes councilmember bonds yes remember bonds votes yes councilmember Freeman yes council member Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes what number three votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously the next measure is Bill 25-95 it's the underlying Bill councilmember McDuffie so move discussion I will do Voice vote since the Declaration was approved unanimously this is Bill 25-95 all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes I don't hear any the bills approved unanimously next measure is PR 25-110 District Department of Transportation fiscal year 2023 reprogramming approval emergency declaration resolution of 2023 councilmember Allen thank you very much Mr chairman uh before I begin uh for anyone in the chamber today or watching on live stream my remarks are going to include references to Suicide which I know can be triggering for some if you or anyone you know is in crisis you can find help by dialing 988 for the National Suicide and crisis Lifeline or the district's Department of Behavioral Health helpline at 1-887 we help underlying measure here will approve a shift of 850 000 within ddot's budget to allow DDOT to move forward with the design of suicide deterrent measures on the William Howard Taft Memorial Bridge along Connecticut Avenue Northwest as you all know there have been two deaths by Suicide from the Taft bridge in the last year one in April of 2022 and one just last month along with at least three additional suicide attempts during that time research shows that constructing barriers that physically restrict access to Bridges is the most effective Bridge suicide prevention approaching adding suicide deterrent measures reduces suicides by 86 percent in 1986 the district installed suicide Bears on the Duke Ellington bridge and suicides have decreased by 90 since then notably and as evidenced by the Ellington's Bridge close proximity to the Taft Bridge a barrier on one Bridge does not increase in suicide rate on neighboring Bridges it's important to emphasize that suicidal feelings are often temporary and preventing a suicide can give a person in a moment of Crisis time that can save their life in the long term time allows those intense feelings of Crisis to diminish and for those in crisis to get mental health support and resources research shows that nine of 10 people who attempt suicide and survive will not die by Suicide at a later date elsewhere or with another method and overall suicide deaths often decline throughout the surrounding area after Bridge barriers are in place after the April 22 Death by Suicide from the Taft Bridge a group of Advocates including Dr Chelsea van thought whose partner died by Suicide from the Taft Bridge has urged the district to take action in response the interagency group including DDOT dbh and the office of the city administrator and the mayor's office of community relations has met to investigate short and long-term deterrent measures for the Taft bridge and other district-owned and maintained Bridges that group spent several months writing a scope of work to procure a bridge architect for the Taft Bridge including input from dbh to ensure the procurement documents included best practices for suicide deterrence in the immediate term DDOT with the input from dbh has designed and installed signage on the Taft Bridge as well as the Calvert Street bridge that publicizes Suicide Prevention measures DDOT has engaged with many federal and local agencies that will need to review and design of the suicide deterrent measures on the bridge in order to facilitate eventual Construction I've seen some concerns about the impact of suicide deterrent measures on the views from the bridge or the visual design of the bridge and I want to be clear very variety of designs that DDOT could choose from and there will be an opportunity for public input on the type of deterrent to be built the construction deterrent measures in the Taft bridge is now a question of when and not whether it will happen putting up a barrier on the Taft bridge will save lives and that's really the end of the analysis as you all know it's very rare the council would approve a reprogramming on an emergency basis and Mr chair if I could just have 60 more seconds without a protection but as we learned in January any delay in this project could cost lives it's estimated that 135 individuals lives are impacted by the loss of a loved one's suicide and that the likelihood of those survivors Dying by Suicide is higher than that of the general population causing a ripple effect within the community for generations to come I want to thank the team at DDOT and dbh who have been working on ensuring the design of the bridge is consistent with best practices for suicide prevention and The Advocates who have educated me and many others and our executive agency partners about this issue when I asked my colleagues to support this measure today and again I want to repeat that if you or anyone you know is in crisis there is support available by dialing 988 for the National Suicide and crisis Lifeline or the district's Department of Behavioral Health's helpline at 1-88-7 we help there is hope with that I move the Declaration Mr chair thank you councilman Allen is there a discussion thank you Mr chairman the preventive barriers on the tap Bridge are long overdue in the last 12 years we've had 13 suicides on the tech Bridge installing the preventive barriers as council member Allen has said will save lives having people stop and think and go back and can can absolutely and high percentages of the time avoid suicide entirely we all need to be grateful to Dr Chelsea vanthoff who's led the advocacy on this since the loss of her partner she personally reached out to me I'm sure she reached out to many of the people here it's been a labor of love and sorrow for her and and I hope is gratifying to her that we're making progress on this important issue that she brought to our attention I'm also grateful to DDOT for working as hard as they have on this issue they took it seriously they convened the group I've met with that group they've been looking for practical Solutions and now they're moving as expeditiously as possible to get this done uh it is important that we get this work done and get it done as quickly as possible and save lives and avoid that terrible ripple effect that councilmember Allen talked about each suicide affects many many people and we can avoid it let's get it done I think it comes from further discussion uh I just want to note I've had several conversations with Miss fentoff and one of some of those conversations where one of them occurred when I was uh in San Francisco and actually talked about uh Bridge suicides and suicide prevention with the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who noted that it was only in the last few years that they erected barriers on the Golden Gate Bridge which is considered an iconic Landmark structure and they were able to figure out in terms of design uh barriers that seem to have been very satisfactory for that bridge so if there's no further discussion we have the Declaration before us and this is pr25-110 Madam Secretary would you call the roll yes cameraman that's involts yes customer I'm going to do yes that's what I'm going to do votes yes councilmember Parker yes Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes that's remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes okay Robert White votes yes councilman patran White yes yes councilman by Alan yes council member Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes Obama bonds votes yes comes from recruitment yes that's from the Freeman votes yes councilmember Gray yes remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Council Robert Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes remember Lewis George votes yes Mr chairman they're 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 25-117 councilmember Allen so move Mr chairman discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously we'll have a Voice vote on Bill 25-117 all those in favor say aye aye opposed um the odds have it unanimously if there's no objection we'll take the next two emergencies and block they are both confirmations related to the board of ethics and a government accountability or Vega PR these will be the Declarations will take in black and then the underlying resolutions uh PR 25-93 the board of the excuse me the District of Columbia Board of ethics and government accountability Melissa Tucker confirmation emergency declaration resolution of 2023 and PR 25-91 the District of Columbia Board of ethics and government accountability Norma Hutchison confirmation emergency Declaration of resolution of 2023. council member bonds thank you Mr chairman these emergency resolutions would reappoint Norma Hutchison and Melissa Tucker to the board of ethics and government accountability commonly referred to as Vega or a term to end on July 1 2028. Vegas role is to investigate alleged ethics law violations by District government employees and public officials provide binding ethics advice and conduct mandatory training on the district government's code of conduct according to the DC code all Vega board members shall be appointed for a six-year term with the advice and consent of the council the clock for the council's 90-day review period began on October 21 2022 and these nominations were later referred to the committee on Executive Administration and labor on January 6 of this year with that said Council review on these confirmations ends tomorrow which is February the 8th 2023. seeing that these two confirmations would be deemed disapproved on the 8th of February I held a public Roundtable to consider their nominations as to Simply for the reappointment to beg him the nominees testimony and questionnaires from the round table have been made available to all members and staff for background and such a son now retired served as the deputy managing Council for the Capital Metro Law Office of the United States Postal Service Law Department Ms Hutchison is the current chairperson of Vega and has served on the board since 2016. the second nominee Miss Tucker is an attorney advisor of the office of congressional Affairs under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services office of the Inspector General Ms Tucker is also a current member and has served since 2019. from the round table both nominees expressed their honor and privilege to serve on Vega when asked about their greatest accomplishments serving on Vega Miss Hutchison noted their ability to execute Vegas Mission address concerns from citizens and resolve issues without any controversy as Tucker also added that their knowledge of law and the ability to determine the Merit of potential investigations was also Paramount these confirmations are being moved on an emergency basis to account the timing since there it was no markup if Miss Hutcherson and Miss Tucker are not confirmed by today their nominations will be deemed disapproved and it's very important for these positions to remain filled as to not interrupt Vegas meaningful word all right all things considered I'm pleased to support these confirmations and move these emergency resolutions and I asked my colleagues to vote in favor of these nominations thank you sir thank you councilor bonds uh is there a discussion what's before us is PR 25-93 in PR 25-91 which shows the Declaration resolutions Madam Secretary would you call the role share my medicine yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilman benedo yes remember the doe votes yes councilmember Parker yes I remember Parker votes yes councilmember Pinto yes council member Pinto votes yes councilmember Robert White yes member Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran white yes Captain patran White votes yes comes from Maryland yes welcome to Allen both yes councilmember bonds yes councilman perfuman yes I'm from Truman votes yes councilmember Gray yes remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes okay remember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman by McDuffie votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declarations are approved unanimously we have the underlying resolutions PR 25-94 District of Columbia Board of ethics and government accountability Melissa Tucker confirmation emergency approval resolution 2023 and PR 25-92 District of Columbia Board of ethics and government accountability Norma Hutchison confirmation emergency approval resolution 2023. councilmember bonds so move Mr chairman discussion uh we'll do a Voice vote on these two approval resolutions all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes uh the eyes have it unanimously resolutions are approved we have the temporary legislation there's no objection we will consider under a temporary legislation number one three four five in Block that's 25 bill 25-90 Bill 25-98 to 25-100 and Bill 25-96. and to be clear I believe on the temporary on the emergencies there was one that had an amendment and that was the protecting consumers from unjust debt and so if there's no objection that amendment is Incorporated in the temporary Madam general counsel is that clear yes it is Mr chairman Roman purposes I'm not hearing any objections so Mr chairman yes just want to double check that bill 2586 is not being moved and block correct that's not included okay thank you so again it's 25-90 98 196. I think we do a Voice vote on this um in Block unless there's discussion on those four measures all those in favor say aye aye any opposed uh the vote is unanimous those four are approved first reading unanimously um Bill 25-86 Hotel enhanced cleaning and notice and service disruption clarification temporary Amendment Act of 2023 human bonds do you want to say so moved some old Mr chairman discussion Voice vote all those in favor say aye aye aye all right please record me as voting now I believe Congressman repentos the only no vote uh councilmember Pinto is the only no vote uh being recorded is no uh that bill temporary is approved on first reading that is going to conclude the business of this legislative meeting uh there is a committee in the hole in two weeks which means February 21st and there might be a couple of measures for markup then so um time is 152 and this meeting is adjourned