e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e I'm calling to order of this meeting this is an additional meeting of the committee of the whole of the Council of the District of Columbia I'm Phil Mendon chair of the council and chair of the committee as the whole today is Tuesday October 29th 2024 the time is 11:24 in the morning and this meeting is being held in the council chambers room 500 of the Johnny Wilson building although I believe at least one member is participating virtually and this meeting is being broadcast on Council Channel 13 as well as on the council's website which is www.dc.gov this is an additional meeting not a regularly scheduled meeting there are three measures for markup in the committee of the whole and there are something like U I'm going to say 14 or 16 measures that were reported out of other committees that will go through the uh usual process to get on the legislative agenda for today's additional legislative meeting uh we begin our committee of the whole meetings determining whether we have a quorum Mr Cash would you call the role Erman mendleson pres council member Allen here council member bonds here council member fruman present council member gray council member gray council member Henderson here council member Lewis George Council Le George Council M McDuffy council member McDuffy council member Nido here council member Parker here council member Pinto present council member Robert White Council Robert White council member Tran white council member Tran white Mr chairman you have a quum give me just a second all right we're going to have fun right now we have the uh secretary's report of committee filings and I'm going to rec recognize cost member bonds if you would move to wave the reading of the log uh Mr chairman I move to wave the reading of the secretary's law this is of the committee report so there's been a motion to wave the reading is there discussion on the motion to wave the reading all those in favor say I I he have it unanimously um we have the secretary's log of introductions and referrals Council Bond you did a great job counc Bond you want to move the waving of the secretary's log yes Mr chairman I move been a motion to wave the reading of the secretary's log of introductions and referrals is there discussion U Mr chairman yes council member McDuffy I do actually have a question about a particular referral the um B25 uh 10003 the vacant the vibrant Bill introduced was only referred to the committee in the whole uh with comments from the committee on Executive Administration but it's my understanding a quick read that it uh consistently amends title 47 of the code which is as you know with the committee on business and economic development uh as I recall it amends a whole lot of different titles in the code um so you're asking for um comments that would be also referred to the committee uh let me take it under the advisement and uh let me take it under advisement okay uh anything else with regard to the secretary's log the motion is on the secretary's log waving the secretary's log all those favor say I I I I opposed yeah I just have it unanimously um we have three measures for markup in the committee the whole the first is PR 25- 728 citizen review panel Dr Wanda Thompson reappointment resolution of 2024 this is a appointment and appointment of the council not a confirmation the purpose of PR 25-7 to8 is to reappoint Dr Thompson is a member of the citizen review panel for a three-year term to end on April 11 2027 with regard to the citizen review panel in 2004 the council approved the child in need of protection Amendment act the purpose of that 2004 Act was to reform the district's Child Protection Law more importantly the goal of the council was to create a seamless and effective system for responding to any type of child mistreatment whether child abandonment abuse or neglect and outcome of the 20 4 Act was to codify the establishment of the citizen review panel the panel serves as an independent oversight body for the district's child welfare system to evaluate the district government agencies involved in child protection as well as Services provided by vendors the panel consists of 15 members all of whom must be District residents mayor is required to appoint eight members of the panel and must designate the chairperson the council shall appoint seven members of the panel and is required to designate the vice chairperson further the panel is required to broadly to be broadly representative of the community and must include members who have expertise in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect in addition the appointees to the panel should have a diversity of professional backgrounds and must be familiar with the child welfare system so at one of the earlier meetings this fall the council uh appointed I believe it was six members and Dr Thompson is the seventh member Dr Thompson is a w five resident she used to be a W8 resident living in the Fon Community for 40 years uh she serves as the pastor of the Ambassador Baptist Church she's a native Washingtonian she received a master of divinity degree from Howard University School of divinity she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Dickinson College she received a master's degree in PhD from Temple University in Clinical Psychology she is a licensed she is licensed as a psychologist in both the district and Maryland she has also completed certificate classes in leadership development business and public advocacy Dr Thompson has served as a member the uh citizen review panel and she wants to continue her service on the panel because she remains committed to its Mission and wants to be of assistance in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of those organizations involved in child protection and child welfare particularly the Child and Family Services Agency assuming that this is adopted by the committee the committee believes Dr Thompson's significant experience as an advocate and Community organizer as well as her direct experience with cfsa through the panel makes her a valuable member of the panel and therefore we recommend adoption of pr25 d728 this resolution was introduced on April 23rd 2024 originally was scheduled for a hearing or round table on July 11th Dr Thompson could not make it which is why the other appointees have already moved through the council the committee of the whole held a public round table on uh Dr Wanda Thompson's reappointment on October 7th 2024 and the committee received no testimony or comments in opposition to the resolution I move both the print and Report with LEF for sta to make technical conforming and editoral IAL changes is there discussion the motion will be on the print and Report with leaf for staff all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed uh the eyes have it unanimously no I already said the I have unanimously um hold on a second there's no objection we'll reconsider the vote so that we can include all the members hearing no objection uh I will call for the vote again on the motion which was both the print and report all those in favor of the print report for pr25 d728 with leave for staff say I I opposed the eyes have it unanimously M uh Madam assistant general councils to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete once's the report and hearing record are filed Madam budget director uh does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements actually no fist is required correct without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the second measure for markup is Bill 25-10 closing of public streets and alleys adjacent to squares 3039 3040 and 3043 clarification Amendment Act of 2024 this bill would amend DC law 23- 239 to require the surveyor the DC surveyor to record Street and Alley closing and dedication plats for the planned unit development at Park Martin to record them in phases on November 10th 2020 the council approved DC law 23- 239 which I'm avoiding reading because it's a very long and torturous title but it concerns Park Morton the law closed a portion of Morton Street Northwest adjacent the square 340 closed a portion of a public alley in square 3039 it accepted the dedication of two new streets six Street in Luray Place Extended marttin Street Northwest Eastward to connect with wer Street Northwest and accepted a dedication of land and square 3039 for public alley purposes the closure and dedications are facilitating the Redevelopment V of the Park Morton public housing project which is in Ward one according to the developers the Redevelopment of Park Morton is being done in phases with phase one having started late 2021 phase two having started in late 2023 the phased approach to the development necessitated emergency and temporary legislation also introduced by council member Nido as was this bill before us now to require the surveyor to record Street and Alley closing and dedication PL and phases with deadlines of December 31st 2023 for recordation of plats related to phase 1 and December 31st 20125 for recordation of plats related to phase two under the emergency and temporary legislation the surveyor May extend the dates by two years if necessary the committee print for bill 25-10 which is what's before us now is identical to the emergency and temporary versions of the legislation the council approved in 2021 and 2022 this legislation bill 25-10 was introduced by council member nidau on January 9th 2023 I can't really explain why we've taken so long to U mark this up other than that there was the emergency in temporary which took the pressure off of doing this urgently however permanent legislation is necessary which is why the committee of the whole held a hearing on P bill 25-10 on September 24th 2024 uh there was very little testimony of the hearing there was some opposition nonetheless I'm recommending that the committee adopt this uh um print and Report uh and move forward with Council action affirmatively uh I move the print with leave for staff to make Technical and conforming changes is there discussion the vote will be on the print with lead for staff all those in favor say I I I that was anemic uh all those in favor say I I opposed I don't hear any no votes yeah I just have it unanimously I move the report with leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion on the report with LEF for staff all those in favor say I I oppos I don't hear any no votes yeah I just have it unanimously mam assistant general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's the record complete once the report is filed M budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is not without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the third measure for markup in the committee the whole is Bill 25-57 one seizure safe schools Amendment Act of 2024 this bill when introduced was sequentially referred first to the committee on health shared by council member Christina Henderson and then to the community the whole I'm going to recognize council member Henderson first um thank you Mr chairman um and I want to thank you and your staff for collaboration on this important legislation the committee on health unanimously approved um Bill uh 25-5 all right you said 71 I have 81 but I'm going to assume it's it's one of the two but this bill um the in the district uh seizures are the third most common medical emergency in schools and approximately 700 children have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder when a child experiences a seizure at school they may appear confused unresponsive or engaged in repetitive movements it can be critical for the adult in the room to identify the symptoms such that a child can receive the proper seizure treatment quick quickly and avoid medical complications at the public hearing for this bill we heard powerful testimony from students and School staff about the importance of teachers and other school Personnel being aware of a child's diagnosed seizure disorder uh be able to identify the symptoms early and be able to assist with administration of seizure medication uh when necessary Bill 25- 571 aims to address these goals in several ways the committee print requires um the individualized seizure action plans for students diagnosed with a seizure disorder that provide the school with relevant details to care including symptoms to be aware of and the prescription and Drug uh and the prescription and dosage of the seizure treatment the committee print also allows for students to self- administer seizure treatment medication in accordance with their seizure action plan it also requires DC Health to provide seizure recognition training for school staff at least three times per year I want to particularly thank the students and families and their teachers who came to testify on this particular piece of legislation the EP I also want to extend um a gratitude to the EP epilepsy Epilepsy Foundation who has provided helpful research search and data um to inform this bill we appreciate all of your advocacy and partnership to ensure uh children with seizure disorders are able to fill safe and supported throughout their school day I also want to thank our colleagues council member Charles Ellen and Robert White and their teams for introducing and championing this important bill I will also note um that the Chief Financial Officer has reported that this bill has no cost to the district thank you Mr chairman uh thank you Council give me just a a second here this is new and this would be so you'll see so let me add to that and it is Bill 25571 an earlier version of the agenda had 581 um the committee the H the print from the committee of the hle is the one that's going to be before us and the committee of the whole incorporates the backr on a need in the committee on health committee report and adopts its version of the committee print with an amendment now I'm reading from the report the introduced version of Bill 25571 would have required two trainings one training for two staff members to recognize the signs of seizures and administer seizure medication and another training for every staff M to recognize the signs of seizures and respond appropriately as discussed in the committee on health committee report the administration of medication training otherwise known as aom training will suffice to meet the need that two staff members in every school must have seizure medication administration training however the committee on health committee print recommended that the broader seizure awareness training also teaches seizure medication and Vegas nerve stimul ation Administration the committee of the whole is striking the additional medication and Vegas nerve stimulation Administration requirement in the voluntary training to align the legislation with the intent of the introduced version this change was also recommended by advocates for the legislation who had concerns that the expanded scope of the voluntary training might discourage maximal participation so in other words what is before us what I'm moving is uh what the on health reported with this one change uh the legislation was introduced by council member Allen and council member Robert White on November 13th last year the committee on health and the committee of the whole held a public hearing on July 10th the committee on Health's markup which council member Henderson may have already noted was October 22nd um and with that I move the committee the whole print with Lea for St to make Technical and conforming changes is there discussion sure yes council member thanks Mr chair I just want to thank you and your staff for moving this bill forward I want to thank council member Henderson and her team as well uh when I spoke about this bill the committee on health when it HS markup last week um just want to repeat some of what I said then while I think we're all familiar with epilepsy as a disease or disorder I think what we're all less familiar with is how epilepsy can affect a young person and their daily life and at school the committee report goes into this much further but I think it's worth emphasizing that seizures are the third most common medical emergency that occurs in schools and here in the district there are approximately 800 children and teens living with epilepsies a CDC study showed that when compared with students with other health concerns students age 6 to 17 years old with epilepsy were more likely to miss 11 or more days of school in the past year the study also noted that students with epilepsy were more likely to experience difficulties in school use special education service have limitations when it comes to playing sports or participating in other after school activities compared with other students with other medical conditions if you're a student living with epilepsy daily life at school can be challenging especially more so if you're not sure if the school is prepared to address a seizure that you may experience in the future every student deserves a safe and welcoming learning environment this applies to our students living with epilepsy I introduced the seizure safe schools Amendment Act of 2024 alongside my colleague Council Robert White because we were asking if a student has epilepsy are students and staff ready and prepared to respond the bill as introduced was based on model legislation that's currently in effect in 23 States including our neighboring jurisdictions of Virginia and Maryland although the number of components included in the model Bill differ from state to state overall I think that the committee print today with the changes that you and Council Henderson made will make our schools safer for students who live with epilepsy and prepares our teachers staff and school leadership to better respond in an event that a student experiences a seizure uh before I conclude I certainly want to extend my gratitude to the public witnesses that testified at the Bill's hearing especially our St student and parent Advocates who live with or know someone who lives epilepsy special thank you to Molly Ellis and Oliver Teno for your impassioned advocacy I want to thank the Epilepsy Foundation for their advocacy as well as our partnership and lastly I want to thank my own Ward 6 State Board of Education representative Brandon best who advocated for this policy at the State Board of Education and led the board to a resolution calling on the council to pass this legislation so again my appreciation to you and your team's work to both uh you chair melson and Council M Henderson thank you thank you further discussion council member Parker and then Robert W I will be brief uh but thank you chairman mson I wanted to uh thank council members Allan and Robert White uh for their leadership and introducing this and as I said in committee I think this bill in its introduction was a great example of how the State Board of Education and the council can continue to work together um this matter being before the state board and coming from their direct engagement with schools in addition to the work of the council members respective teams I think will lead to meaningful change for our students in our school communities keeping young people safe so all all in all I think it's a win thank you uh thank you and um you know I said earlier when I presented that this was introduced by council member Allen and council member Robert White actually it was introduced by 24689 members council member Robert White thank you uh chair I'm proud to have co-introduced this bill with nine members uh uh co-authored it with council member Allen and also want to thank uh uh state board representative Brandon best uh for his work on this issue uh on the state board and want to thank council member Henderson and you chairman mson for helping move this legislation forward I am especially grateful to Oliver Tano uh DC student who not only inspired this bill but has stayed engaged throughout the process offering testimony and feedback to strengthen it for students who may experience seizures at school as Oliver shared with us teachers and classmates may not always recognize when a student is having a seizure and without basic training they might not know how to respond this can lead to delays in first aid or the administration of medication this bill aims to change that it requires schools to have seizure action plans for students who experience seizures the plan provides School staff with essential information like symptoms to watch for the appropriate medication or treatments emergency contacts healthare provider contacts and any special instructions the legislation also requires DC Health to offer seizure recognition and first aid training to school Personnel three times a year I encourage all teachers and School staff to take advantage of this quick training it will help you recognize the often subtle signs of a seizure something not everyone knows how to spot seizures are more common than many realize affecting one in 10 people at some point in their lives yet often a seizure does not require hospitalization or medication if passed this measure will help many will help any DC student with EP epilepsy or with experien who experiences seizures feel safe and more supported at school students will be able to focus on learning knowing that they're in a seizure safe environment while School staff will feel better equipped to help quickly if a seizure occurs in the classroom my thanks go out to the many families teachers healthc care providers and the State Board of Education who passed a resolution on in support of this bill's goals and again to council member Allen for working with me to introduce this measure thank you chairman uh thank you council member white uh further discussion on the bill we have the print before us this is the community the whole print with leaf for staff all those in favor of the print say I I I I I are there any opposed uh the eyes have it unanimously I move the report with lead for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion on the report all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed y have it un unanimously um Madame assistant general counsel is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's record complete record is complete for the committee on health and once the report is filed for the committee of the whole thank you madam budget director does the measure's fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is not without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting uh we'll turn now to measures um consideration of measures from other committees if there's no objection we'll consider the first two measures in Block they are confirmations of nominations to the office of employee appeals one two three something like the next uh eight measures were came out of the committee on Executive Administration and labor chaired by council member Nita bonds uh pr25 D810 office of employee appeals Jean Morehead confirmation resolution of 2024 n pr25 d811 office of employee appeals lesan Adams confirmation resolution of 2024 council member Vons thank you um Mr chairman um as you stated today I'm moving two nominees for the office of employee app appeals the office of employee appeals is an independent administrative adjudicatory agency that processes appeals filed by District government Workforce the office says duic over appeals where an employee has been removed as a result of an adverse action for cuse is placed on enforced leave or suspended for 10 days or more subjected to reduction in force or has an issue with a safety sensitive designation Miss um Jean Morhead is our first um nominee she is an experienced Human Resources professional with expertise and organizational development employee relations strategic workforce planning Employee Engagement and has a background rooted in the private sector she is currently the vice president of themos Fisher Scientific and she previously held leadership positions within the human resources at Intel Wells Fargo and price Waterhouse Coopers Miss Morhead is a w one resident she obtained her Bachelor's of arts and masters of arts in labor relations and human resources from the University of Illinois she is known as a committed public servant with a demonstrated commitment to human resources and employee relations and therefore sought to be a valuable member of the office of employee appeals with that I certainly urge the support from this morehead's nomination and I move the underlying resolution the second employee um a second nominee for the office of employee appeals PR 25811 is Miss lean Adams Miss Adams is a human resources leader with over 30 years of experience in organizational management Talent acquisition employee relations Labor Relations and employment um development within the federal government currently she serves as a program manager at the Federal Aviation Administration in her capacity as program manager she oversees human resources policies and programs with an emphasis on Workforce Development succession planning and diversity principles previously she served as Director of Human Resources at the Federal Motor Carrier safety administration and the supervisory resource specialist at the government printing office Miss Adams is a w 8 resident who graduated from Howard University with a bachelor's in science um in map and finance and I move her nomination as well sir uh thank you council member Bond are there questions from members uh Madame associate general counsel is the measure are these two measures legally and technically sufficient for consideration yes they are Madam Secretary is the record complete for each yes Madam budget director since these are appointments fiscal impact statements are not required correct without objection these two measures will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting there's no objection we'll consider the next two measures together they are both confirmations of nominations to the board of ethics and government accountability br25 D820 Board of ethics and government accountability Darren soin confirmation resolution of 2024 4 and pr25 d821 board of ethics and government accountability feliss Smith confirmation resolution of 2024 counc member rans thank you I'm chairman again I'm moving the two nomin nominations for the board of ethics and government accountability first nomination 25820 Darren soin this is a reappointment to the board of ethics and government accountability commonly known as bega as you know B investigates alleged violations of ethical violations by District government employees and public officials Vega is comprised of two distinct offices the office of open government and the office of government ethics the office of open government ensures compliance with the district's open meetings act in addition to enforcement of the open meetings act the office advocates for fair and efficient effective DC Freedom of Information Act or the fouryear process the office of government ethics which is a part of the bega office serves as the district's ethics prosecutor and is empowered to bring enforcement proceedings before the five member Board of ethics and government accountability which in turn can Levy Civic Civic civil p uh penalties including substantial monetary fines Bea in fact is governed by a five member board one of which Mr Darren soin currently um serves as a member and I'll start with Mr soin he is an attorney with almost 30 years uh having been admitted to the DC bar in 1995 during the 30 years of his service in the community Mr soin has developed an extensive background in Le legal ethics commercial and intellectual property law international banking law and wrongful deaf litigation Mr soin currently serves as the chief program officer for the DC bar where he oversees the lawyer relations council department which consists of legal Ethics program the lawyer assistance program the attorney client arbitration board and the client Security fund Mr soin is a resident of w 2 and a graduate of UDC David Clark School of Law the second nominee is Miss Feliz Smith uh PR 25821 um and Miss Smith is a license attorney that has been practicing for nearly 20 years she currently serves as vice president and secretary to the board of the Metropolitan Washington airports Authority where she oversees the office of the board of directors which provides executive and administrative support services to the airports Authority 17 member board of directors may I continue without objection she also thank you she also serves as the associate general counsel and ethics officer for the airports Authority where she interprets code of ethics and provides legal and ethical compliance advice to the board members executive management and over 1,700 employees Miss Smith is a ward five resident and a graduate of Howard University School of Law she is licensed to practice in Virginia and recently became licensed in the District of Columbia uh Mr chairman I urge my colleagues to support these nominations thank you council member bons are there questions from members Madam General Madam associate General counsels are the two measures legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes they are Madam Secretary is the record complete for each Madam Secretary is the record complete for each yes it is See's Frozen so uh Madame budget director these are confirmations and therefore don't require fiscal impact statements correct without objection these two measures will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next measure is Bill 25610 retired firefighter and police officer redeployment Amendment Act of 2024 council member bonds thank you again chairman today I'm moving B Bill 25 610 the retired firefighting and police officer redeployment Amendment Act of 2023 as introduced by council member Henderson this bill creates a rehiring eligibility for retired firefighters from the fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department to serve as 911 call takers or dispatchers at the discretion of the director of the office of UNIF by Communications these positions may be temporary full-time or part-time and would not decrease the retirement benefits of a first responder therefore allowing the MPD and the fim's retiree to collect both a salary at a as a temporary nine 11 call taker or a dispatcher in addition to their full pen annuity this bill makes permanent the provision of Bill 25603 retired firefighter and police officer redeployment temporary Amendment Act of 2023 which just expired on the 12th of October 2024 so thank you chairman and I urge my colleagues to support this measure thank you Council M Bonds are there questions from members Madame associate general counsel is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete yes it is and budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact it does not no objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting Bill 25752 automatic voter registration Amendment act 2024 council member Bond thank you uh Mr chairman um this bill was introduced March 21 2024 by council member alen the bill addresses a few issues related to the automatic voter registration expansion Amendment Act of 2022 which expanded automatic voter registration specifically the bill clarifies that local residents that is those who are not um citizens will not have their information automatically transferred to the Board of Elections the bill also requires the Board of Elections to update information on voter roles when a voter submits information to the Department of Motor Vehicles or Department of Health Care finance that differs from what the board has on file at the time that they receive the new information in other words the DMV and the D hcf only must update the Board of Elections when a resident updates information that is currently on their file the Board of Elections um sends notice of the change to the voters address record with a prepaid return letter by which the voter can confirm or correct their information finally the bill changes the applicability date of the original automatic voter registration expansion Amendment act DC law 24- 265 from January 1 2025 to July 1 2025 this is to allow the Board of Elections and the DMV and the dhcf sufficient time to implement the needed changes these changes will help ensure that DC law 24-26 achieves what it was originally intended to achieve namely to capture more unregistered voters and to ensure that all in our community are able to participate in our local democracy by voting for their representatives in the district of Colombia government and I urge my colleagues to support the Bill thank you chairman thank you council member R are questions from members Madam associate general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is madam SEC uh Madam secretary's direct record complete yes it is madam budget director does measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact does not without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next measure is Bill 25- 790 rulle making public comment modernization Amendment act 2024 council member Vons thank you very much chairman um this bill was introduced by myself on April the 9th 2024 it requires agencies to accept written comments both orally and in writing making sure that every member of the public has the opportunity to participate in rule making process the bill requires written comments to be accepted electronically and directs the office of documents and administrative issuance located with the within the office of the secretary to publish the proposed rulle making on an electronic database the bill will create consistency across the rulemaking process for all agencies of the District of Columbia government it will also make certain that public participation which is so essential in the process is convenient and accessible for all district residents I urge my colleagues to support the bill chairman thank you counc Vons are there questions from Members Madam associate General Council was to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete yes it is madam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact it does of 30 5,000 in FY 25 and 95,000 over the financial planning period 95,000 over the fouryear plan 95 correct and that can't be absorbed I know that's not for you but that can't be absorbed 35,000 maybe that was rhetorical um without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next measure is Bill 25792 notori acts clarification Amendment Act of 2024 council member bonds um thank you chairman um this bill was introduced by me on April 22nd 2024 is stated the bill removes the requirement that a notary public must read and write the language of any document on which they perform a notori Act because of this requirement those who need a foreign language document notorized have found it difficult to find a notary who is registered to perform notary acts in a particular language the notary does not read the document that is being presented however many notary organizations advise that they should not read through a document as that is the role of legal counsel this bill does require that a notary read and write in the language in which the um certificate is written in other words the notary must read and understand the language they add to the document including the name of the signator who appears before them and the date on which the document was signed this reflects the notary's role which is to confirm the identities and willingness of those signing a document in addition the bill makes a minor change to the requirements related to electronic notaries or E notaries specifically the bill makes the change that reflects the training on third party or by amending the requirement that an applicant for endorsement as an enotary completes a training course provided by the mayor instead the training course will be approved by the mayor therefore I urge my colleagues to support this bill will and thank you chairman thank you council member Bonds are there questions for members Madam associate General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is M secretary is the record complete yes it is Adam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does without objection this measure oh is there it does not have a cost does not does not thank you with objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next measure bill 25135 was reported out of two committees Committee on Public Works and operations chaired by council member Brian do and committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety chaired by council member Brooke Pinto who's going to go first I am council member noo thank you chairman and thank you council member pinto and your staff for working with my committee to move this legislation forward businesses and individuals who dump illegally create UNT untenable environmental health and economic Harms in our communities which are often frustrated when dumping is left unchecked B25 d135 allows for greater enforcement and adds Common Sense frequently dumped items such as appliances mattresses and tires to the list of items that are explicitly illegal to dump we can do more to protect neighborhoods from the harms of illegal dumping and and this legislation moves Us in that direction the illegal dumping enforcement Amendment Act was introduced by council member gray on February 10th 2023 and sequentially referred first to my committee and then to the committee on Judiciary and Public Safety the two committees held a joint hearing on the bill on June 27th 2023 and the bill was approved unanimously in my committee on September 25th and in the Judiciary Committee on October 17th the purpose of B25 d135 is to amend the illegal dumping Enforcement Act of 1994 or to enhance the district's ability to enforce its ban on illegal dumping it grants the Office of the Attorney General the authority to file civil lawsuits for damages civil penalties recovery of the district's response costs and injunctive or other relief against those who violate the illegal dumping prohibition the legislation also clarifies that oag rather than the US attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor violations of the illegal dumping Prohibition in addition the bill amends the definition of solid waste in the illegal dumping Enforcement Act to explicitly include appliances mattresses Furniture shopping carts and tires recognizing civil laws is a critically important enforcement tool in every other major environmental Statute in the DC code Grants oag civil enforcement Authority closing this enforcement Gap in the illegal dumping statute will help ensure that businesses and individuals who engage an illegal dumping do not evade accountability where criminal prosecution may be inappropriate or infeasible or administrative fines may be insufficient to address the harms and deter future misconduct importantly ogag has shared that its intent is to focus on repeat and high impact offenders there is an extensive and persistent problem of illegal dumping in the district imposing significant environmental health and economic Harms in communities where it occurs unfortunately if not surprisingly these harms fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of col expanding the district's toolkit to combat illegal dumping is critical for addressing such environmental racism and racial inequities and for improving quality of life generally in the district and I urge my colleagues to support this measure I ask the measure be placed on the consent agenda for the legislative meeting to follow thank you chairman thank you council member council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman um and thank you so much council member Nido for your partnership in this bill I want to thank our colleag council member gray for introducing this important bill back in February of 2023 and as council member noo noted illegal dumping really disproportionately harms lowincome and disenfranchise communities across the district in 2022 alone we had 14,000 311 requests placed uh for service related to Illegal dumping this is a huge challenge I think this bill makes a significant step towards strengthening our ability to combat illegal dumping in the district um and ensure that we have the tools to actually enforce it when these violations occur I'll also note the bill expands the definition of solid waste as well to explicitly cover items that are commonly discarded like tires and mattresses um to ensure that we're being responsive to what we're seeing in the community I understand that this bill has been placed in the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting and appreciate all of our colleagues support thank you council member both council members are there questions from Members mam associate General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Adam secretary is the record complete yes it is madam budget director does the measure fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact it does not the objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next four measures were reported out of the committee on business and economic development shared by council member Kenyan McDuffy there's no objection the first two measures concerning the alcoholic beverage in cannabis board will be considered in Block PR 25- 801 alcoholic beverage and cannabis board Ryan L Jones confirmation resolution of 2024 MPR 25803 alcoholic beverage and cannabis board David Meadows confirmation resolution of 2024 council member McDuffy thank you chairman proposed resolution 25- 801 the alcoholic beverage and Canabis board Ryan L Jones confirmation resolution of 2024 was introduced on May 10th as was proposed resolution 25- 803 the alcoholic beverage and cannabis board David medals confirmation resolution of 2024 and both were introduced by you and referred to the committee on business and economic development on June 11th 2024 proposed resolution 25801 we confirm the appointment of Ryan L Jones as a member of the alcoholic beverage and cannabis board for a term to end on May SE 7th May 7th 2027 Mr Jones is a DC based attorney and litigator the focus on ual property law as the founder and principle of Ryan L Jones Law LLC he previously served as an associate attorney general for special projects with the DC Office of the Attorney General he received the Bachelor of Arts and psychology from Stony Brook University a jur doctor from Southern Illinois University School of Law and his master of laws from George Washington University School of Law he is a w five president proposed resolution 25- 803 would confirm the appointment of David meows is a member of the alcoholic beverage and cannabis board for a term to end May 7th 2028 Mr meows has an extensive history working in District of Columbia government and an activism in the district of Colombia having served in various capacities for 28 years he previously served as the chief of staff and Senior advisor to council member Anita bonds and also previously served as the executive director of the DC Democratic party he earned his bachelor's degree from the College of Southern Marland and is a ward 8 resident with that I would move both resolutions and ask that they be placed on the consent agender for today's legislative meeting thank you coun McDuffy are there questions from Members council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you Council McDuffy um I do want to note a significant concern I have regarding the composition of the alcoholic beverage and cannabis board as we consider confirming two additional board members um who sound very qualified I want to highlight an oversight in the lack of ward two representation that we see on the board ABA oversees over 2400 licensed establishments in our district and over 35% of those are in ward two which is disproportionately more than any other Ward by far yet among the four Curr current board members and the two nominees before us board two has zero representation this is not just a matter of geographic Equity the decisions made by this board directly impact the daily operations safety and economic Vitality of hundreds of businesses in W two and our W bears as I noted the greatest concentration of ABA regulated establishments but has no voice in the body that governs them I recognize and appreciate the qualifications of all all of our board members both current and those proposed today but I do want to note the absence of w two representation creating uh a blind spot I think in the board's understanding of our unique challenges and needs that we have so I support these board nominations but I urge the executive uh and our colleagues to stay focused on ensuring that we advance qualified W two residents to correct this imbalance as we move forward with the future uh appointments to ABA while I didn't have a question uh Mr chairman I will acknowledge and share in the concern raised by the war two council member and just uh for the record note that while it wasn't brought up during the nominations of of these uh two uh resolutions uh council member princi and I have talked about it in the past as as uh council members uh who also would like to see better representation or more geographic representation from the wars of the District of Columbia I sharing that concern and raised that concern with the executive counc McDuffy you said you have raised that concern with the executive I have raised that concern with the executive thank you Mr chairman uh any further questions with regard to these two nominations Madam associate General council is to measure are these two measures legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes they are M secretary is the record complete for each yes and Madame budget director these are confirmations and so there's no fiscal impact statement correct objection these measures these measures will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting Bill 25488 great streets program expansion neighborhood retail priority Amendment Act of 2024 council member McDuffy thank you chairman this measure was introduced by council member Allen and myself as the Mount Vernon e Market be Road Great streets neighborhood retail priority Amendment Act of 2023 on SE September 21st 2023 uh this bill was referred to the committee on business and economic development on October 3rd 2023 and the committee held a hearing on the measure on June 20th 2024 the gracer program is led by the office of the deputy mayor for planning and economic development and offers local businesses in eligible corridors grant opportunities technical support and other supporting programs the purpose of this program is to incentivize commercial revalidation by assisting existing businesses attracting new companies and small businesses and creating jobs for District of Columbia residents as introduced this bill would expand the district's retail priority areas to Encompass Mount Vernon triangle Eastern Market and Barracks Road neighborhoods to be eligible for the district's great streets program the committee print expanded Upon This by adding in the Georgia Avenue Retail areas by expanding Georgia Avenue's great streets eligibility further south to include the retail area of along Georgia Avenue South until it meets Howard University and uh myself and my team work with the office of council member noo and council member herself uh on these particular changes uh with that I'd ask that the resolution be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting I'll move it great Street oh you're asking that the bill be placed on the agenda um are there questions are there questions from Members Mr chairman yes council member Allen thank you very much through you to uh Mr McDuffy uh I want to thank you very much for your team's work on moving this forward and posing to make sure I POS it as a question the legislation today is going to help really fill a pretty significant kind of hold the donut like a gap of many of our commercial corridors that were not a part of the Great streets program and then concurrently with the action you're taking a little bit later in the agenda where to make sure that they're eligible for the January application process there'll be emergency legislation concurrent with this permanent bill so that they'll be able to uh apply for Grants um do we think this is going to be a great thing for our small businesses on these important commercial corridors to help make sure that they have access to our great streets program and help support our thriving and wonderful local businesses all over DC yes I think the expansion of this great streets bill will be a great thing thank you very much I appreciate it thank you Mr chairman uh thank you further questions from Members Madam associate General counselor is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary is the record complete yes it is mam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is not the objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next measure is Bill 25573 bruan Road disposition extension approval Act of 2024 council member McDuffy thank you uh chairman without objection I'd love to move to postpone this bill into our next Committee of the whole meeting there's a motion to postpone this uh if there's no objection it will be postponed by unanimous consent that was postponed to the next the next committee the next Committee of the whole meeting um so ordered the next three measures uh were reported out of the committee on Health chaired by council member Christina Henderson the first is pr25 d959 Board of Respiratory Care Carla Seal's confirmation resolution of 2024 council member Henderson thank you Mr chairman pr25 959 nominates Carla seals for reappointment to the board of Respiratory Care uh for a term to end July 16th 2026 missals is a respiratory therapist licensed in the District of Columbia she's the lead therapist at Bridgepoint hospital and has worked there for over 20 years she is a passionate um about educating her patients on diseases that affect their heart and lungs and provides patients with individualized respiratory care plans missals uh received her associate of applied science and Respiratory Care from from the University of the District of Columbia and a bachelor's in healthcare administration from the University of Phoenix she is a w five resident um I asked that this nomination be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting thank you council member is there other questions from Members Madam associate General councils to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's director to complete yes it is Madame budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements because there's no fiscal impact statement required you're trying to trick me something like that I I read the same question every time and realize why am I asking the question if uh it's not required except that we should note that it's not required so the answer is it's not required correct without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting bill 25672 radiation protection act of 2024 council member Henderson thank you Mr chairman Bill 25- 672 the radiation protection act of 2024 was introduced on January 26 2024 by chairman midson on behalf of the mayor it was subsequently referred to the committee on health and the committee on transportation and environment on September 17 2024 the bill was re-referred to the committee on health with comments from the committee on transportation and the environment the district's ability to regulate harmful sources of radiation is to protecting Public Health particularly in healthcare settings radiation machines and Equipment are broadly used to diagnose health conditions and conduct research although these uses are largely beneficial High exposure or frequent exposure to radiation can have an acute and long-term Health implications Bill 25- 672 requires the mayor to regulate non excuse me to regulate ionizing radiation which includes x-ray machines and CT scanners although the executive has been regulating ionizing radiation since the 1970s this Authority has never been actually codified into District law the bill also authorizes the mayor to regulate non- azing radiation which includes MRI machines as well as ultrasound equipment this is um the most significant policy change in the bill currently DC Health would need to request Authority from the Food and Drug Administration to enforce any actions against handlers of nonionizing radiation equipment the committee print which Mak significant improvements to the bill as introduced include aligning the licensing certification reg registration requirements for medic for medical radiation health professionals within the Hora which the council passed earlier this year uh we narrow the executives Authority regarding nonionizing radiation to focus solely on equipment used in clinical Health Care settings and enhance the enforcement Provisions to ensure that the executive can swiftly act when there is an immediate threat to Public Health which also ensures due process and procedural safeguard the ocfo reported that the bill would cost approx well I don't want to take this from the budget director um but there is a cost associated with this bill um and I'm happy to answer any questions sorry Jen don't still your Thunder thank you oh thank you council member Anderson are there questions from Members Madam so C General councel is measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is madam secretary's record complete yes it is and budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is a fiscal impact of 142,000 in FY 25 and 445,000 over the four-year plan and the government can afford can absorb 35,000 okay um that's an earlier issue um without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative additional legislative meeting council member Henderson Bill 25759 child behavioral health services dashboard Amendment Act of 2024 thank you Mr chairman Bill 25759 the child behavioral health services dashboard Amendment Act of 20 24 was introduced on March 28 2024 by council members Parker fan Robert White Allan bonds and gray I co-sponsored this legislation the bill would uh was referred to the committee on Health on April 2nd 2024 and the committee held a public hearing on the bill on July 11th we unanimously approved the committee print on October 22nd uh this bill would address significant challenges in accessing uh behavioral health information and services for Children and Youth in the district district children and their families are facing immense Behavioral Health Challenge Alles according to 2021 data from The Office of the State superintendent of Education 18% of DC high school students reported seriously consider attempting suicide and 36% reported feeling sad or hopeless these issues are only worsened by the difficulty families encounter and accessing timely and specialized Behavioral Health Services while the district may have many of these Behavioral Health Services available the current system is fragmented and very difficult to navigate providers maintain their own websites that are not always user friendly for families caregivers or youth themselves additionally it is challenging to find specific information about the types specific types of population served by these facilities such as youth experiencing homelessness youth in the custody of DRS or victims of gun violence this lack of clarity can lead to confusion and delays in care bill 25759 requires the development of a publicly accessible Behavioral Health Services directory and dashboard overseen by DC Health the directory will consolidate Vital Information on aail able Services across the district and the dashboard would include real-time data on service capacity and eligibility requirements by centralizing this information into one use easyto use platform the bill aims to streamline the access to the care uh for children youth and their families uh this bill will I believe greatly improve access to V health information for district Youth and families and I want to thank our colleague council member Zachary Parker from Ward five and his team on introducing and championing this important bill um I'm happy to answer any questions but I ask for colleagues to support this legislation thank you Mr chairman thank you council member Henderson are there questions from Members Madam associate General council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete yes it is madam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is a cost of 100 11,000 in fy2 and uh 460,000 over the four-year financial planning period thank you without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting that's going to complete the business for the committee the whole um we will adjourn set up and begin the legislative meeting at 12 40 the time is 12:33 and this meeting is adjourned e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e don't go have fun I'm calling to order of this meeting this is an ADD addtional meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia and it's the 32nd legislative meeting of council period2 I'm Phil mson chair of the council and today is Tuesday October 29th 2024 the time is 12:52 in the afternoon and we are meeting in the council chambers room 500 of the Johnny Wilson building this meeting is being broadcast on Council Channel 13 and is also available on the council's website www.dc.gov um I feel like I'm forgetting something this is an additional meeting and I'm now repeating myself and I'm Phil Mendelson um we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence uh if we could observe that in the chamber please Madam Secretary would you please call the role council member Allen here council member Bond here council member Freeman presid council member Grace absent council member Henderson here council member Le George is absent Council McDuffy here chairman melson present council member nadell here council member Parker here council member Pinto present council member Robert White present council member Tron white present Mr chairman you have a quum uh thank you Madam Secretary your calling the role reminded me of a couple of things one is congratulations to our colleague council member Venice Lewis George who had a baby Pierce James I think is his name on Saturday morning pictures are very cute all the members have wished her the best so I want to acknowledge that and on the other hand also acknowledge our colleague Vince gray who last week announced that his health has not been improving as much as he would like uh which is why he's not here today and our uh best wishes are with him having said that we have the consent agenda before us there are um two changes that I know of on page one item B1 one which is Bill 25-49 local rent supplement program eligibility Amendment Act of 2024 is removed from the consent agenda and on page two item8 which is actually C8 and I misspoke nine item nine uh Bill 25573 Bruce Monroe disposition extension approval Act of 20124 is removed from the agenda it was postponed at the committee the whole are there any other changes to the consent agenda I'm hearing none um so the vote will be on the consent agenda with those two items removed all those in favor say I I I opposed I council member Tron white was that a no Vote or a late I vote I all right so I hear no uh no votes the IES have it unanimously uh we'll turn to build on page one page excuse me Bill 25-49 local rent supplement program eligibility Amendment Act of 2024 council member Robert White um thank you chairman this is the bill that you introduced a few years ago that we've had uh in effect for a few years now with some updates to reflect feedback from the DC housing authority and residents the fundamental purpose of this bill was to make sure that people can access our local voucher programs more easily even if they don't initially have all of the paperwork uh together that would be required for a federal voucher and even if they have certain criminal records or immigration statuses that would make them ineligible for federal housing assistance as we discussed at first reading a couple weeks ago the housing committee made some changes to the bill we accepted the Housing Authority's recommendation to allow them to require ID when local voucher holders go to recertify which is typically after two years and we allow the housing authority to use information about a person's criminal system involvement against that person if they're doing something criminally dangerous once they're already in the local voucher program in both cases we've made sure to put some new safeguards in place we voted in favor of this new and improved version of your important Bill a couple of weeks ago I urge my colleagues to continue to support this bill I also have an amendment which I'd like to move now so move the amendment um I didn't see it so it was circulated on the um by email yes it was circulated at 6 uh 6 PM yesterday um so the amendment makes a couple clarifying tweaks based on feedback from the DC housing of Authority uh after our uh markup first there's a provision in the committee print that lets dcha check for mismatches between the new voucher eligibility standards and the bill and more restrictive Federal requirements for specific buildings dcha asked us to make it more explicit that we're talking about projects supported by federal lowincome housing tax credits I don't anticipate this coming up u in many cases but we're trying to be accommodating to dcha second you'll recall that the committee print allows dcha to take action against the person's local vouchers when there's a preponderance of evidence that a person is engaged in criminal activity after getting their voucher and poses a threat to others if they stay in the program the amendment clarifies in the next in the bill text something that I think thought was already clear in our discussion a couple weeks ago dcha is allowed to start looking into criminal legal system records about a person who's already in the local program in the process of making those determinations this could come up in situations where a landlord or law enforcement makes allegations to dcha about a tenant again this was always the committee's intent it's just about tightening up the bill text um so I'd like to move the amendment at this time uh thank you council member white what time was it circulated yesterday uh around 6 PM so members have it that way six we have the amendment before us is there a discussion on the amendment if there's no objection the amendment will be accepted the amendment is accepted without AC objection we have the bill as amended before us Is there further discussion Just moment uh the vote will be on the bill as amended all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed Mr chairman please record me as voting no um the eyes have it and the bill is approved as amended on Final reading we will turn to page there's no page number um the non-consent agenda item v b reading and vote on emergency legislation the first measure is um PR 25-10 29 closing of public alley in square 5051 so 21- 00136 second emergency declaration resolution of 20 24 um this is uh an emergency version of permanent legislation to close the Sally which the permit legislation is currently undergoing maril review and we'll go through Congressional review afterward so this emergency is necessary to prevent a gap in the law uh this is is on non-consent because it's not simply a congressional review this bill also um amends District law to require the tax payment financial analysis by final reading rather than before a hearing uh so that's uh substantively new to the um alley closing but this was a good vehicle to do this so that is the me underlying meure I move the Declaration so moved is their discussion the vote will be on the Declaration all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed I don't hear any no votes the eyes have it unanimously I move the underlying bill bill 25-19 is there discussion all those in favor of the bill say I I I are there any opposed I'm hear any no votes I have it unanimous uh the next measure is medical cannabis clarification and program enforcement emergency declaration resolution of 2024 pr25 d127 council member McDuffy thank you chairman the council approved the medical cannabis clarification and program enforcement Amendment Act of 20124 passed on second reading on October 1st 2024 to address the clarifications and improvements to the district's medical cannabis program the permanent legislation appealed outdated emergency and temporary legislation so it's necessary uh that the repealers and the provisions of the permanent legislation take effect immediately to prevent any conflicts in the law so move the Declaration is before us is there discussion the vote will be on the Declaration all those in favor say I I I oppos I don't hear any no votes the eyes have it unanimously the underlying Bill Bill 25-17 counc McDuffy so move discussion all those in favor of the bill say I I I are there any opposed the eyes have it unanimously the measur is approved the next measure is Department of energy and environment rul making clarification emergency declaration resolution 2024 pr25 d102 council member Allen thank you very much Mr chairman the district Department of the environment establishment Act of 2005 as you might have guessed it established the district Department of environment as an agency within the executive branch of the District of Columbia government the department of the environment was later renamed the department of energy environment or doee as it's known today the original language of Doe's establishment act required that the mayor issue rules to implement provisions of the ACT within 180 days of its effective date those rules and regulations were to be submitted to the council for a 45-day period of active review meaning they would be deemed disapproved if the council did not approve the proposed Rules by resolution the rationale for requiring active approval of the rules was to ensure the council could review the initial rules and regulations promulgated by the newly established agency in 2021 the council enacted the green food purchasing Amendment Act of 2021 which granted doe additional rulemaking Authority for the purpose of implementing provisions of that new law however due to a drafting error the green food purchasing Amendment act unintentionally subjects all new rules and regulations promulgated by Doe to the 45-day active review period that had been reserved for the rules and regulations promulgated during de's establishment we're all following here this error could undermine the legal status of the rules that did not receive active approval and impairs the agency's ability to promulgate rules and regulations necessary for implementing the district's environmental laws in a timely manner and this emergency is necessary to clarify the agency's authority to issue rules thank you Mr chairman and with that I move the Declaration thank you Council Allen discussion we have the Declaration before for us all those in favor say I I I are there any opposed I don't hear any no votes C I have it unanimously the underlying Bill Bill 25-105 council member Allen so moves Mr chair is our discussion on the bill all those in favor say I I I I I are there any opposed the eyes have it unanimously the next measure is great streets program expansion neighborhood retail priority Amendment emergency declaration resolution of 2024 PR 25-1 030 council member McDuffy thank you chairman the council today has approved at the committee of the whole and voted on first reading of the permanent version of this bill B 25-48 the council must pass an emergency vers of this bill as was alluded to earlier to ensure that the small businesses located in the new retail priority corridors that will be created by this legislation will have the ability to apply for the great streets program funding when the applications open in January of 2025 and so it's important that we move an emergency situation uh and so I move the Declaration chairman thank you council member we have the Declaration before us is there discussion chairman council member noo Nido thank you I just wanted to thank council member McDuffy for moving forward not only the permanent but the emergency legislation here we had some corrections and updates we needed to make in W one and I'm very glad we were able to get that done together um and I appreciated the opportunity to work together on that permanent as well thank you chairman thank you council member further discussion uh we have the Declaration before us all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed hearing none the eyes have it unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 25-1 010 council member McDuffy so move is there discussion on the bill all those in favor say I I I I I are there any opposed hearing none the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is PR 25-10 31 residential Tranquility emergency declaration resolution of 2024 council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman today I'm moving the residential Tranquility emergency Amendment Act of 2024 our Declaration of Independence makes clear that we all have certain unalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the elected leaders of our city we must uphold our responsibility to our residents to ensure that they can achieve their own Pursuit of Happiness and enjoy their homes their neighborhoods and their lives without unreasonable persistent disruptions targeting them at night or in the early morning hours I'm deeply concerned about demonstrations targeting residential homes disrupting entire neighborhoods and compromising our residents fundamental right to peacefully enjoy their homes as the Supreme Court has emphasized the state's interest in protecting the well-being tranquility and privacy of the home is certainly of the highest order in a free and civilized society our homes must remain in the Court's words the last Citadel of the tired the weary and the sick First Let Me Be crystal clear this legislation fully upholds and protects the fundamental guarantees of free speech peaceful assembly and the right to protest these First Amendment rights stand as cornerstones of our democracy and ones that I and the District of Colombia have proudly defended throughout our history as a city our city has been the site of countless historic demonstrations that have shaped our nation in many ways through the exercise of these essential freedoms some of which many of which I have participated in myself I remain committed to preserving robust spaces for public discourse peaceful assembly and the right to voice dissent through protest celebration and frankly anything people of our city or visitors want to say however what we are witnessing in a few circumstances targeting residents goes far beyond peaceful protest we are seeing the persistent use of Amplified sound devices blasting noise on a continuous loop in residential areas demonstrations continuing late into the night or starting in the very early morning hours and what I think most disturbingly individuals in some cases throwing projectiles onto homes as a form of harassment and intimidation these actions create significant negative impacts on residential well-being leading to heightened Stress and Anxiety levels among some of our most vulnerable the current laws quiet hours which only restrict demonstrations between 10 p.m. and 7 am. in my view are not sufficient so I was moving an emergency legislation today that would have done the following it would have restricted the hours of demonstration of three or more people targeting a residence from 7 pm to 900 a.m. it would have prohibited the use of Amplified sound devices during demonstrations targeting residential zones and it would have created Mr chairman may I have some additional time please objection and it would have created specific prohibitions targeting projectiles at residents um intending to cause fear or intimidation or retaliation this bill would have filled critical gaps in our existing legal framework to protect residents from targeted harassment the bill also provides clear guidance for law enforcement by establishing a separate offense for demonstrators continuing to show up after being dispersed I believed that we had stricken the right balance here and that this emergency is justified by the immediate need to protect our residents and their home and in their homes and neighborhoods and to continue supporting First Amendment rights we did have a lengthy debate at this morning's breakfast um where I heard a number of concerns from colleagues and frankly I'm disappointed to share we did not have the votes to pass the emergency bill today I am not trying to make a point here I'm not trying to just make a statement without any progress I'm trying to provide some relief to Residents in our community and as a result I'm moving an amendment to this bill uh which makes changes that I hope accommodate um enough colleagues concerns that we can get something passed today that can provide some immediate relief so lastly what our Amendment now does is we're still going to Pro prohibit projectiles from being thrown at residents in the course of this Pro these protests and second it bans the use of amplification devices during protests in residential zones during the hours of 7 to 9:00 am uh and during the hours of 7 to 10 p.m I hope that I can count on colleagues support I want to remind everybody in our community we absolutely have a First Amendment right to make our voices heard and we also have a responsibility to one another we are one community and we have to take Serious our responsibility that we all have um as washingtonians to to our neighbors thank you Mr chairman uh thank you Council Pinto uh and I'm going to speak in support of this declaration uh council member Pinto circulated the um revised language so that uh in addition to the projectile provision and in addition to the definition of sound amplifying device as was circulated yesterday the language would be it is unlawful for a person to use a sound amplifying device to Target a residence for purposes of a demonstration between 7.m and 9:00 a.m. in residential zones residential flat zones or residential apartment zones as those terms are defined in the District of Columbia zoning regulations I'm going to repeat some of what I said this morning at the breakfast because I think this should be on the record I uh visited uh one of the sites where there are these demonstrations going on about which there's been quite a bit of complaint I visited last week in the morning I mentioned to members it was a little hard getting there at 7:30 in the morning I tried to get there at 7 and the reason why I mentioned that is not for the sympathy but to emphasize that 7 and 7:30 in the morning are early in the morning and people are waking up and it's really people are at home and um yet uh there were um two um um bullhorns in different places that were targeted at a um house that was at the corner of 23rd in s Street across the street from one of those bullhorns uh the decb by my phone my iPhone registered at 92 and um at the source it was 128 and just to put this in a little bit of context the um NIH I think this is an NIH website says says that harmful to uh hearing uh maximum exposure time to certain decel levels is let's see 100 DB 15 minutes 103 DB 7.5 minutes 106 DB 3.75 minutes this was 128 at the source so it actually is dangerous this bill targets uh residential zones deals with only sound amplification uh in residential zones only sound amplification that's targeting a um residence uh there was some question raised and actually some folks uh the members of the public who've been commenting question whether this is constitutional and I read an excerpt from a Supreme Court case in 1988 which was the basis for this underlying law of the residential Tranquility act it says the state's interest in protecting the well-being tranqu and privacy of the home is certainly of the highest order in a free and civilized society our prior decisions have often remarked on the unique nature of the home the last Citadel of the tired the weary and the sick and have recognized that preserving the sanctity of the home the one Retreat to which men and women can repair to escape from the tribulations of their daily Pursuits is surely an important value and that was a Supreme Court case that upheld a Brookfield Wisconsin ordinance that simply prohibited any picketing before or about the residence or dwelling of any individual far broader than what we're talking about this is just Amplified noise so what does that mean that means that if there's a demonstration um it fall it's in a residential area it falls under the existing law with this amendment if it's Amplified noise and it can't occur Amplified noise targeted at a residence it can't occur between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. just a moment longer if there's no objection there also were some comments and I think it's important to note this for the record well some objections we received in writing that well the this is already prohibited well it's not prohibited one could argue that the public policy is that there shouldn't be noise above 80 DB but in fact it's not enforcable and when I visited that site in kalarama last week there was a secret service off officer there were a couple of MPD cars there and they're unable to do anything and we've had several hearings on noise related legislation where every uh agency executive agency of this government has testified that the current law is impossible to enforce uh so I'm fully supportive of this and hope that other members will be as well further discussion council member Parker thank you Mr chairman I am sympathetic for residents who reportedly have dealt with unpleasant noise violations for the past two years really um and we have some of those residents in the chamber today I know that experiencing protests especially those that go on for a long period can be a hardship and I appreciate council member Pino's leadership to help those residents nonetheless I continue to believe that the council should not make changes proposed in this measure on an emergency basis modifications to our criminal code especially those that implicate the first amendment should be done through regular order regular order is not just about public input regular order requires a markup which creates a record of our legislative aims and how the laws we pass are tailored to meet those goals regular order also provides multiple opportunities for amendment to ensure that we strike the right balance and have chosen the right Solution by all accounts this matter that we're discussing today has gone on for I believe two years more than enough time for this body to properly weigh in process matters because it can lead to better outcomes while I appreciate efforts by council member Pinto to address concerns raised I still have several issues with the underlying emergency first it is still not clear to me why we're rushing to criminalize more conduct without first trying to amend our noise ordinances and second key terms in the legislation remain vague especially the failure to Define what is meant by targeting uh in a residential area even as it exists in the underlying code expanding the scope of the district's police power even with the goal of preventing disruptive behavior is a step we should be loathed to take on an emergency basis even if this law yields no arrest it has the potential to meaningfully change the relationship between protesters and law enforcement we should hold ourselves to a higher standard when such important interests are State and so I will be voting no on this measure today yet I still appreciate the significant changes council member Pinto has made to the emergency just from this morning's discussion imagine where this proposal could be if it went through regular order and we had more time to strengthening um and I'll end there but I stand ready to work with colleagues and council member Pinto to find a more appropriate permanent solution thank you chairman uh thank you council member further discussion chairman uh council member TR white uh thank you uh when I first read it I want to thank council member prto for uh her leadership on this um I do not uh know if this is the uh the answer to where we're trying to go uh the point of demonstration is to bring attention as we know to uh those who may not feel like they have a voice uh this bill has not been uh subjected to a public hearing a round table yet we're voting on this in emergency basis with without public input uh I don't know if we are to dictate how people should exercise their first amendment rights uh is it fair to tell someone anyone how to express their pain particularly in the nation's capital which is a critical uh hostle in the country where people come to amplify their voices and be heard uh and I'm concerned that we are moving too fast without having uh the proper uh hearing and input from everyone um it is the current law that the which restricts certain activities between I believe 10 and 7 A.M and this law changed that time uh and I heard you chairman say that you went to a demonstration that the sound decimal was at 92 you got closer to been 100 I think that the law uh already speaks to a residental area not being louder than 55 and I even heard saw 80 somewhere um but I believe you said it's not enforceable um I'm concerned about this legislation uh it was noted also in a breakfast meeting that many posters have been been there been very early or late during period of coverage by Council P this morning at breakfast uh this to indicate the hours they want to protest about whatever it is that they want like to protest I do not support or uh concede to people throwing objects or projecting things at people or places and spaces or houses um so I agree with some of this but this the process is what I'm not in agreements of so I will be voting no today in hopes that we can go back and look at this to ensure that we are upholding the First Amendment rights for individuals uh in the nation's capital or visiting the nation's capital uh thank you chairman uh thank you council member further on this council member fuman thank you very much chairman mson and and thank you council member Pinto for your work on this important legislation I I think we all entirely support the right of First Amendment protest and uh we've all participated in protests we've all uh been content to see protests in on in positions that are opposite to the positions that we hold it is a very important thing that everyone have the right to protest the idea uh that protest or can be regulated in the context of a residential neighborhood is not controversial the Supreme Court has been very very clear about it the idea um uh that we have regulated in this place is not controversial we we passed along on this it has been in place it has a time limit it has a number limit on the on how many people can be protesting targeting a resident using the term it's part of our law uh and we have regulated in this area we have seen increases in these kinds of protests and there is the protests in kalarama there are protests in Barnaby woods and Forest Hills where there are very significant attacks and attacks early in the morning at a time when families are getting up getting their kids ready to go to school what we do here is make a modification in the hours in order to protect families and communities from the kind of aggressive disruption that we have seen in these contexts go ahead and protest at other times but please don't intimidate families don't intimidate children as they're getting ready to go to school I would have liked to see the bill passed as it was originally formulated if this is what can be done then this is what can be done but we shouldn't act as if this is all new territory that we've just jumped on at the last minute I a few weeks ago attended a hearing on permanent legislation that touched on these subjects and listened to the agencies tell us they couldn't do anything and so this is in part a response to the idea that the agencies are telling us they can't enforce the rules that exist now because they don't have the right tools now somebody could say well the agencies ought to do that but they're telling us they don't have the tools we can't blame it on the executive the executive supports this legislation if we can't pass this legislation it's on us and we owe it to these communities and these families to get this passed council member Robert White um thank you chairman um like my colleagues um I I I take the First Amendment um incredibly seriously and um and we have to um and and I I think we did not make changes on on emergency that affect First Amendment rights uh but the idea has been introduced to Residents and so I I think we are where we are at this point um but I also want to be clear throwing smoke bombs at people's houses is not uh protest uh and is not okay uh waking people's children's up children up with with Sirens early in the morning uh is not okay um those things don't further a cause and and we do have residents um that we have to protect who um have kids that don't feel safe who are being followed around their neighborhood uh who can't use their their local park uh who have people many if not all of them who don't live in the district um being paid to to do these these things um and and so we we have to take a a sober approach and understand you know what is what is what is free speech and protest and what is um harassment uh now the reason I understand what was happening is because I I had a conversation with the mayor earlier today this morning and um to agreed that it would be helpful uh if she put a couple of people in touch with me to help understand uh the issue uh so I was expecting uh two or three emails unfortunately the mayor shared my cell phone number with dozens of people so I've gotten over 30s of calls to my cell phone during a legislative meeting hey and I don't find it funny because I can't return them um and so I look like a jerk to Residents who are reaching out to me uh because the mayor told them to call her so that didn't help um and I'm irritated um but um but I appreciate having had the opportunity to to hear from some residents about what they're facing to put myself in their shoes and to say if I was in their situation um would I see this as as a a First Amendment uh issue or or not um and I think you know when it comes to uh our families people throwing things uh at our at our homes uh that is not uh protected speech and so as we figure out what to do in permanent legislation um it it makes sense to protect families in in the interm so um I'm I'm going to vote in favor of this bill um today the emergency Bill uh but I think is important that we move a permanent Bill forward quickly as opposed to extending this emergency uh too long thank you chairman thank you council member further discussion council member Allen thank you Mr chairman protest by its very nature is supposed to make us uncomfortable protest by its nature is loud it is uncomfortable and that is by Design um and I think the reason why we should be very cautious about changing the law around this is that it is actually fairly easy for us to find that which we find offensive uh irritating getting in the way of my daily life the easiest to say I need to see that changed it is a hard thing to do to protect our first amendment rights to protest when it is loud and uncomfortable and in our way um so we should be very careful about that and that's why when the first version of this was circulated it was something I had a lot of questions and concerns about and couldn't find my way to support because it it was overly broad I was concerned about that I also was very concerned about the process First Amendment laws are ripe for litigation for headed to the courts and without a legislative record which emergency action today will not have the same legislative record we would put the district's laws further at risk if we had an overly broad statute that we were moving forward um so I wholeheartedly agree with many of my colleagues that have echoed this that we need to work on permanent legislation wrestle with the ideas figure out what we're going to move forward with what we have in front of us and I appreciate my colleague for making changes and submitting that is now a more limited and tailored approach that will seek to address in a more responsible way that which I think people are focused on but I I want us to be very careful that we're not taking an action to limit the speech and Amplified noise that we just simply don't like that to me is is very important for us we don't know how next week is going to go and the results of an election could mean very different actions get taken and different types of protests need to take place if we see a different president decide that they want to move mass deportations of DC residents I'm pretty sure DC values would dictate that we want to Pro protest that and I don't want us to have taken an action that limits our ability to raise our voice to have our values heard and to be able to fight for that which we think is right so that's why we should be very cautious I think the legislation in front of us the revised one which will be be moved once we get past the deck is a limited and tailored effort that I think will provide some relief to Residents that I think councelor pinto and others are working on but also make sure we have a robust and protected First Amendment right and then I look forward to being able to work permanent legislation with my colleagues so I will be supporting the revisions that councelor Pinto will be moving on the underlying legislation U but I think we should all take caution and be very thoughtful and considerate as we continue to work on permanent legislation thank you Mr chair thank you council member further on the Declaration council member McDuffy thank you chairman I I'll make my remarks brief and appreciate the the remarks of my colleagues um you know even where we differ I think this is part of the process and and and really um appreciate uh how we've gotten to this point um where I started this morning uh in opposition to the original Bill although deeply empathetic to the residents uh I have gotten to a place where I can support it and appreciate the um adjustments that have been made in hearing the concerns that that I have raised which I think was significant constitutional concerns uh around our first amendment um I end up at yes because my most significant constitutional concerns have been allayed uh based on the modifications that have been made um I still think you know that that it has potential to be challenged and that we're going to have to defend it uh if that challenge indeed ensues um because I think we've gotten to a place where where this bill is narrowly tailored uh and I've I've had opportunity to go back and look at the bill that I think council member Merson originally drafted uh and the council passed back in 2010 and read through you know the purpose and and the intent behind it and think that we are on Solid Ground today uh in supporting this measure on an emergency basis U the concerns that remain are the ones that have been expressed by others that we're doing it on an emergency basis in that we leave for others to wonder outside of this record that we have today uh what we meant when we moved this measure forward I think it's more prudent and more defensible to have a hearing and a record committee report that really spells out how we arrived at this point so I'm encouraging my colleagues to to to move in that direction um whether or not this passes today but I I do appreciate how we got here and I think this process is sorely necessary with any bill that comes before this body but in particular where there are significant constitutional implications and uh I appreciate that as a council member but in particular as an officer of the Court uh that has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States I take this really seriously and so um I'm comfortable with with voting uh in support of this today and appreciate the residents who have made it patently clear the hell that they've been living in having to uh endure uh a protest that whether or not it is designed to Target them has severely diminished their quality of life and so I want to thank them for coneing those concerns to me and others on this body um before this vote today thank you thank you council member further on the Declaration customer verbond um thank you very much um chairman and I want to commend my colleague um council member Pento um as I said earlier today during our administrative um meeting that I was supporting the original amendment I continue to support this amendment um I think that um this is a this is a 90day uh provision it's an opportunity to bring some relief to the families that are bombarded with with this um what I would consider unnecessary sound every day I understand protest and as I said earlier today protests can be without a lot of sound um it can be staging um certain actions um but certainly the sound that is disturbing neighbors day in and day out at as we would call it all hours of the beginning of our day is truly unnecessary in our community so I'm very thankful that you have U moved the the dial um I certainly hope so so that more of of my colleagues and I can support this because you know this has been a struggle in this particular neighborhood for a few years now and we continue to say we're looking for a way we're looking for a way but we don't give people honest members of our community relief so this is an opportunity to at least hopefully give them some relief while we continue to struggle uh with the whole issue of First Amendment rights versus the right of an individual to have have life uh and Liberty in our community so thank you very much uh before we get to the second round any other members I sort of want to speak second round do you want to go before after me council member uh so I want to speak to the two members who said they're going to vote no I'm being careful so there's no personal privilege here so there was a comment about following regular order I explained at to breakfast this morning that because this amending title 22 it's a 60-day congressional layover uh if we follow regular order we would have to have a hearing that requires a bill to be introduced well it doesn't require a bill to be introduced but it takes time there has to be um almost three weeks notice of the hearing uh it would take time and I don't think anybody questions that the the degree of noise that's being experienced is an emergency certainly more of an emergency than many of the other emergencies that we consider at our meetings there was also the comment that really we ought to look harder at amending our existing noise regulations which are regulations so maybe many members have not but I have either attended or chaired at least four hearings if not five on the existing noise regulations over and over the Executive Branch agencies dcra Department of Buildings Department of Licensing consumer protection MPD the deputy mayor for public safety they all say the current law current regulations are not enforcable they just are not enforcable as in it's too hard to enforce it you have to get into a uh inside a residence you have to have a calibrated noise meter and then all you can do is just tell the person to turn it down who may have left and will come back later and so it doesn't get enforced and we have tried over and over to find ways to amend it there's a bill pending which I think was the fifth hearing I've been to that council member Dido I hope we'll be moving this fall but it will not do what this bill does there was a comment at at the breakfast well the way the draft of the bill at breakfast was worded there's no objection a little longer uh the way the bill at breakfast was worded it would have prohibited um using an amplification in the middle of the day well what's before us now has resolved that so amplification can be used during the middle of the day there was also questions about well what if somebody wants to demonstrate early in the morning um and the bill that was before us this morning had changed the hours well what we have before us now doesn't change the hours all it does is speak to amplification before 9:00 a.m. and after 7 p.m. I want to remind members and the public may not know this I have to be careful how I say this but we had a retreat in July where members most of the members spoke of their individual personal experiences with demonstrations at their houses and as I remember nobody brought up sound amplification but they did bring up how well these were not members words but the retreat moderator or leader used the word trauma how traumatizing these demonstrations are on us and wasn't it another member of our Council who said I signed up for this but my neighbors didn't and that's what we're speaking to here are the neighbors who didn't sign up for the targeted demonstration at somebody's house for a demonstration that is sound amplification that's all we're talking about here the bullhorn that I measured was 128 DB and that's got to be traumatizing so regular order would take too long amending the no noise regulations we're trying but that's not an answer I went over my time council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman I just wanted to briefly address some of what I heard in the debate and I I really want to thank my colleagues for participating in this conversation and and this issue um this idea that this is an emergency that we're kind of just putting together is not the case um that this is a quick thing this has been going on for years and we have explored every Avenue to provide relief working with dlcp do MPD state Department um the mayor's office the secretary of the district's office um an ANC Commissioners neighbors trying everything we can to accommodate and provide a reasonable set of relief we have two noise bills right now before the council harmonious living bill and the Amplified noise Bill both of which have had hearings where we heard resoundingly from residents hey these bills don't go far enough to address the concerns that we're having and so all of that input has shaped what I believe is our last recourse of emergency legislation that can provide some immediate relief this idea that we're adding criminalization um I I do want to um disagree with this is already the law the residential Tranquility Act is already the law we have to accept the reality the Practical reality that if MPD doesn't have tools to disperse crowds then we have no enforcement of our laws um and so I want to be careful with the language that we're using there um protests can still occur in the district they will still occur they should still occur um and that doesn't change under this I do just want to also note that I'm incouraged to hear a lot of colleagues today talk about support they have for permanent changes I welcome working with you all as we continue to work on those permanent changes to make sure that hate speech um is adequately prosecuted that we're not allowing for that type of activity to happen to our residents um we welcome protest protest can happen here at the Wilson building it can happen throughout the city the chairman mentioned we signed up for that we also signed up to protect our residents and our residents are asking for our help um so I thank my colleagues for working with us on this and I hope everyone can support this reasonable um emergency legislation today thank you if there's no further discussion what we have before us is the Declaration all those in favor of the Declaration say I Mr chairman no votes are there any no votes can you call the RO I'm not hearing things I asked for eyes let me start over again all those in favor of the Declaration say I I can you please call the RO you're asking for a roll call that is correct oh goody Madam Secretary you call the RO council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes council member Le George is absent council member McDuffy yes council member McDuffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes council member Nell yes council member Nell votes yes council member Parker no council member Parker votes no council member Pinto yes council member Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member Tron white no council member trayan white votes no council member Allen yes council member Allen votes yes council member bonds yes council member bonds votes yes council member fruman yes council member Freeman votes yes council member gray is absent Mr chairman there are nine yeses two Nos and two absence uh the Declaration is approved we have the underlying Bill council member Pinto so move Mr chairman you have an amendment I do have an amendment I would like to move the amendment that I have circulated via email to members and I've also passed out a hard copy version to everybody um as our articulated during our conversation around the Declaration it makes a couple of changes namely it removes mes the changes to the hours that protest can happen targeting a residences um so it maintains two primary prohibitions one is on throwing projectiles at residents at a residence while you're engaged in a protest and the second is making clear that it is unlawful for a person to use a sound amplification device targeting a residence for purpose of a demonstration between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. um and in the evening hour as well uh we have the amendment before us is there discussion on the amendment uh the vote will be on the amendment and then the opportunity for further discussion on the bill all those in favor of the amendment say I I opposed no sh vote me is uh no uh coun mber Parker and council member Tron white will be recorded as no uh the amendment passes we have the bill as amended before as amended before us any further discussion on the bill itself uh Voice vote all those in favor of the bill say I I I opposed no no Madam Secretary that would be trayon white and Zachary Parker voted no uh the bill is approved as amended is approved uh we have temporary legislation um if there's no objection I'll move the first two together Department of energy and environment R making clarification temporary Amendment Act of 2024 great streets which one program exion yes grac if we could if I could move to postpone indefinitely the number two gra strees program [Music] expansion H we voted on because the permanent is running on the same track you also could just withdraw it I think it's an option there's no objection will be postponed indefinitely all right um Council Allen you want to move the first one so move Mr chair that's bill 25-10 10006 it sure is Department of energy and environment rulemaking temporary all those in favor of the temporary say I I I opposed yes I have it unanimously uh great streets has been U postponed oh if there's no objection it's postponed indefinitely hearing no objection it's postponed indefinitely uh residential quility temporary Amendment Act of 2024 Bill 25-10 one3 council member Pinto so move Mr chairman I'm assuming what you're moving is amended to be the same as the emergency that's right as amended um reflected the same the temporary as the emergency with leave for staff to make conforming technical changes uh for General councel um discussion on Bill 25 -113 all those in favor say I I I opposed no I only heard one no council member Tron white are you voting no on this no I'm voting no that's something meant to say yes no all right the um the temporary is approved um with two no votes we'll turn to other business uh council member Allen you have a motion to override mayor Vito of Bill 25- 978 the DC circulator transition emergency Amendment Act of 2024 thank you Mr chairman yes as we all know the mayor's fy2 proposed budget completely terminated the DC circulator as originally described the council the wind down would take place over the course of the fiscal year with a complete end to service anticipated sometime in Spring of 2025 unfortunately the council was unable to restore funding for the mayor's budget cuts which would have required significant cuts to other agencies or a new source of Revenue however in an attempt to provide a smoother transition for both circulator Riders who were about to lose their bus rides and workers who were losing their jobs the council required the district Department of Transportation begin coordinating with wada to explore either absorbing and maintaining the circulator service or providing supplemental service the law also required that DT submit monthly reports to the council providing updates on that windown not only were those reports late but with only a few weeks advaned notice the executive announced it was advancing the timeline for the circulator wind down leaving Riders without bus service and bus operators and staff without a job beginning as soon as October 1st and no later than December 31st 2024 this created significant challenges for writers who relied on the circulator for critical Transit connections and for the workers it meant they were losing their jobs months sooner than expected with no serious transition plan in place mind you these are people we were hailing as Heroes during the pandemic when they showed up to work and kept the buses running I think they deserve better than what they've gotten in this budget overriding this veto and protecting what this Council has already approved is an effort to make sure we do right by these workers who have dedicated their careers to District residents and to our Riders the DC circulator transition emergency Amendment Act of 2024 was passed on October 1st of this year by the council the bill required that money from the sale lease or transfer of DC circulator assets be deposited into the DC circulator fund and expended to support those DC circulator workers the bill would also require that the mayor submit all reprogramming requests related to the DC circulator to the council for prior approval finally the bill directed The District Department of Transportation to coordinate with wada to determine the feasibility of assuming control of the DC circulator providing alternative or additional bus service or hiring former DC circulator workers at their current pay and seniority status unfortunately last week the mayor announced that she was vetoing the bill in her veto letter the mayor opens by describing the cuts to the DC circulator as a council enacted budget reduction this is a bit of creative retelling of the budget process at best generously minimizing the executive's role in one choosing to eliminate the service two failing to comply with the council mandated reporting requirements that could have eased the transition for both workers and Riders and three after council's approval of the mayor's budget cuts then dramatically moving up the timeline for service reductions and worker layoffs with little warning the mayor's veto letter also describes the bill as an attempt to quote create a new standard for contractor jobs end quote as we discussed when the council unanimously approved the emergency legislation just a couple of weeks ago the bill does not attempt to create a new standard applicable to all contract employees rather the council's specific interest in supporting DC circulator workers during their transition to other employment is in part A recognition of the tremendous service DC circulator workers have provided to Residents and visitors in the district during the pandemic for example DC circulator workers continue to provide vital transit services Mr chairman having 30 more seconds without objection thank you to hail these workers as to hail these workers as essential workers during the pandemic to only now abandon them in a transition away from local bus service because they are quote only contractors I think is inconsistent with the district values and with our own statements regarding the value of their service and to the extent this fund can help these workers transition to wada at their current rate of pay or seniority level that could help strengthen the entire Region's public transit system finally on the issue of funding the mayor's raised several issues first she claims the bill does not account for the cost of DTS administering the program not true the bill allows DT to set aside 10% of the new Revenue to administer this new funding source that was actually at the request of DT that we added that in second she claims the bill does not account for the loss of Revenue to the Surplus property fund or the general fund however my office is consulted with the budget office and it doesn't appear the projected revenue from the sale of the circulator assets was even accounted for in the most recent budget and that's consistent with what DT told us at the budget hearings I understand the mayor doesn't agree with the underlying policy issue here and that's her prerogative but I stand by our own budget office determination here and have not been presented with any specific evidence from the executive or the CFO that undermines their conclusions here I know that I am at time so I'm happy to uh answer any questions my colleagues might have uh but with that I ask my colleagues uh to join me and once again overriding this veto and support these workers as a transition to new forms of employment and so I move the motion now to override the mayor Ro veto Mr chair uh we have the override motion before us is there discussion well I have something to say um so the mayor's letter criticized is our budget director budget office um Madam budget director how did you calculate how did you figure out the fiscal impact uh the question was how did we figure this out however you want to answer but uh this is your opportunity to explain sure you did sure so you know when we do fiscal impact statements we always consult um the off office of Revenue analysis and um the impacted agency so you know the the mayor makes two assertions here first is that our fist doesn't account for the loss of Revenue to the fund um there is no loss in order for there to be a loss the revenues would have had to have been incorporated into the revenue estimates if they're not incorporated into the revenue estimates um then there is no loss this legislation uh redirects those proceeds to another purpose um and does not cause any kind of um reduction in the amount of Revenue the fund or the general fund uh was projected to have to operate in fy2 uh the second assertion is that um it does not fully reflect the cost to do do now when we first got this bill um you know when we contacted DT do dot said you know what this we need some money to uh uh implement this uh we said okay council member Allen's staff worked with do dot worked with us worked with O to come up with language that they then amended into their emergency that allowed D do to use proceeds s from the sales of the circulator assets to operate the program um so you know this is you know just another example of you know getting feedback reacting to it providing them with what they need and you know moving forward so you know I do not have any reservations about this fist uh I believe it to be valid um you know at the time of issuance we had worked with all parties that were involved and um they were amendable with our um our conclusions so I know you just said this but to re to emphasize the point so you worked with the ocfo specifically the office of Revenue analysis you worked with the ocfo correct on the fiscal impact this was this was a collaborative effort correct and you worked with the Department of Transportation correct and as a result of that collaboration there were some changes made to the bill correct to eliminate the fiscal impact correct and it is has been long-standing practice that you as budget director or the budget office writes fiscal impact statements on emergency bills is that correct correct emergencies and amendments correct that's been the practice for as long as I've been here plus many more years as long as you've been here which has been a while and before that I just wanted to go over that for the record since the mayor has for reasons I don't understand chosen to criticize the um council's budget office further discussion on um this motion to override Mr chairman council member par um if this is a question to you if it's not a matter of our budget office what do you think is at play here um I'm not asking you to read the mayor's mind but what do you think might be informing the objection um well I have to speculate and probably I shouldn't but ever since uh we uh approved the budget uh the mayor has been very critical of the council for in her words being fiscally irresponsible uh that uh she's been critical of us passing emergency bills that are not emergency bills regular legislation that's subject to appropriation she was critical of us for raising taxes in the budget and just I I see this as just another shot at us actually I left out a couple in between she was critical of how we uh calculated the um various aspects of the budget such as the vouchers I want to look to my our colleague council member Robert White because there was a lot of work with the agency in that case as well as with the ocfo uh but the to hear the mayor or her executive agencies we got it wrong we screwed up we don't know how to calculate the budget we are raising taxes is overlooking that the budget she submitted raised taxes by 350 million this year and I think it's close to 500 million in next year uh Overlook that um yes we did raise taxes help me if I get this wrong I think it was about $120 million of which about 40 million was given back as credits for a net of about 80 million like the child tax credit very irresponsible council member Parker thank you I said that with some sarcasm um and so I think this is just a continuation of finding any way to criticize us uh for being fiscally irresponsible yeah it sounds like politics to me I would just end by underscoring confidence in our budget office and I would say our budget director is among the best in the game and it is not uncommon for our budget director to find errors make Corrections at all parts of government I'll leave it at that and so uh I join you and others by expressing uh the utmost confidence in our budget office but thank you Mr chairman thank you anything further on the motion to override the vote will be on the motion to override the mayor all veto of Bill 25- 978 all those in favor say I I I are there any no votes the vote is unan I don't hear any no votes the vote is unanimous and the veto is overridden that's going to conclude the business of this meeting the next legislative meeting of the council will be November 12th and it will almost certainly will almost certainly be preceded by committee the whole just a moment I received a very misleading note about voting on November 12th but the note really meant to say to remind folks that they need to vote on November 5th and that early voting has already begun uh and it's important that once again residents of the district show the political concern that we have have for de for government by voting that's what we do when we vote is we show our strength and people should get out and vote with that the time is 2:04 p.m and this meeting is adjourned