was from a gallery now just change over to this why I'm calling to order this meeting this is a regular meeting of the committee the whole of the Council of the District of Columbia I'm Phil Mendelson chairman of the council and chair of the committee of the whole today is September 20th 2022 the time is 12 26 in the afternoon and this meeting of the committee the whole is being conducted uh live in person in room 500 of the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building but is also available uh via the zoom video conference broadcast platform it's being broadcast live on Council Channel 13 and I believe it's streaming on the council's website www.dccouncil Dot gov and I emphasize the gov because we have changed our website address from dccouncil.us to dccouncil.gov as I said this is a regular meeting of the committee as a whole it will be followed almost immediately by an additional meeting legislative meeting of the council We Begin our count our committee the whole meetings with the roll call Mr Cash for you please call the roll chairman mendelsohn president councilmember Allen here councilmember bonds here councilmember here councilmember gray here remember Henderson here councilmember Lewis George yeah councilmember McDuffie here remember new job here council member pintos president councilmember Silverman present councilmember Robert White president councilmember Trey animal president thank you Mr Cash we have um the secretary's report of committee filings I'm going to recognize that chair Pro tem councilmember McDuffie thank you Mr chairman I moved away to reading of the secretary's report it's been a motion to waive the reading of the secretary's reporters or discussion and the motion to wave the reading of the report all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes of the motion carries unanimously we have the secretary's log of introductions and referrals I've been recognize the chair Pro Temp and now I'm going to move the word we read another secretary's law of introductions and referrals it's been a motion to wave the reading of the log of their discussion uh by Voice vote all those in favor of waving the reading of the log say aye aye are there any no votes the emotion is improved unanimously we have for markup something like eight or nine bills in the community as a whole measures that are being considered for markup are fully debatable in the community as a whole I say that because uh measures that are reported out of other committees are for questions only the first measure being markup that I proposed for markup is Bill 24-145 the Navy placed Southeast redesignation and official Street designation clarification Amendment Act of 2022. bill 24-145 would officially redesignate the street now known as Ellen Wilson Place Southeast to be Navy Place Southeast the location is in Ward 6. this is an official naming an official naming typically involves a designation of postal addresses and enables the placement of primary entrance to residences or offices current the current name is Ellen Wilson Place Ellen Wilson was the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson she was born into a family of enslavers in May of 1860 in Savannah Georgia she married Woodrow Wilson who became president as first lady Mrs Wilson focused on alley dwellings in the district by 1914 Alan Wilson LED tours of alleys throughout the district that were deemed dilapidated or sources of crime in The District in reality most of the Alleyways were homes of black residents having resided there for decades and the perception of the alleys and its residents were likely viewed through a racist lens Alan Wilson's deathbed request was passage of federal legislation to clear the city of Alleyways the to clear Alleyways of dwellings a federal law led to the creation of the alley-dwelling authority to clear District alleys of residential uses the authorities cited sites on Navy place and the Navy Place block and then 19 in the late 1930s this was to become the site of new segregated public housing project the G Street section of the site was not demolished while the rest of the block where the black residents lived was cleared the project was built in 1941 and was named Ellen Wilson over objections of African-American groups The Ellen Wilson project would remain segregated until 1953. in 1993 renovation plans for Ellen place are for the Ellen Wilson dwellings renovation plans were abandoned when a hope six Grant was awarded to the DC Housing Authority to replace Ellen Wilson with 1562 new housing units the site was raised in 1996 and 2004 the council adopted legislation to realign the street knowledge system and dedicate new streets nowadays in the block and one of those streets was designated as Ellen Wilson place uh without much explanation in the committee council's committee report the bill before us Bill 24-145 proposes to redesignate Alan Wilson plays Southeast as navy Place Southeast even the known segregationists in racist leanings of President Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Wilson and Mrs Wilson's support and advocacy for the clearing out of predominantly black residents of alley dwellings in the district it is desirable that the Ellen Wilson Place designation be changed moreover given the historic Navy place that the historic Navy Place alley had a similar East-West orientation just south of the location of the current roadway it is also appropriate to name that of the roadway bisecting the block be restored to Navy Place Southeast this legislation actually does more than simply change the name there is an amendment to the street and Alley closing law there are three major steps required under the current law to officially name or rename a street the committee has found over the past eight years that some of these steps are duplicative or burdensome to the initiator of a proposal the law currently requires written notice of the date and time of a council hearing to each affected property owner in addition to posting signage indicating the proposed new name another step required under the current law is that the initiator of a proposal must obtain petition signatures of a majority of the residents of the block and submitted to the council before the council's hearing signage of the proposed Street naming is to be posted these steps were all intended to provide ample notice to neighbors of proposed naming that would affect our address in addition to EMC must be put on notice of The Proposal in this uh committee print the committee is recommending adding a section to clarify the petitioning requirement and to set aside the other notice requirements in a case where the nanc has adopted a resolution in support of the naming committee believes that relying on the NC to gauge local support for our naming verified by examining the petition submitted to the council not to mention deferring to usually the ward council member who introduces the proposed naming to be sufficient to make a determination of whether to approve the legislation officially redesignating the Ellen Wilson play Southeast as navy played Southeast is a fitting tribute to the history of the block and amending the notice requirements from future official designations will facilitate the official designation and redesignation of streets and allies in the district for these reasons assuming this is approved the community as a whole will be recommending approval of Bill 24-145 the Navy placed Southeast redesignation and official Street designation clarification Amendment Act of 2022. the centralization was introduced on March 4th 2021 by councilmember Allen it committee Hall held a hearing last November 3rd the committee received no testimony or comments and opposition to the renaming of the street and with that there's no objection I'll move both the print and report will leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion Mr chairman Mr Allen thank you very much Mr chairman um let me thank you and your staff for moving this measure forward to the commit a whole uh as you said and outline for us I think is your committee report outlines and lays out very well continuing to honor Ellen Wilson as the namesake of this street would only serve to honor the history of racism I'm glad they're recognizing that reality of history and actually returning to a previous name for this street I want to thank the town homes on Capitol Hill neighbors who work together to tell the true history of this name and I've helped find a better solution together in particular I want to note Kate Denson's leadership as well as I mean Tucker Lisa hunt and ANC 6B so I appreciate you moving this forward and of course encourage my colleagues full support for this thank you Mr chair thank you is there any other discussion um the motion is on both the print and the report uh analysis for a roll call uh Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember Lewis George yes customer George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes customer McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes council member nadeaux yes councilmember nadeaux votes yes council member Pinto yes Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes council member Silverman votes yes council member Robert White yes Anderson votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the motion which is the print and Report are proved unanimously Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is and secretary's record complete once the report and budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does the objection dispatch will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meetings the next item for markup is Bill 24-160 entitled the Willy J Hardy Memorial Bridge redesignation Act of 2022. this bill would officially designate the bridge on Benning Road Northeast located between 34th Street and Minnesota Avenue as the Willie J Hardy Memorial Bridge Willie Hardy was born in 1922 in St Louis Missouri she and her family moved to The District in 1927 Where Mrs Miss Hardy lived for the rest of her life foreign became active in Democratic politics around 1960 and uh 1960 she served as executive secretary of the John F Kennedy Inaugural Committee and then worked for Senator Philip Hart who was in Congress who was known as the conscience of the Senate locally as Hardy championed the rights of poor and disadvantaged District residents she volunteered at the Metropolitan Community Aid Council an organization which provided emergency shelter clothing legal advice and job placement services to washingtonians she also led the black united front a group demanding equality for black people as well as pressing for housing rights police protection and civil rights and um 1976 a Willie Hardy ran for the word seven seat on the newly established uh home rule Council of the District of Columbia she won and was one she won and was one of the first elected members of the council during her two terms she served as chairwoman of the Committee on Public Safety and also served on the committee on advisory commissions committee on housing and economic development committee on financial revenue and the and the committee on the Judiciary 1980 she announced that she would not run for reelection Under The District's Public space naming law only one public space including streets and buildings may be officially named for a person the bridge proposed to be designated in memory of Willie J Hardy was previously known as the rain Whitlock bridge in 2020 the council adopted legislation redesignating an elementary school in Ward 7 as the Lorraine H Whitlock Elementary School meaning that the previous designation for this bridge was repealed leaving it without an official name which is the bill then steps into name rename officially designating this bridge as to Willie J Hardy Memorial Bridge will honor Miss Hardy who was a true public servant at an astonished Community activist before during and after her time on the council assuming uh concurrence it can be the whole recommends approval of Bill 24-160 the Willie J Hardy Memorial Bridge designation Act of 2022. this bill was introduced on March 26 2021 by councilmember Vince gray co-introduced by council members Alan bonds Che Henderson Louis George McDuffie Edo Pinto Silverman and Treyon White a public hearing was held by the committee the whole on the measure on November 3rd 2021. the committee has received no testimony or comments in opposition to the legislation the objection I moved both the print report would leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion sir Mr chairman councilmember Gray Mr chairman I really want to uh add my voice to those uh in support of uh this measure on behalf of uh council member Willie J Hardy uh she was a distinguished council member she worked very hard as you heard and I appreciate it in your uh in your comments uh Mr chairman she worked very hard on behalf of the people of the District of Columbia she decided not to run again as you heard as you know and so I just uh I just believe that she's somebody who deserves for our support and I'm glad that we've got not only council members but we got other people uh and they in the got the video Among Us who are supporting uh Willie J Hardy uh being supported for this her family is very supportive also Mr chairman so I am delighted to be able to add my voice to theirs uh and to others uh this is this is just the right thing to do Mr chairman so thank you very much thank you Mr Gray Is there further discussion um again the emotion is on both the print report we leave for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll councilor McDuffie yes customer McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilmember nadeaux yes council member Pinto yes yes council member yes councilmember Silverman Rhodes yes council member Robert White yes councilman councilmember Roberts yes council member trian white yes council member white votes yes council member yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember bonds votes yes council member Che yes councilmember Jay votes yes councilmember Gray absolutely yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes that's one of those George votes yet Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh the print reporter we are approved unanimously um general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is and secretary's record complete what's the answer you know you are barely Audible horrible once the report is filed I think I heard that uh Madam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with console requirements yes it does the objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting third item for markup is book 24-336 wolfberger East Alley's designation Act of 2022. so 24-336 would symbolically designate the public alley system within Square 441 which is bounded by wilberger Street Northwest T Street Florida Avenue 6th Street and S Street as pulse Berlin Bakery Way Joe and may heard all sports club way and wilburger Clubhouse way so they're different alley segments and there would be different names for them the location is in Word six a symbolic naming is for ceremonial purposes and shall be in addition to and subordinate to any name that is an official name the host Berlin Bakery operated as a wholesale production facility had 1815 1827 wilberger Street between 1900 and 1953. the all sports club was a restaurant bar and Jazz Club founded in 1940 by black broadcaster and radio Pioneer Harold Hal Jackson the wilburger clubhouse was a social and athletic club for residents of wilburger and the surrounding community and the community report goes into a bit more detail about each of these venues the area comprising the wilburger alleys have been has been redeveloped over the last several years into a mixed-use development the local advisory neighborhood commission 60 wishes to recognize many of the businesses Community organizations and residents that have contributed to the history and culture of the area each of these named entities represent a distinct period and facet of the neighborhood story to us to committee the whole recommends assuming that this is adopted uh the council approved bill 24-336 as the wilburger East alleys designation Act of 2022. this legislation was introduced by councilmember Allen on June 28 2021 Camille Hall held a hearing on November 3rd 2021 please received no testimony or comments in opposition to the legislation is their discussion Mr chairman Mr Allen thank you um well it was in ward 6 when I introduced it but now it's in ward two um but still excited and I appreciate the work of anc6e and the Neighbors on wilberger um to really help think about how do we uh utilize this and create some great names um so I'm really proud of this moving forward uh a shout out and appreciation to ANC 6E for their leadership and helping work this through and be able to help uh have the community conversation and led to the introduction of course to my ward 2 colleague uh excited for uh for you to help take the Baton now um and move this forward but uh it's a great block to some great neighbors and I'm excited for this to take place so thank you uh thank you further discussion if there's I think I already moved to both the print and Report without objection there's no further discussion Mr Cash would you call the roll chairman mendelsohn yes chairman Mendelson votes yes yes councilmember Nadeau yes councilmember nadeaux votes yes council member Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes council member Silverman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member Tran white yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Alan votes yes council member yes councilor Bondo TS council member Jay yes sir from the che votes yes councilmember gray yes councilmember gravo TS councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes councilmember Bush George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the motion which the print report are approved unanimously some general counsels to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretary's record complete when's the report is filed I'm budget director does the measures this glimpact statement can play with Council requirements yes it does without objection this message will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next item is Bill 24-422 Taurus Street excuse me Taurus straight way designation Act of 2022. Bill 24-422 would symbolically designate the portion of the alleyway system in square 181 green Lots 162 and 801 as Taurus straight away the location is in Ward 2 near Scott's Circle a symbolic naming is for ceremonial purposes and shall be an addition to and subordinate any name and is an official name the embassy of Australia in Washington DC located at 1601 Master Sixth Avenue is currently being rebuilt and the new design will include access to the Embassy loading dock and parking off of the adjacent Alleyway which is currently unmarked Embassy of the Philippines Consular Center is located adjacent to the same unmarked alley at 1617 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest the Australian Embassy has requested the Ali be redesignated to facilitate access for delivery drivers couriers emergency vehicles and law enforcement further the office of foreign missions at the state department has no objection to The Proposal which is embodied in this bill the embassy of Australia and the embassy of the Philippines reached mutual agreement to name the alley Taurus straight away the choice of the proposed name refers to the Taurus Strait which was located to the north of Australia and provides Naval passage between Australia and the Philippines historically the Taurus Strait linked Australia and the Philippines through early expiration and continues to do Soviet trade Enterprise Mutual geopolitical interests and migration foreign straightway is a fitting name for the alley that runs between the Australian and Philippine embassies as the tourist State runs between both countries and both embassies are in agreement on the symbolic name yes the committee as a whole assuming that we approve this recommends Council approval of Bill 24-422 the Taurus straightway designation Act of 2022. this legislation was introduced by councilmember Pinto on October 4th 2021 the committee as a whole held a hearing on July 6 2022 and committee did not receive any testimony or comments in opposition so without objection I move the print report would leave for staff to make technical confirming and editorial changes is their discussion councilmember Pinto thank you chairman Mendelson just want to thank you for moving this bill it's always nice when there's agreement between embassies and so we're looking forward to renaming this alley thank you agreement between embassies or agreement between countries because our purpose is to further diplomacy in the world uh thank you councilmember Pinto Is there further discussion oh the motion is on both the print report would leave for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll council member Nadeau yes councilman votes yes council member Pinto yes council member Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes council member Silverman votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member tray on white yes councilmember Tran white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember bonds votes yes council member Jay yes councilmember Chavo TS councilmember gray yes councilmember Bravo TS councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes council members George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Edelson votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the motion the to approve the print and Report it's adopted unanimously Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretaries directly complete once the report and the hearing record are filed oh we hear you very clearly thank you and Madam budget director does the measures this glimpex statement comply with Council requirements yes it does the objection dispatch will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting next is Bill 24-436 Kenilworth Court Street designation Act of 2022. bill 24-436 would officially designate the street in square 5116 between 45th Street and Kenilworth Avenue Northeast as amine Muslim Street Northeast and would officially designate the street in square foot 5116 between 45th Street and Kenilworth Avenue as Denise Stanley Street Northeast both are depicted on the plat that's attached to the community report the location is in Ward 7 and official naming typically involves a designation of postal addresses and enables the placement of primary entrance enables the placement of the primary entrance to residences or offices in 2020 the council adopted legislation to in part dedicate land for new public streets as part of the D.C Housing Authority Redevelopment known as Kenilworth courts the streets dedicated are depicted in so 16-23580 but it's a time we're not named this legislation the bill before us would designate official names for the new streets a mean Muslim was a respected Community leader in ward 7. he served nearly three years with the Metropolitan Police Department as a community outreach coordinator supervisor he previously served two terms on the commission on re-entry and returning citizen Affairs under mayor Vincent Gray some individuals here council members may remember him because he also went to the council for a while Denise Stanley was a resident of the Kenilworth Community for over 40 years and served as president of the Kenilworth courts resident Council for over 10 years Ms Stanley ran programs focused on seniors and children including a back to school backpack giveaway a summer meals program a Mother's Day luncheon and a Christmas toy giveaway officially designating these two streets as amine Muslim Street and Denise Stanley Street both in Northeast will be a fitting tribute to both of these respected Community leaders for these reasons the community the whole recommends the approval of Bill 24-436 the Kenilworth Court Street designation Act of 2022. I read that assuming that we will vote affirmatively this legislation was introduced by councilmember gray on October 6 2021 committee as a whole held a public hearing on July 6 2022 and heard no testimony or received no comments in opposition to this legislation without objection I move both the print report would leave for this afternoon technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion Mr chairman Mr chairman last number great Mr chairman I'm delighted to be able to support uh these naming opportunities for Benoit for both uh Denise Stanley and for amine Muslim uh I know both of them extremely well Mr chairman worked with they worked with me uh so it's it's it's a wonderful opportunity to be able to say that we are naming something for them uh in honor of them and I'm delighted to be able to uh add my voice to those who aren't supporting this channel thank you Mr Gray Mr chairman Mr White uh thank you Mr chairman I regret that I did not know Denise Stanley but I did know I mean Muslim uh very well and uh just want to take the opportunity to say how much I support this uh this move he was uh a uniquely gifted resident of our city who always loved and prioritized uh people of this city he he passed uh well before his time and frankly in these days we we could use them more than ever so I look forward to voting in support of this and encourage my colleagues to do the same chairman uh councilmember Treyon white thank you um I just want to speak on behalf of I mean Muslim I don't know Staley um Mr Muslim um was a strong Washingtonian who used his influence and Power in government and in community in very unique spaces where most people can't go at the times that people won't go um in my numerous encounters with uh with I mean uh he's always been a person who stood for what he believed even if it wasn't popular um and some of the things he did was timely um and so I appreciate me being able to glean from him and his work in the community and then he eventually transferred over to working with uh MPD to help as an Outreach person with them which gave them some credibility to ease attention between black communities and the police department and so his work is not unnoticed some honored to support this legislation today in honor his name thank you um thank you very much um chairman um I am very honored to have the opportunity to support both of these um individuals who were Stellar um organizers in the community that made a difference for a quality of life in a neighborhood and I think this is the direction I hope we will move in the future and that is to recognize our contemporary Heroes and she Rose so that when we have a history it also relates to those persons who have contributed stellally to the community so thank you I'm excited about this thank you thank you councilman Brothers if there's no further just Mr chairman Mr chairman just briefly I think uh I did not uh know the Stanley but I I did know I mean Muslim pretty well I had the opportunity as it's been stated by others so eloquently uh to have worked with him even before I was on the council as an advisor to the late Paul quander who was deputy mayor for Public Safety and justice under then mayor gray and I got to know I mean uh really well uh because he was the type of person who not only cared deeply about the diverse communities across District of Columbia but had the credibility to show up and walk through uh those communities uh throughout the Disco Columbia he cared deeply about addressing the gun violence that uh continues to occur in our city and I learned a lot from him as a friend I think this is a fitting way to honor his memory and Legacy um because there's people like Amin who I sacrifice so much of themselves as uh somebody who worked for the council as well as the westbound Police Department he sacrificed so much of himself to make the city better and so I just wanted to chime in to say how much I support this because of how dedicated a Washingtonian to me Muslim was to our city thank you Mr McDuffie uh hold on just a second uh thank you Mr McDuffie if there's no further discussion uh the motion is on both the print and Report would lead for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember Pinto yes votes yes council member salesman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes council member Robert White yes councilman Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran white yes councilman Tramway votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilman Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember bonds votes yes council member Che yes council member Chavo TS council member gray enthusiastically yes uh Mr chairman council member grave OTS councilmember Henderson yes councilman Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes councilman George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson votes yes Mr chairman you have 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the um print reporter approved unanimously I'm general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretary's record complete once the report and hearing rocket are filed Madam budget director does the measures disclaim pack statement comply with Council requirements yes it does the objection in this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next item for markup is Bill 24-722 Swan poodle Terrace designation Act of 2022. well 24-722 would officially designate the park in Lots 800 and 807 and square 748. bounded by L Street Northeast 2nd Street Northeast M Street NorthEast and Third Street Northeast has Tom poodle Terrace the location I believe is in Ward six in 2014 a partnership was established between the District of Club the district government and the Noma Parks Foundation to develop parks to fit a variety of community needs those needs were outlined in the 2012 Noma public realm design plan and approved as a framework for public investment through the district's 2014 budget support Act prior to this partnership Noma had few public green spaces since then the council has designated two parks established under the partnership so on poodle park at third in L Street's Northeast and Alicia Tanner Park which is located between Harry Thomas way and the Metropolitan Branch Trail Bill 24-722 the Bilbo Forest proposes to designate additional park space across the street from Swamp poodle Park to be designated as swampuro Terrace this park is designated as excuse me as designed as a complement to the to Swan poodle Park and design and functionality it is approximately the same size as the storm poodle part but includes more green space tables and chairs a Pergola and storage and service structures from the street there are multiple levels or Terraces leading to the open Green Space the name Swan poodle Terrace was chosen after a two-round community naming process of 150 names initially recommended by the community names related to sample Park had the most support after a final Community vote on the top three names sample Terrace won by far the majority of the 900 votes cast advisory neighborhood commission succeeds committee on the environment parks and events also strongly supported the name and the full AMC has providing support for the name means officially designating this bridge is from poodle Terrace will be a fitting counterpart to adjacent swampertal Park and the designation was recommended by an overwhelming vote of community members for these reasons the committee the whole assuming that we adopt this recommends the approval of bill 24-722 so on poodle Terrace designation Act of 2022. this legislation was introduced by councilmember Allen on March 21st 2022 the committee of the whole held a public hearing on July 6 2022. today's received no testimony or comments in opposition to this legislation without objection I move the print and Report would leave for staff to make technical edit conforming and editorial changes is there a discussion and is it still in Word six thank you Mr chairman excited this one's still in Ward six so I appreciate that just very quickly thank you for moving this forward and to make sure it's done in time uh as the the park project is getting close to completion uh and we'll be a great partner to uh the park across the street and add much new green space for the Nova neighborhood so thank you very much is there any further discussion Mr cash would you call the rule the votes on the print report councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilman Robert White votes yes council member Tran White elsewhere Tramway councilmember Allen yes councilmember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilor bonds votes yes council member Che F yes council member Shea votes yes councilmember Gray yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes councilman Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Middleton votes yes councilmember nadeaux yes votes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilman Pinto votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one absent uh the print reporter proved unanimously the next item for markup was built 24-664 the equal access to changing tables Amendment Act of 2022. Mr chairman yeah oh I'm sorry I forgot to do the clearance um let me back up and do the clearance on that build this is on Bill 24-722 Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is and I'm secretaries record complete what's the report in hearing record are filed my budget director does the measures Cisco impact statement can play with Council requirements yes it does so objection in this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meetings the next item for markup is 24-664 Bill 24-664 equal access to changing tables Amendment Act of 2022. uh this bill was sequentially referred first to the command Human Services and then I'm sorry no this was not sequentially referred um my mistake all right let me um pick up here bill 24-664 as introduced foreign would require all newly constructed and substantially renovated District owned and occupied buildings and business establishments with at least one restroom open to the public to provide a diaper changing station each publicly accessible restroom based on feedback from stakeholders the committee print makes several substantive changes to the bill first the print adds a new subsection that would require the installation of diaper changing stations in existing district-owned and occupied buildings while some jurisdictions that have adopted similar laws have only required diaper changing stations in New Or substantially renovated government-owned buildings if many believes all publicly accessible District owned and occupied buildings should contain a diaper changing State should contain a diaper changing station this also puts the district uneven footing with the federal government as the bathroom's accessible in every situation Act approved by Congress in September 2016 requires diaper changing stations in all publicly accessible Federal buildings second the committee print strikes language that would exempt business establishments that exclusively serve patrons ages three and above the committee believes this exemption could create confusion for business owners as well as patrons because there's no way to know whether business does not serve children under the age of three instead the committee inserts language in its place that would exempt business establishments that do not permit anyone under the age of 18 to enter the premises consistent with recommendations from public Witnesses and laws in other jurisdictions finally the committee print adds a date certain of March 31st excuse me January 1st 2023 for diaper changing station requirements in New Or substantially renovated district-owned buildings and business establishments this ensures clarity as to when these Provisions apply Beyond these substantive changes the committee print makes several technical amendments to build 24-664 including amending the definition of diaper changing station to be more consistent with its use in building codes in federal law providing a definition of the term restroom and clarifying that the dollar threshold for substantially renovated includes labor and material costs the lack of diaper changing facilities in public business or government buildings in the district negatively impacts tens of thousands of District residents with babies and toddlers bill 24-664 would rectify the situation by requiring diaper changing tables that existing in new government buildings and new or substantially renovated business establishments and places of public accommodation thereby making it easier for people with babies and toddlers to fully participate in public life given these facts it can be recommends assuming this is adopted Council approval of the committee print for Bill 24-664 I would like to note that this benefits tourists as well and therefore benefits to district and I also want to note that the municipal impact statement for this bill does state that funds are not sufficient so there is an app subject to appropriation provision in the committee print the um the bill was estimated to have a cost of 390 000 in fiscal year 2023 410 000 in fiscal year 2024 and then like twenty thousand dollars a year after that uh I do want to say that um I may revisit the that date certain of January 1st 2023 because of the fiscal impact statement but if I do that it'll be by Amendment second reading this legislation was introduced by council member Brienne Nadeau and co-introduced by council members white and Allen on January 25th 2019. all right that's an earlier bill bill 23-361. to me as a whole held a hearing on that bill on January 28 2020. and because that hearing was held in the prior Council period uh we used that public hearing as the basis for moving forward the bill was reintroduced as Bill 24-664 on February 15 2022 again introduced by councilman Bernardo and co-introduced by council members Robert White Christina Henderson Denise Lewis George Perry Che and Charles Allen um I'm gonna move the trip we first have to make Technical and conforming changes the motion is on the print is there discussion councilworld thank you chairman um to you uh for moving this legislation into your staff for their work on this markup I introduced this bill in response to a lack of diaper changing accommodations in many places across the district causing caregivers up in those who cannot use a women's restroom to be forced to find Alternatives many of those alternatives are unsanitary cramped and pose a health and safety risk by providing equal access to changing tables for parents regardless of gender we will continue to make the district more Humane more livable and more Equitable at little cost to anyone other than 150 it costs to install a change in table the committee print builds upon the reasonable exemptions and the bill is introduced to account for accessibility and for businesses that do not serve patrons under 18. I look forward to seeing this legislation enacted and implemented it it appears from the fist that with the exception of the requirements placed on government buildings which does not have a physical impact this can be implemented soon so thank you very much thank you councilmanito is there any further discussion comes from repinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much council member Nadeau for leading in this really important effort making sure that people have access to these changing tables um I just had two questions for you chairman um one do government buildings include schools that will now need to have these changing tables installed and two uh when you said you know there have been some recommendations that establishments that don't serve patrons under three a more sensible distinction would be for those under 18 I imagine that's because most bars may not need access to changing tables if there are no babies permitted in those bars did anybody testify to or bring to the committee's attention any other examples of establishments that have a more limited age range under the age of 18. uh it does include schools and it uh my under my recollection is that the testimony and input we got and we did some work with outside groups subsequent to the hearing in fact over the last few months um that where we heard concern was from uh ABC establishments okay ABC's alcohol see you didn't hear from anybody else that you can recall about um about concerns under the age of 18. no thank you thank you Is there further discussion the motion is on the print with uh leave for staff Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember Robert White yes councilman Robert white boots yes councilmember train online yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes Governor bonds votes yes council member Check Yes councilmember gray yes councilmember gray votes yes council member Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilor McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes yes councilmember yes councilman votes yes council member Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Mr Cash the print has approved unanimously I moved the report I believe First talked to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there a discussion I will do this by Voice vote uh the motion again is on the report with leave for staff all those in favor say aye aye aye aye any no votes uh the motion to approve the report is carried unanimously Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretaries directed complete once the report is filed and budget director does the measures physical impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does and I noted it was there is a fiscal impact correct it is subject to Appropriations without objection this message will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meetings uh the last item for markup is the committee the whole is Bill 24-706 Board of ethics and government accountability delinquent debt recovery Amendment Act of 2022 this is the bill that was sequentially referred first to the command Human Services and then to the committee as a whole I've not discussed this with customer Nadeau did you want to make a presentation of this bill oh sure thank you chairman um I introduced the board of ethics and government accountability delinquent debt recovery Amendment Act of 2022 on March 9 2022 the purpose of the bill is to allow Vega to retain the funds from ethics and open meeting violations collected by the central collection unit instead of the funds going into the district's general fund similar to funds within the Office of the Attorney General and the University of the District of Columbia this bill will allow Vega to keep elected delinquent debts in an already established fund the money deposited into the ethics or open government funds will not revert the unrestricted fund balance and Vega has indicated that the fund will supplement their limited operating budget the agency responds to hundreds of requests for informal advice conducts investigations and conducts trainings for District employees the office of open government for example is responsible for providing ethics advice and training to the district government's 34 000 employees and public officials but has a limited budget and small staff Vega is responsible for critical work to our government and this legislation for will help the agency ensure that the district continues to uphold the highest standards of ethics and open government thank you thank you councilman Adele as I said this was sequently referred uh as Council Fernando already noted the bill would allow the board of ethics and government accountability to retain funds resulting from ethics or open meetings violations under its jurisdiction um it would allow the central collection unit of the office of the Chief Financial Officer to collect delinquent debt on Vegas behalf and deposit it into the Essex fund or the open government fund currently finds for Essex act or open meetings act violations are deposited into the ethics fund or the open government fund respectively however pursuant to the delinquent debt Recovery Act of 2012 if an individual does not pay the fine within 60 days the remaining balance is transferred to the sexual Central Collections Unit when the central Collections Unit or CCU collects these delinquent fines to funds are deposited into the general fund this bill would change this process so that the Lincoln debts owed to Vega and collected by the CCU are deposited into the appropriate special purpose Vega fund While most individuals who are found guilty of an Essex act or open meetings act violation pay Their fines Ashley Cooks who's the director of the office of government ethics noted in her testimony that Vega is currently owed nearly 65 000 in unpaid fines If These funds are deposited into the ethics fund or open government fund they could be used to support the critical work of Vega additionally exceptions to the process prescribed in the delinquent debt Recovery Act of 2012 have been approved multiple times by the council since 2012 including for delinquent owed to the United Medical Center that's arising from non-resident student tuition and debts arising out of settlements and judgments brought by the Office of the Attorney General so their example precedent to support this bill this bill was introduced by councilmember Nadeau on March 9 2022 the community on Human Services held a public hearing on April 6th committee on Human Services Marked the bill up on July 6th and I'm now moving the committee the whole print for our consideration uh the ACT will be on the committee the whole print um switch before us right now is the community the whole print is there discussions that's where it runs yes um thank you chairman and thanks to um councilmember Nadeau for this measure I just had a question about the debt and how the debt is is handled am I understanding that there's about 65 000 that is to be collected okay and these debt collectors so they get a percentage of what they collect uh we'll find out okay the debt collectors are actually the ocfo oh there you go are you they are yeah as opposed to some outside firm correct it's the central Collections Unit right all right chairman every now and then I get comments from these collection entities and I was wondering if that is who is responsible for this okay thank you very much thank you uh further now the motion is on the cow print with leave first to have to make Technical and conforming changes there's no further discussion Mr Cash would you call the roll councilmember tranway yes [Music] yes on votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilor bonds votes yes council member Che yes councilman Che votes yes councilmember gray yes councilmember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendelson votes yes councilmember yes councilmanado votes yes council member Pinto yes councilmember Silverman yes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilman Robert white boots yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the um print is approved unanimous say I move the report with leave for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion question is on the report all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed the eyes have it the reporters approved unanimously Madam general counsel is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is I'm secretary's record complete the record is complete from the committee on human services and once the report is filed from the committee of the whole and a budget director doesn't measure his lumpak statement comply with Council requirements yes it does the objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting uh we will turn now to measures from other committees and the first is from the committee on transportation and the environment shared by councilman Mary Shea it's Bill 24-673 safer streets Amendment actor 2022 councilmember changes thank you Mr chairman um quite our commitment to eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries traffic fatalities in the district and across the country have been on the rise uh the council has done a lot of work the executive has done a lot of work in recent years but there remains a lot more to be done if we're going to reverse this troubling Trend this bill 24673 the safer streets Amendment act seeks to address several additional issues in our traffic safety laws to better protect our most vulnerable Road users it both addresses the rules of the road as well as facilitating the construction of safer infrastructure there are several parts to the bill first beginning on January 1 2025 the bill would prohibit drivers from turning right when facing a red light unless DDOT determines that allowing the right turn on red would be safe and the agency installs signage explicitly allowing it this is basically flipping our current posture in which right turns on red are loud except for the agency decides that it has to prohibit them and puts up a sign to that effect I want to note that DDOT is already undertaking a comprehensive review of all intersections in the district to assess whether to ban right on red this change merely means while they undertake that review the default approach is the one that we're going to follow and I should point out that already DDOT has looked at hundreds of intersections and at every single one of them except those that don't have any pedestrian access every single one of them DDOT has said that it's too dangerous the engineers The Advocates and other community members looking at this all agree that prohibiting right turns on red at those intersections is appropriate and should be expanded across the district now the bill gives DDOT two years to plan for the change during which time they'll need to determine where turns on red should be allowed then they can watch a public uh education campaign they can adjust signal timing and make other infrastructure changes as needed um second the bill would also legalize one part of the Idaho stop so-called Idaho stop allowing bike and scooter riders excuse me to travel safely through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop as long as they are moving slowly and slowly enough to observe and avoid hazards Riders will not have to yield to other Road users they would have to yield to other Road users including pedestrians and drivers who are lawfully using the intersection now despite the language that you'll see used in some emails the bill does not allow cyclists to blow through stop signs or put anyone in danger in fact allowing cyclists to maintain momentum through a stop sign improves safety at our intersections by allowing the the Riders to be more visible to drivers reducing their exposure to collisions versions of the this part of the Idaho stop are already in place in nine other states and data from those jurisdictions shows that road conditions became safer after implementing this policy change as one example Delaware has that stop as yield law and cyclist crashes at stop signs dropped by 23 percent after implementation um in the committee we significantly narrowed the bill as first introduced that would have allowed uh cyclists to treat red lights as stop signs that is removed uh the only item left in that regard is granting DDOT The Authority if it deems appropriate and safe to allow such activity but DDOT is not required to do it it's merely an authorization should they choose to do it and finally since we know infrastructure of our streets is vitally important to Traffic Safety the bill includes a few Provisions uh to enable DDOT to more quickly uh improve and make safety changes such as raised crosswalks and raised intersections specifically it requires DDOT to update its design and Engineering manual every five years a timeline that the agency deems reasonable and the bill requires DDOT to undertake an annual planning process on upgrading tactical or these temporary safety projects to more permanent ones and to upgrade bike lane designs and I'll note that much of the final portion of the law was already funded in the 2023 budget and at that uh and I'd like to do this now if it's appropriate Mr chairman I'd like to move a small presumably friendly amendment to incorporate an applicability Clause into the print of the bill due to timing of when the fists for the bill was issued the committee print did not include this language and it it specifies it makes clear that certain parts of the bill will be uh subject to appropriation so I'd like to move that Amendment at this time and I hope it's friendly uh councilmember the amendment that you're proposing is the one that you circulated yesterday yes that's correct views to page nine lines 201 to 210 and it's the applicability section adding a new applicability section speaking to the bill being part of the bill being subject to Appropriations is that correct that's correct uh the amendment is in order if there's no objection is there any objection from members I'm not hearing any objection councilmember Silverman okay let's be clear the amendment is in order if there's no objection and I'm not hearing any objection uh therefore the amendment is accepted are there questions from members I have a question councilmember Allen uh thank you very much uh Miss Jay I actually one quick question um related to a provision in the legislation that I think also has a tie to the budget work that we did uh this spring and that is one of the things that I I have pushed on DDOT is around when we put in the temporary measures so if we're creating a safety Improvement at an intersection for example and we use plastic pylons um it has a tendency to just be there for years uh rather than if it is working and making it safer having DDOT make that type of conversion uh to a permanent place which can also add Green Space as well as safer intersections um I believe this legislation says that DDOT has to create an annual plan and inventory for converting temporary infrastructure that have an annual report to the Council on previous year's conversions starting in 2024 is that is your intention that you help line that up with some of the budget Investments that are in the this coming fiscal year so that that type of inventory aligns with I believe it was eight or ten million dollars that was put into the capital budget to make some of those temporary changes permanent uh council member Alan yes it does align as you'll recall we got five million dollars annually for that type of work so uh we're hoping that with the money and and the direction from the council these uh temporary uh measures will become permanent great I appreciate that I think it's a it's a smart way to help align the budget with the the work here to make sure we get this done thank you further questions from Members yes chairman oh thank you Tree on it um yes I guess I wanted to know uh was this happening unilaterally between all intersections in Washington DC uh my first question and I guess my second question is I've noticed that DDOT um and Ward 8 has pretty much taken out a lot of the right hand Lanes um what's causing a lot of bottlenecking earlier in the morning when traveling to school as a safety measure to keep traffic speeding down but I also noticed that when cars have to turn left in that intersection they pushed the cars all the way back and it's hard to get to the light in small intersections I could imagine what's going to happen across the city I do support safe safer roads but I know they've been doing a lot of studies as relates to these intersections that we sing anything uh from DDOT that reflects this this is the solution or one of the solutions to uh decrease uh traffic fatalities and accidents in the District of Columbia uh councilmember white as to those particular actions first of all this legislation doesn't address them and uh if DDOT is doing something which is unsafe then we should call them to account on it I'm going to have to assume that they study these matters before they put them in place but this bill doesn't doesn't deal with uh those measures that you're referring to yes but this bill impacts those measures and it all has to go together in a system or a plan so that's what I'm trying to figure out well I you know I I hope it is all coordinated and comprehensive but the only thing I can say is that as they look at intersections they're looking at intersections presumably for many purposes but one purpose that they've been looking at intersections for is for the right on red and they've looked at hundreds of them and in all of the cases as I said except for where pedestrians are not cannot access that intersection they have found that um it's unsafe to make the right on red and so they're going to prohibit that now that's the intersections that they've looked at they haven't looked comprehensively yet although they're working their way through it at all of the intersections across the district but um I'm sorry but I cannot answer uh your uh question about lanes and um other changes that they may be making at the intersections Mr Jim were you done councilmer white I guess if a form of clarity I just wanted to know was this is this legislation Universal for all intersections with traffic lights for no right turns on red it it will be but what it requires is that DDOT look at all of the intersections it will decide whether there are intersections where it's okay to make a right on red and then you'll be able to make the right unread at those intersections and there will be a sign it's going to be flipped right now as you know you go to an intersection it's a red light and you can make a right on red unless the sign says you can in two years time as this rolls out and we have our education campaign and all the rest of it when you come to a red light you cannot make the right on red unless the sign says that you can so we're going to flip it um and ultimately they will look at all intersections so it's not quite accurate to say you're not going to be able to make a right on red at any traffic light but I suspect that at most given what they've already found with the hundreds that they've looked at none where pedestrians are using the intersection none have been safe enough to make a right on red whether that carries through through all of the intersections in the district I can't say but I imagine that there'll be many many more where you won't be able to make a right on red but uh I can't nor can I say that there won't be any it has it has to await deduct evaluation foreign thank you chairman and thank you um councilmember Shea um I'm very happy that we are attempting to make as many intersections as possible um safer um and uh and particularly I'm happy that it can happen um sooner as opposed to later even if it means that we will no longer have cars idling um or that they will be idling and spilling their carbon into the atmosphere but that's another side to these situations my concern is are you asking a question are you I am I am asking a question my concern is how we are coupling the issue of the vehicular traffic with the um bikes and scooters and I have a real concern if we are saying that once these law this law is in place that those who are on those mobile um freestanding vehicles of sort will be able to continue into the intersection and through the intersection I really think that this bill needs to be in two parts one that deals with vehicular traffic and the changes in the roadway and another that would deal with how you as someone on a scooter or a bike can address your needs as you go into the intersection so I wondered if that had been given thought council member bonds of course we give everything thought as we do this we look at things comprehensively and um I would just say with respect to this again this is not an invitation to Scooters or cyclists to um as that expression is blow through stop signs they have to proceed in a way that yields to other Road users including pedestrians and drivers who are already lawfully in in the intersection um what it does is allow those uh bikes and scooters to maintain their momentum at a slow safe careful speed through the stop sign and and people if they just reflect on their own driving around the district when this happens and it does already happen what happens is these users are able to get out in front of the cars and the cars then can see them and it's safer for the uh for the user to be able to get out in front like that and so um as I said you know we have uh we have seen situations where uh in other jurisdictions where this stop as a yield sign has produced material safety benefits and again I'll use Delaware after they've had it in place for two years the collisions the injuries at intersections between Automobiles and uh these other users dropped 23 percent and it's precisely because it's a safer practice to allow those vulnerable users to get out in front allow the car driver who will Now understand that the cyclist will be getting out in front to be able to see that person and drive safely as a result um I don't know whether that answers your question but um it was the best I could do thank you thank you customer Barnes uh further questions uh Robert White uh thank you Mr chairman um councilmember Jay in regard to a couple of questions that have come up is probably in the committee report but um if now or or soon in the future uh if there might be something that you or your staff could share uh with the council to help illuminate this issue I think it would be helpful because this is an issue that is where sort of not getting better at we're getting worse we are seeing an increase in the number of people losing their lives and injured uh on our streets as Transportation patterns change into something that we have to take very seriously I think we can't expect that the way that we operated yesterday is going to work for uh where the city is moving and I don't think any of us want to see people losing their lives or injured I would note that most of us know um I think the youngest person to to lose their life I think last last year was four years old the oldest person was 90. so we we have to come to terms with the fact that our city is changing in terms of of uh commuting practices and that's going to force us to make some changes as well they will be difficult I think they are necessary I think this is a step in the right direction but there are more steps required and I think that we have to be ready to contend with that but sort of uh if there's uh some information that that you have or your staff have that you could share that would help illuminate this idea for where we are and where we're going uh council member Jay would that be possible uh councilmember White uh yes it would be possible and uh I I want to note though that uh you make an excellent point because as we've ramped up uh for example bike usage uh over the last 10 years from one percent to five percent and as we take further steps to make people feel more comfortable to use bikes and as there's a greater proliferation for example of electric bikes and things of that sort it's going to be all the more important that we put in place uh rules of the road that protect uh protect the users but in terms of uh of this bill I I believe we circulated a fact sheet and we also had the committee report and that sort of thing but I take it that what you're asking is what are the next steps that we're thinking about um and so uh any information that the the committee has we'd be happy to share thank you councilmember councilmember uh Denise Lewis charged thank you um I've I've heard concerns from some Warfare residents about the Idaho stop policy change um I they have concerns about poor visibility at many of our Warf Wars um odd angles and intersections that can make it hard for bikers to fully assess the danger um and I've seen the data on how and why treating stop signs as yields can can be safer for bikers and so that's why I've been sort of supportive of formalizing what is already I guess common practice that said I think this may be a change we want to phase in more slowly so that DDOT could potentially upgrade certain intersections from stop signs to traffic lights or from two-way stops to four-way stops which is always an issue of trying to get done to better uh prepare for for traffic flow operation changes is that something you your team or or DDOT considered well I think you make an excellent point in response in that we are in a sense codifying the practices that go on right now and in that sense we tell drivers that this is the practice so uh the need to phase it in would kind of be redundant uh based upon what's already happening and it also um would I think complicate things uh even further so I don't think there's any particular reason to uh you know move this you know in in bits and pieces I think that uh we understand how it works how it's already working by default and how we can then send that message that yes this is what is going to be happening and for those of you who haven't paid attention this is what's going to be happening and the cyclists and the scooters who use it will be under an obligation uh to maintain a a speed not put others in danger and to be able to see that they're Crossing safely um anything further customer Lewis charge no I I just wondering I guess that the Idaho stop is the one part of the Memphis that is giving um is giving pause I think for for some of the reasons that DDOT you know even when we try to get four-way stop signs and stop lights at intersections sort of Engineers sort of say sometimes or a lot of the times I would at least say in our Ward they get denied so I don't know that we are making anything safer with the idols oh Idaho stop I guess that's that's really what I'm grappling with and trying to get some clarity on um what in effect this piece of it would do and and making our streets uh safer for for everyone thank you well I don't know if that was a question it was not what okay Mr chairman councilman McDuffie thank you and thank you uh councilman Che and to my colleagues who uh asked questions already I want to pick up uh and sort of dovetail on councilmember Lewis George's questions about the Idaho stop and I I asked because just in reviewing the committee report um two things I would love if you could if you could characterize the executive's position on this bill uh in particular on the Idaho stop and then you know in looking at the witness testimony uh because I believe the hearing happened on multiple bills on the same day um the bill before us today I think 673 had a number of people well you know let me be fair about 25 or more who testified in opposition to it which you know I think kind of stands out because there are other bills that didn't have that kind of opposition so I'm just trying to get a sense if you could a customer would say if you could characterize the sorts of things that people raise concerns or would cause them to oppose uh Bill 673. I know some um testified in opposition to the Idaho stop portion of Bill 24-673 but I would love to hear if you could characterize their concerns that they raise well I think people can look at the record themselves there are a variety of things that people raise some people don't like cyclists they don't like uh how they behave no matter what that that would be one thing the bill is originally introduced had the um red light uh portion of it that would allow cyclists to treat red lights like stop signs which as I said that portion has been removed or essentially essentially removed um and then you know there's a notion which I don't think the the data reflect that you know people are going to blow through stop signs and you know this hyperbole about it what we do have however are other jurisdictions that have done this and I've given you one example let's say Delaware where it's a marked decrease in the fatalities and injuries at intersections after this uh was introduced and with respect to for example Ward four if Ward four wants more stop signs um fine but that doesn't make uh Idaho stops unsafe and um I think this is an important safety measure as part of this constellation of things that we're trying to do to protect people on the roads Johnson thanks for that I want to note two things um when I said 25 I was talking about the individuals to testify Waba and Gregory Washington both submitted testimony with a list of a bunch of people who supported it so I want to make sure that's uh reflected but the last time I have if you could just summarize the executive's position on 673 that was my original question well a DDOT supports this and um you know yes the executive supports this i i i i and I'm asking chairman if you could just indulge I saw where they had raised some issues with certain aspects of 673 and I'm curious councilman Shay if the changes that you made and I appreciate you you have made changes if those changes has have changed the executive's position on 673. this was all well first of all we work closely with DDOT to get to the version the the the item that caused them um anxiety I'll put it that way was the treating the red light as um a uh a stop sign but as I said uh we've gotten them working with them we've gotten them to a state where they are comfortable with implementing this as it has been changed okay thank you councilman McDuffie I do have several questions um customer Che in your response to councilmember Treon white you said that uh the DDOT would be required to look at all intersections to determine if any of them would be safe for would improve safety with the right turn on red I don't see that language in the print well maybe I'll express it more appropriately D dot is looking at all intersections and they were doing this whether we passed this legislation or not yes but didn't you say that they would stop doing that and didn't you say they were looking at all interceptions with an eye toward prohibiting right turn on red so what the bill says the committee Prince says is beginning January 1st 2025 a motor vehicle operator shall not make a turn when facing a steady red traffic control signal unless TDOT has installed signage pursuant to section D and subsection D says DDOT May install signage at any intersection allowing motor vehicle operators to make a turn when facing a steady-red traffic control signal only if D dot determines that allowing a motor vehicle operator to make a turn when facing a steady Road Traffic Control signal would improve safety only if it would improve safety but I don't see here where it says the DDOT is required to evaluate all intersections for this purpose that's because we've already required this review with it which they are now undertaking um but until this point the review was to proceed to find out whether you could continue to make a right on red under our default approach now what we're saying is that continue with this review uh which we required and now the evaluation will be as it in effect is I guess whether you should not be able to make a right on red so well I hear I hear what you're saying but where does it where is that required it's in the division zero bill not in this that requires well maybe rather than prolonging this you could um after the meeting give me that because if they're required to evaluate whether to prohibit I don't see how that automatically becomes required to evaluate whether to permit I don't see that refer to that and the vision it's not in this bill in the vision zero Bill we've required that they undertake an assessment of these intersections they've been doing it for two years and what they've concluded from the hundreds that they've already looked at that's not my question it's not in this bill Mr chairman because you made a statement to councilmember White the DDOT would be required to evaluate every intersection with regard to the default that this print requires and you're now citing a law that was passed by the council several years ago when the default was different and so I'm not seeing how DDOT would be required to study something under this law based on an earlier law let me go to my next question because I'm happy if you could provide that um explanation um how many cities prohibit right turn on red as a default that is not as a yes as a default what you're proposing here how many cities do that in the United States New York City is the only one we're aware of has there the um committee report discusses uh that the right turn on red was permitted um years ago uh for air quality purposes I believe as well as uh gas has there been any analysis of what the air quality effect would be uh not that I know of uh and in part the answer to that is the main reason it was required was to save gasoline because that wasn't my question I asked if there was an air quality analysis you know I can answer in the way that I want I presume I'm not on trial here and this is not cross-examination I'm telling you something you're saying it was done for two reasons emissions and a gas saving I'm telling you it was done primarily for gas saving although emissions issues do arise and the answer to your question however is no and finally um I think I've asked this question before in other contexts is there an analysis that's been done by deduct that comprehensively looks at the accidents motor vehicle accidents that have resulted in fatalities with pedestrians or bicyclists or injuries with what part of the bill sir my question I didn't ask what part of the bill has there been an analysis by DDOT of accidents resulting in death or injury to bicyclists or pedestrians that the analysis of the cause there have been many studies I don't know which particular ones would be most relevant for your question well what's relevant to my question is we're trying to solve for accidents resulting in injury or death we absolutely should try to solve for accidents resulting in injury or death but I don't know the DDOT has ever analyzed the causes of accidents so that do you need more explanation of my question as I just said they've done many studies whether there's one that particularly answers what you're asking I don't know thank you are there any further questions from council members uh Madam general counsel is to measure legally and Technical institutions for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete yes it is Adam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements uh it does as amended the amendment adds uh applicability section to make certain portions subject to Appropriations it will comply with Council rules um when the amendment is accepted the amendment was accepted all right then it does uh without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next item is Bill 24-615 the district government paid leave enhancement Amendment Act of 2022 council member Silverman thank you Mr chairman I introduced The District government paid leave enhancement Amendment act with my at-large colleague council member Christina Henderson on January 19 2022. we were joined and thank you all by all members of the council the labor committee held a public hearing on March 2nd 2022 and approved this measure unanimously again all 13 on July 13 2022. what does this do this legislation would provide the public servants who work for district government with enhanced Paid Family and Medical Leave emphasis on medical leave currently our Workforce has access to up to eight weeks of Parental leave or leave to care for a seriously ill family member under this bill workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks of leave per year to care for a seriously ill family member or welcome a new child the bill will also establish for the first time a paid personal medical leave as well as provide two weeks of prenatal leave so this bill is necessary both to provide our workers with the leave time they need to care for themselves and their families and also frankly to compete with the private sector um our own uh a paid leave program in the private sector and the federal government the district's private paid leave program starting October 1 will offer 12 weeks of paid leave and two weeks of prenatal leaving each of those three categories for rental Family and Medical um the federal government one of our big competitors in terms of hiring offers 12 weeks of Parental leave so and you know if we're going to compete for talent have a shot at some of the great workers in our city we we need to do this um the committee has already provided a portion of funding for this legislation because of that funding starting in January 2023 our D.C government employees will have access of uh up to two weeks of personal medical leave I hope that the rest of the bill can be funded in next year's budget and look forward to working with you Mr chairman and the mayor on that um the January start let me just quickly explain um we worked this out as a compromise with the administration to give time for it upgrades and PeopleSoft but um if you need to take a medical leave in the quarter from October to December you can get retroactive pay um one more thing Mr chairman if you could give me 30 more seconds without objection thank you so let I I do want to focus on this the bill also creates a new Paid Family and Medical Leave supplement bank which will allow employees to access extra paid leave if the employee doesn't have enough paid time available for their owner of family member serious condition this will replace to existing Banks and combines the best elements of each um so I asked for my colleague support um and thank you again councilmember Henderson and Mr chairman I asked for it to be placed on the agenda of the legislative meeting to follow thank you thank you councilmember are there questions terrific Mr Henderson um I guess my question is will this be placed on a consent agenda or is this the only opportunity for me to questions encourage a statement question to council member supplement uh this I believe it's on the uh gender for the consent agenda and uh if you wish to debate it or discuss it or to make a statement then you should take it off of consent if you have a question and Now's the Time to ask questions okay um councilmember Silverman how long have we been working on this um so councilmember Henderson that's a great question my memory is not so good so I'm going to give you the opportunity to answer that because I think you might know the answer as well as um speak to the bill a little bit in a question like format awesome thank you councilmember Silverman um I'm really excited that we're finally getting to this point um we started working on this bill in 2021 even though we didn't introduce it until much later because we wanted to work with the unions and workers and work with the executive frankly on the provisions around the leave Bank to make it more streamlined and efficient but we felt this was incredibly important to one provide some parity between um what we're doing in the private sector paid leave space but also to make the district a competitive employer as it pertains to um the largest employer one of the largest employers in DC which is the federal government and so I'm really excited that we're moving forward with this uh particularly on the medical leave portion as well to grip that opportunity to District employees for if they have a surgery or something to that effect that they don't necessarily have to now go to the leave bank and essentially beg their colleagues for time off but that they'll be able to take care of themselves um and then return to work when they are ready so thank you councilmember Silverman for answering my question or allowing me that time thank you for providing your own great answer great thank you Mr chairman uh thank you any further questions from members is this you said for questions only Mr chairman correct um I don't know I guess I could perform an informal question I that to the question about how long we've been working on this um I would I would say back to maybe it's a question for you Mr chairman because I don't know how many people on the council at the time but I believe it dates back to the Fairly Act of 2014. um maybe you will call Mr chairman working with councilman David crosell and myself when we first uh you know introduced this and got it passed and the work that happened in the committee to actually increase the amount of leave uh that was originally in the bill and maybe then mayor gray might recall that we expanded it uh from the original bill from six weeks to eight weeks and so um I look forward to enthusiastically of supporting this and appreciating my colleagues efforts on this uh but I think it might actually date back to to The Fairly back to 2014. uh Mr chairman yes uh Is there further any further questions from members Madam general counsel is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is yes I'm secretary's record complete yes it is Madam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting the next item is Bill 24-352 Players Lounge tax exemption Act of 2022 this was reported out of the committee on business and economic development chaired by councilmember Kenya McDuffie Mr McDuffie thank you Mr chairman bill 24-352 was introduced on July 12 2021 by Ward 8 councilman betrayal white and referred to the committee on business and economic development on July 13 2021 the committee held a public hearing on this bill on June 16 2022 and the committee marked up the bill on July 14 2022 if approved the bill would provide a real property tax exemption for property and the Congress Heights Neighborhood Award located at 2737 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue Southeast the property is owned by GST LLC The Operators of Georgina's Restaurant which is affectionately known as Players Lounge The Players Lounge is minority-owned business that has operated since 1972 members of the community that testified after June hearing fondly referred to the restaurant as a neighborhood institution or awarded living room and referred to as owners as prominent pillars of the wardate community and of the District of Columbia who constantly give back to the community the legislation was introduced because the Players Lounge faces sizable Financial setbacks due to the covid-19 pandemic The District's Public Health Emergency and intended restrictions prohibited the restaurant from operating it's dying in business and caused the owners to exhaust two insurance policies and use proceeds from reverse mortgage in an attempt to keep the business afloat the legislation would provide the subject property of both the retroactive and prospective tax exemption beginning on October 1st 2019 and ending September 30th 2026 so long as it's owned by GST LLC it operated as Georgina's Restaurant and the council set aside approximately eighty thousand dollars in the FY 23 budget for this abatement with that I asked the measure be placed on the percentage Ender for the legislative meeting to follow are there questions from members this will be a non-consent so there's an opportunity to discuss it I want to Clarity chairman yes Mr White um The Safe Streets of men uh Amendment bill from Shea was that on non-consental consent agenda that's on consent oh I want to move to I want to move to remove it from consent to non-consent agenda okay Madam general counsel is to measure this is Players Lounge tax exemption is the mayor is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is um secretary's record complete it is I'm budget director does the measures Cisco impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does uh this measure will be placed on the non-consent agenda for today's additional legislative meeting that's going to include the items for Action at today's committee the whole meeting we will have an additional legislative meeting to follow immediately Madam Secretary how long do we need to set up or should we take it like a 15-minute break I would love it if you could take a 15 minute break I think it makes sense all right um I do want to note that the next meeting after today is on October 4th and that will be a regular meeting of the council and there will probably be an additional committee the whole meeting the um time is 2 13. um we will begin the legislative meeting at 2 30 the time is 2 13 and this meeting is adjourned good afternoon members we are about to get started for those on Zoom please turn your cameras on and hopefully we have a quorum uh by combining the members on zoom and the members in the chat chamber Mr chairman are we ready no wonderful thank you no matter how we change leadership of this family foreign I'm secretary are we ready Madam Secretary are you still there I had to go get a cup of coffee Mr chairman because looks like we're going to be here for a while yes Mr chairman we are ready excellent I am calling to order this meeting this is an additional meeting legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia I'm Phil Mendelson chair of the council today is Tuesday September 20th 2022 the time is 309 in the afternoon uh this meeting is being conducted in person in the council chambers room 500 of the Johnny Wilson building with several members participating virtually in this meeting is being broadcast to the public live via Zoom video conference broadcast platform Council Channel 13 and I believe it's also streaming on the council's website www dot dccastle.gov we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence and so if we could members and those in the chamber if you could respect a moment of silence please Madam Secretary would you call the role to determine whether we have a quorum councilmember Allen here councilor bonds here that's from the che ER Mama Gray here councilmember Henderson here Lewis George here councilmember McDuffie here president councilmember Nadeau here councilmember Pinto councilmember Pinto councilmember Silverman present councilmember Robert White president councilmember Treyon white where is it I'm sorry Madam Secretary what did you just say Cameron you have a quorum thank you uh we have the consent agenda before us I want to note that on page four item C9 safer streets I believe councilmember Tran white asked the deputy removed from the consent agenda are there any other changes to the consent agenda pause for a moment any other changes to the consent agenda right the one item has been removed we have the consent agenda before us Madam Secretary would you call the role the vote is on the consent agenda chairman mendelsohn yes councilmember Nadeau yes no votes yes councilmember Pinto councilmember Silverman yes with Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember Tryon White yes because remember Tryon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes council member bonds votes yes councilmember Shea yes I remember Shea votes yes councilmember gray yes I remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes remember McDuffie votes yes and councilmember Pinto Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one absent the consent agendas approved unanimously I will turn to on page four item nine safer streets of Memon Act of 2022 build 24-673 councilmer Che F thank you Mr chairman we had a discussion about this earlier but if I could pull things together there are several parts to this bill one is to allow for the uh part of the Idaho stop that allows cyclists uh and scooters to treat a stop sign um to pass through a stop sign safely um and get out in front of drivers nine states already do this there's considerable evidence that it enhances safety for uh users of the roads um so that's one uh the part about going through a red light or using a red light rather as a um stop sign has been effectively removed and the third part is to make some changes in infrastructure uh in terms of what DDOT does to allow them to more quickly install safety projects and to adopt a an upgrading of their tactical um systems and you know specifically requiring their design and Engineering manual uh up to date every five years now in terms of the discussion we had this morning I want to respond to a couple of things in case the way it proceeded I may have created confusion or others may have also as well um now in terms of the no turn on red DDOT has already evaluated um hundreds of intersections and um in that evaluation they have said that no turn on red is safer and preferable and so that's what they're doing with the ones that they've already looked at in terms of other ones there is a requirement in Vision zero for DDOT to look at safe at intersections where there have been crashes but not all intersections so I have to clarify that however DDOT itself is looking at all or says it's looking at all intersections and the way this bill will operate is in 2025 the the default rule will be no turn on red unless D dot has evaluated an intersection said it's okay to do that and put up signage um and there are questions about uh uh I think chairman asked about the environmental impact the idling impact uh whether there was some analysis done on that there was little analysis of uh the environmental impact when these turns on red were allowed and no analysis showing that it helped to reduce emissions um and it its relevance is even more marginal now with EVs and hybrids and so that that's the best I can do on that one um councilmember Lewis George asked about Ward 4 intersections that have poor visibility and yes of course um DDOT should absolutely deal with those this law only allows Riders to proceed when it's safe anyway so I don't think that that enhances danger um councilmember white Tran white uh asked about infrastructure changes considering the change and yes of course DDOT will base infrastructure decisions based on actual traffic laws and so if this is a calculation they need to add to their analysis I assume they will do so and then um I think that may have been about it so that's that's the best I can do and and Mr chairman you had asked for some information which I believe my staff has sent you so I would uh move the bill I think you just said and you moved the bill yes excellent thank you for that clarification council member uh is there discussion on the bill that's over a pinto [Music] thank you very much Mr chairman and thank you so much councilmember Che for your work and Leadership on this important bill after speaking with dozens of DC residents about the safer streets Amendment Act of 2022 and reviewing the research that has been done in other jurisdictions where these changes have already been made I am supporting this bill today on a Ward 2 bike ride I held last year one of the most repeated requests I received from cyclists was supporting changes to our no turn on red and the implementation of Idaho stop we have made a commitment as a city to eliminate traffic violence on our streets yet District residents continue to lose their lives this bill makes two common sense changes to our traffic laws that will save lives first by permitting Idaho stops the data shows that cyclists experience less exposure to dangerous vehicles in our intersections several states have already implemented this reform and have seen truly dramatic drops in cyclist injuries from traffic crashes this bill also changes the standard for right turn on red to only allowing the practice from DDOT determines it is safe we know that crashes caused by Vehicles turning right on red disproportionately harm our most vulnerable Road users I do know that some residents are frustrated By changes to our roadways and we have to be mindful of the many modes of transportations that transportation that residents use and continue our education so that we can all be on the same page I am tired though of losing neighbors to traffic violence and today I'm looking forward to supporting two evidence-based reforms that will make our streets safer for everyone so thank you very much again chair council member chai for your leadership Mr chairman I thank you councilmember Pinto councilmember uh Silverman thank you uh Mr chairman sir I too will be supporting this bill today um yeah look making our street safer is on the minds of everyone bikers drivers Walkers everyone it's a priority for our residents you know the committee report noted that at least 15 anc's approved resolutions I think it was in support of several bills that were rolled into this one today but that's significant um you know and as the committee report uh says and our transportation committee chair emphasized that the committee of the whole meeting what is proposed and actually the ward 2 council member said too what is proposed has been shown in other states to lead to safer streets but look some of these policy decisions require changes in our Behavior every one of us uh and that's going to take time and adjustment so I want to add my things to councilmember Che and to the committee for diligent work on this bill um you know we've talked about the most noteworthy and attention-grabbing parts of the bill Banning right turn on red and allowing bikes to treat stop signs as a yield when traffic conditions are appropriate um chairman Mendelson you may note in the committee of the whole that banning writes on red was actually the law Nationwide if I understand the committee report correctly until the gas crisis in the 70s and I think apparently at least in Europe it still is the law as well you know so it's clear the committee was thoughtful as councilman as the ward 3 council member said or the committee chair said there were some careful compromises crafted um on these two issues so here's the thing the one big factor is we need to make sure that the literal rules of the road will be clear moving forward to everyone that's always our challenge in District government communicating policy and programs to our residents is our biggest challenge you know we've had a pretty thorough discussion of the Banning right on red except when DDOT proactively determines blah blah blah blah but it's confusing I think even our discussion at the Cow showed that demonstrated that it's confusing um so that's what we don't want is confusion uh and I know this won't go into effect is the ward 3 council member said until 2025 and that's to give DDOT enough time to put up signs and create an education campaign we have to do this right we have to do this right this can't be just some write-off of three hundred thousand dollars or whatever is budgeted we got to do a real education campaign make sure the rules of the road are clear to everyone so thank you again council member Jay for your deal of gym work and I will be voting for this bill thank you councilmember Silverman further discussion councilmember Lewis charge thank you chairman um I want to I thank my colleague in the transportation environment committee as well who supported this coming out I did want to note um customer check kept saying the war for part and I wanted to speak on that because we always have a number of uh non-four-way stops in our war particularly where we have stopped signs on one side of the street but not on the other side of the street that is persisted in all of my neighborhoods and when we request four-way stops uh engineering from DDOT continuously denies the requests or you have intersections in our war like Arkansas and Iowa Arkansas and fairgate where I've asked for red light I've asked for actually stop lights to be placed there and DDOT Engineers have denied it so I'm saying if we're moving forward with this safer streets which my I have supported in committee and I am supporting today which I think is necessary that we also start supporting myself and Commissioners when we make requests for four-way stops and we make requests for stoplights as well we have to be consistent across the board we have to be serious across the board and we know infrastructure plays a huge part in that so councilman Jay when I was asking that request it was not faced towards you but face towards DDOT and when we make these decisions on other things like Idaho stops uh and and moving forward with these things we also need to make better decisions uh when we request uh more four-way stop signs and more stoplights at intersections thank you again to you and your team I will be supporting this measure I look forward to converting working with you and DDOT to make our streets safer for everyone thank you councilor councilman for Robert White uh thank you chairman I I want to thank councilmember Shea and her team for their work on the bill as I mentioned earlier it is so important as the commuting habits of our communities change uh seeing an increasing number of people using bicycles and scooters these are commuters who are more vulnerable than folks in cars and we are losing more lives we lost 40 lives last year including a four-year-old child and a 90 year old adult that's not the direction we need to be moving which means we have to take a new look at at what our laws look like as I mentioned earlier this bill makes some important uh steps but these aren't the last steps that we have to make either to address uh patterns and practices of driving but also to address behavior and infrastructure so we have several other steps that we have to take to keep people safe but I do support these steps and I think their steps in the right direction for the future commuting habit parts of our city thank you Mr chairman he councilman White there's no further discussion Mr chairman who's asking to be recognized that's great okay thank you Mr chairman I just want to ask council member Cherry so I can be clear and that is that um all the confusion that existed over a period of years in the District of Columbia with respect to my turn on red will that all be eliminated uh as we go forward in the future and whatever that will be a uh implemented can you tell me when that will be councilmember well in 2025 the rule will be that there's no right turn on red and of course no left turn on red no right turn on red right unless D dot has evaluated the intersection found it to be safe and then puts signage allowing that otherwise the rule will be 2025 you can't turn right on red and unless it's permitted and shown to be permitted you can't do it so I think that'll be pretty straightforward okay thank you councilmember Jay I appreciate it because this has been extremely confusing uh in the city for a long time so thank you for that I appreciate it and I'm happy to support the bill at this stage and the work that you've done what the work that you've done on it if there's no further discussion or Mr Allen thanks Mr chairman um this morning this morning there were three kids on their way to school three siblings who were struck by a driver at Alabama Avenue in 15th Place Southeast um all three sent to the hospital serious injuries I don't think I saw that in the news or Screaming across Twitter but it's sadly all too common uh in our city and what I think at the heart of what this legislation is trying to do is trying to figure out how do we through our laws and through our actions decide who it is we're going to prioritize I think that the section of the law is probably getting the most debate uh obviously about right on red um it it flips the presumption and that's a good thing it flips the presumption to say let's focus on the safer straight and then if DDOT does take a look and say this might be a space where a right on red makes sense then then it could allow that um when we tried to pass the vision zero law two years ago we had we wanted this to be a part of it but it wasn't there so I am grateful Miss Che that it is included this time um but flipping the presumption is a big part of what we're trying to do um there's three main pieces of how we improve safety on our roads that's going to be through the design of our roads to make them safer for no matter how you are using them to get around whether you were driving a car walking to school riding the bus riding a bike prioritizing that the behavior of the people using the roads and that is both for the person behind a wheel as to a person pushing two pedals and the enforcement that has to go with it so we as a community have clear what our expectations are and we understand the enforcement that goes with that um this legislation I think goes a very long way but it also helps again flip that presumption I tried a couple years ago when I heard one of my colleagues talking about uh getting stop signs I think in a residential neighborhood every intersection should start with a presumption that it is a four-way stop and if there's a reason why it shouldn't be then maybe you can make the argument we weren't able to get that through but at least within the vision zero law that we passed two years ago we made it to where when a community asks to convert it to a safer intersection it is much more likely going to be done but we're not where we need to be yet but this law goes a good way in doing that I do think a great issues and arrays which is as we change our laws and as we make these efforts how do we make sure that people can keep up with changes um again something we tried two years ago that didn't make it was that every decade every 10 years when you renew your license you just have to do a quick online test not the driving test because that might freak some people out just the just the online test to be able to be up to date on what the new rules are um that was a bridge too far apparently so that's not in there I would say if my colleagues are feeling like we are concerned about that kind of education if I just have 10 more seconds Mr chair there's no objection if we are concerned about that perhaps between now and second reading we can we can look at something like that but I think making sure we're helping educate all the users of our roadways is going to be an important part of this and perhaps that's one more tool we can be considering thank you Mr chairman and I'm looking forward to supporting this today oh thank you Mr Allen I was going to um refrain from speaking having asked questions at the committee of the whole but there's been several statements made that need clarification the language in the print nowhere in the language in the print does it suggest a DDOT can look at an intersection and say if it's okay then there will be right turn on red I read this earlier this is what the language says it says uh beginning January 1st 2025 a motor vehicle vehicle operator shall not make a turn when facing a steady red traffic control signal unless DDOT has installed signage pursuant to subsection D and subsection D says DDOT May install signage only if D dot a determines that allowing a motor vehicle operator to make a turn when facing a steady red traffic control signal at the intersection would improve safety at that intersection I repeat would improve safety at that intersection so it's not if it's okay it's not if it won't cause any problem it's not if we think that there will not be um accidents or injuries it is would improve safety at that intersection I can't think of any instance where allowing a turn improves safety so basically this print very artfully disallows what it seemingly allows but doesn't allow it won't happen now my concern is that we are going to be the second jurisdiction in the country that prohibits right turn unread as a default as a matter and that may be okay except I have never seen an analysis of all of the accidents that have occurred in the city where people have died or been seriously injured I've never seen that analysis so DDOT maybe analyzes each individual accident but I haven't seen where they say you know the problem at this intersection is or the problem with Citywide is and so what we're doing is we're finding solutions that make it more difficult to drive and it may be okay to make it more difficult to drive if that actually reduces fatalities or injuries but I haven't seen that analysis and that analysis is not in the report now I'm getting a little exercise here not because I plan on voting against the bill today because I've built I'm not prepared to vote against the bill today but these statements that have been made repeatedly that the bill allows detox to permit right turn on red is simply inaccurate the language is crafted in such a crafty way the right turns on red will be prohibited across the city and we can go there but if the goal is to reduce accidents and I think that's what the goal should be let's see the evidence let's know that this is actually going to do that because we've been doing thing after thing after thing and we're getting more accidents more fatalities in this city we're going the wrong way as somebody said earlier and that's what concerns me uh I saw one hand and then we'll go to a vote councilmember Henderson well I have a I have my hand up too Christopher Henderson thank you Mr chairman um I I didn't know if I was necessarily going to speak on this because uh my inbox my voicemails my DMs my tweets have been inundated of people saying we are being um too harsh on drivers for a variety of reasons due to a Just a Bill introduction yesterday uh not a book that we're taking today um but I do want to Echo something that councilmember Silverman said around communication because a lot of this comes down to enforcement we can say all day long you can't turn right on red and whether or not people do that um and continue to do that practice will are we going to save lives um there is a intersection that I go through daily on uh 13th Street and Kansas where it very clearly says no right on red there's even a turn arrow that's red that people blow through all the time um and unfortunately there's too many near-misses in terms of individuals who are crossing families workers seniors Etc and so um council member Che I you know I know you you won't be here with us uh at the council as we go into the enforcement period here but I want to make a commitment to you that we will keep up the oversight with DDOT to make sure that the education campaign is thorough um and that they follow through on their commitment here because again unless everybody understands what the laws are um and everybody is willing to actually follow the law then we're not going to be able to reduce the number of fatalities and hits and accidents that we have here thank you councilman Shay for two minutes oh yes couple of things one you say that you know there's nothing to show that uh the right turn on red uh prohibitions would have effects on safety I would just point out that DDOT itself has looked at hundreds of intersections so far and except for those where there are no pedestrians having access it has found in every one that safety is benefited by not permitting right turn on red so the experts who do this not me not you looked at that and that was their conclusion so I think that's a pretty good indication and then I want to sort of object to the fact that you have said that the committee is intentionally uh being obscure and crafty in how it's putting this together DDOT can look at intersections they can decide whether you can make a right turn on red and they'll have to put up signage but if the the pattern is as it's been thus far that DDOT will look at these and find that safety is enhanced by not allowing it we may wind up in fact with intersections with no right turn on red and few if any where you're allowed to do it but uh I would imagine you Mr chairman would have a kind of a fit if we suggested that what you were doing was crafty obscure and sneaky um that was not anything that we were doing and uh I think your comments are objectionable thank you there's no further discussion we have the bill before us uh Madam Secretary would you call the role the voters on Bill 24-673. that's what I'm going to do yes I'm going to do votes yes councilmember Pinto yes that's my Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember betray on white yes that's number three on Mike votes yes councilmember Allen yes remember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes from rabon's votes yes council member Che yes I'm from portray votes yes councilmember Gray foreign yes councilman McCray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes house remember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes remember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Emma Mendelson votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses are the bill is approved first reading unanimously foreign or maybe if there is I'm going to move to reconsider the consent agenda because not all the members are present I'm assuming all their present now uh not all the members were president when we had to vote on the consent agenda and uh if it's okay with the secretary uh since the roll call was 12-0 um if we do this vote by Voice vote so the motion it's a first if there's no objection we will re I move to reconsider or the I move to reconsider the consent agenda there's no objection it's reconsidered hearing no objection I move the consent agenda that one item has been taken off we've dealt with that one item can't be discussed on the consent agenda by Voice vote all those in favor of the consent agenda please say aye aye are there any no votes incentive vendors approved unanimously we'll turn now to the non-consens agenda the first item is Bill 24-77 that's me I have to get my papers um Bill 24-77 the District of Columbia Public Schools what's now called the DCPS digital Equity Act of 2022. uh so moved though yesterday I circulated an amendment uh the amendment makes a couple of changes clarify some language that instead of uh the DCPS having a process that includes an advisory committee it has a process that incorporates feedback from an advisory committee and there's also a change in the language with regard to the DCU Auditor's review this language was uh requested by the auditor although I think we made some slight tweaks to that language uh so I moved this amendment there's no objection the amendment will be accepted you know it was circulated yesterday it's linked to the agenda there's no objection it's accepted the amendment is accepted we have the bill as amended is there any discussion sure I looked down now I'm looking up Mr Allen thank you Mr chairman um I want to thank you and your staff for moving this bill forward I think we were really shocked uh and frustrated a couple of years ago during the pandemic when um I remember asking multiple times and DCPS insisted that they did not need any additional funds to provide Equitable access to devices and internet services for their students and then we saw how the rollout went and it left a lot of students behind um a lot without reliable access to online learning this bill will require DCPS to have a real plan in place to ensure that all kids have Equitable access to digital learning opportunities which will only become more and more prevalent parts of student School experience I know we all look forward to partnering with DCPS to make sure that we get that right scrutinizing the plan but then ensuring that DCPS has the resources that it needs and the support that it needs to carry out an equitable plan and I think that this legislation will really pair well with legislation that I had introduced and I believe that Council Robert White will be moving forward from his committee soon but ensures all households will now have Equitable access to Affordable reliable fast internet service so those two things will go very well together I want to thank The Advocates who worked really hard to make this bill a reality and particularly Grace who an incredible advocate for the Amazon Bowen Elementary School community in ward 6 and for all students in the district and enthusiastically in supporting this Mr chairman thank you thank you councilmember Allen councilmember Lewis George uh thank you chairman for moving this bill and amendments today as you may recall the BCPS digital Equity Act of 2022 is the first goal I introduced after becoming a council member last year I worked closely with the group digital equity in DC and all volunteer group of public school moms to draft the original version and believe the bill and amendments before us today retain much if that's their original uh Vision I'm particularly glad we just passed amendment to straightening language around the work of the community advisory committee and getting their feedback into the final draft of the plan I'm confident that the plan will be much better with the input from both inside and outside experts on the use of technology in DCPS thank you again to you and your staff for your work to help improve this bill before its second vote today and look forward to voting for it today thank you John thank you councilman Lewis George councilmember bonds um thank you very much um chairman I just have a question about this bill I want to understand what is the condition of the access to the internet as it relates to situations that many young people encounter if they live in what I call the out areas of our our downtown area alike for instance in parts of Ward 7 where I've witnessed that there is very limited internet access will that be a factor in us moving this bill forward um how's her bonds I think I'm going to answer you this way the uh if you ask DCPS with regard to DC public school system where you ask uh the deputy mayor for Education they would say that digital access is pretty good what we hear repeatedly from parents around the city and I don't want to suggest hundreds or thousands but from a fair number of parents around the city is that there are problems with digital access and that access could be uh not enough laptops in the classroom or uh take-home laptops where the access to the internet is limited or that um I want to say limited or spotty uh that uh I just got a report a couple weeks ago that uh Jackson Reed High School got new smart boards two days before the start of school and they will be installed by December I'm illustrating access at home I'm illustrating um access in the classroom I'm illustrating it's not just laptops it's smart boards and it's pretty clear that even though in the past ecps has said they have a plan and they know what they're doing that there hasn't been enough of a plan I do think there was a we had a hearing now maybe it was a meeting that I had with some of the uh Advocates uh Grace who for example was in the meeting DCPS is um is actually beginning to work with an Advisory Group so some of what we have in this build are starting to do uh but I would say that um what we want is not what has been achieved all right and so does this mean that with these devices there will be you know there's a little Gizmo called a hot spot will they be getting the hot spot as well not necessarily maybe but this this bill is about requiring a plan and an a continuous planning well we need to put that in the plan until we get internet across the city yeah and that's that's what this bill requires all righty thank you thank you very much anything further on the bill thank you councilman uh Madam Secretary would you call the rule the vote is on Bill 24-77 as amended councilmember pincham yes councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Robert White yes I'm Robert White votes yes councilmember Treyon white yes I'm from a try on white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes customer Che F yes councilmember Trey votes yes councilmember gray yes from the Greg votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes that's remember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelton yes I'm gonna jail votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the bill as amended his approved unanimously the next item on the agenda is Bill 24-352 Players Lounge tax exemption Act of 2022. councilmember McDuffie thank you uh Mr chairman um I gave a lengthy statement about this uh during the cows I'm going to make model marks brief here but uh bill 24-352 um was introduced on July 12 2021 by councilman Tran white referred to the committee on business and economic development on July 13th 2000 2021 and the committee on business Economic Development held a hearing on the measure on June 16th 2022 uh and a markup on July 14 2022. uh if approved the bill will provide a real property tax exemption for the property in Congress Heights neighborhood of Ward 8 located at 2737 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue um the legislation would provide the subject property with both the retroactive and prospective tax exemption beginning on October 1st 2019 and into September 30th 2026 so long as it's owned by GST LLC and operated as Georgina's Restaurant um the council previously set aside approximately eighty thousand dollars in the fiscal year 2023 budget for this abatement with that I would ask for support from this measure and move it thank you councilman McDuffie we have the bill before discussion councilmember Tran white yes thank you I wanna um thank you uh chairman medicine also councilmember K McDuffie um I want to keep my comments brief this legislation coincides with our 50th anniversary of Players Lounge and I'd like to congratulate and thank them for what they've done in the community not just for serving food but being a hub where people can come and fellowship we've also been able to give back and provide services to homeless families and to schools and events um free of charge they've obviously also participated in a number of events that have uh decreased the hunger in our community their operational strain uh that has been put on restaurants during this pandemic has been enormous not just for them but across many uh small establishments like them across the city um and this tax debate will help provide relief to one of the only sit-down establishments in Ward eight and it's Easter River for that matter um to provide quality of food at affordable prices I want to thank you uh councilman McDuffie and chairman Miller Center my colleagues who have worked with me to support this measure I'm grateful that we will be supporting an institution that has supported what a families for decades thank you a thank you customer white Is there further discussion Mr chairman council member Robert White oh thank you Mr chairman I want to thank my colleague council member trayon white and council member McDuffie they work on this important bill uh Players Lounge or Georgina's is is one of my favorite places in the city the the food is incredible the the the poor is heavy and there are always community members inside and certainly one of the best jukeboxes in the city uh as well what's particularly important here is that the Players Lounge was has been around as council member Treyon white said for 50 years it was here before the Saint Elizabeth development it was here during the Saint Elizabeth development we need to make sure that they are here after the Saint Elizabeth's development because this key Community Hub and business uh is one that deserves to continue to stand in the neighborhood that is changing like much of the district so I look forward to supporting this thank you Mr chairman thank you councilmember uh further discussion uh the vote is on Bill 24-352 Madam Secretary would you call the roll please councilmember Silberman yes from the Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes councilmember Trey on white yes councilmember Allen yes I was remember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes okay yes I'm from the Cherry votes yes councilmember Gray yes I'm a great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes person votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes Miss George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes I'm talking about McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes and votes yes councilmember nadell yes councilmember in the Joe votes yes and council member Pinto yes depends our votes yes Mr chairman they have 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the bill is approved first reading uh unanimously uh we now have 20 emergencies before us the first is ghost gun clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2022 councilmember Allen thank you very much Mr chairman since first up I'll try to keep it quick um appreciate this chairman the Omnibus Public Safety and Justice Amendment Act of 2020 banned The Possession sale and transfer of ghost guns firearms that are undetectable because they don't contain a sufficient quantity of metal and Firearms are untraceable because they lack a serial number these weapons have become increasingly prevalent in recent years supporting law enforcement and making our city less safe last November in response to a legal challenge to the ghost gun ban the council approved emergency and temporary legislation that clarified the prohibition does not apply to self-manufactured firearms that were made for personal use and that have a unique serial number the second round of emergency temporary legislation preserves those clarifications until the permanent legislation is marked up in the committee in a few weeks later this fall thank you Mr chairman and I move the Declaration foreign thank you councilmember is there discussion on the Declaration um secretary would you call the role the vote is on the Declaration for the ghost gun clarification emergency councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes councilmember Treyon white yes from the tree on white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Allen builds yes yes councilman with Shay yes number three votes yes councilmember Gray yes oh the gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes yes councilman Brothers George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes um McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilman Joe yes I'm in the jail votes yes council member Pinto so council member pencil votes no councilmember Silberman yes 100 Silverman votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one now thank you Madam Secretary the bill is the Declaration is approved we have we have to build build 24-961 councilmember Allen said move Mr chair is there discussion uh because the uh Declaration was approved 12 to 12 to 1 I think we can do a voice vote on the bill all those in favor of the ghost fund clarification emergency Amendment Act of 2022 say aye aye aye are there any no votes please record me as voting no Mr chairman uh the bill is approved the next bill is well the next emergency is battery stewardship program emergency declaration resolution 2022 pr24-911 council member Shea um today I'm moving the battery stewardship program emergency act and declaration resolution of 2022 the sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014 required battery stewardship organizations to submit proposed battery stewardship plans to doee by January 1 2022. this is part of an effort we've been making with respect to various Commodities and so on to have manufacturers take back their products and this this particular one is for Batteries but we have it for paints and other Commodities this particular requirement was funded in the fiscal 2022 budget and therefore it became effective about a year ago on October 1 2021 thus the January 2022 deadline would have given the battery stewardship organization organizations just three months to develop their proposed battery plans stewardship plans for submission to doe which was for too little time especially given doe had yet to issue regulations instructing battery stewardship organizations on what to include in those proposed plans thus last December the council passed an earlier version of the emergency legislation that extended the deadline for submission of the stewardship plans to January 1 2023 that earlier emergency legislation will expire on October 26 2022 and I'm moving this legislation today to prevent a gap in the law and I want to note for members however that this emergency includes a number of amendments not included in the prior emergency legislation they were brought to my attention by d-o-e-e the agency that's implementing the the program they don't make any substantive uh changes to the stewardship program rather their technical edits and clarification clarifications to the Lord to better allow doe to implement the program and to provide greater Clarity to the covered manufacturers on how to comply with the law I'll note I introduced a permanent bill with these very same amendments last Friday however with the manufacturer's stewardship plans do to doe this January we can't wait for that permanent Bill to become law to adopt this language so it's at this time that I'm moving this emergency declaration thank you councilmember we have the Declaration before this is there a discussion foreign secretary would you call the role the vote is on pr24-911 Tryon weight yes councilmember Allen yes remember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember bonds votes yes councilmember Gray sorry councilmember Che yes councilman would say votes yes councilmember gray yes remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George yes who is George votes yes councilmember mcdappy yes remember my Duffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes I remember those on votes yes councilmember Joe yes councilmember the Joe votes yes councilmember Pinto yes I remember Pinto votes yes for Silverman yes Silverman votes yes and council member Robert White yes councilman Robert White votes yes Mr chairman they are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 24-965 council member Jay I so move is there discussion uh since the Declaration was approved unanimously I think we can dispose of this by a Voice vote on the battery stewardship program emergency Amendment act all those in favor say aye aye aye I opposed I don't see you hear any no votes uh the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is pr24-917 post public health emergency protections extension emergency declaration resolution 2022 councilmember Trey uh I'm moving this uh post public health emergency protections extension emergency act and declaration resolution of 2022. last October the council approved very similar legislation which extended certain protections benefits and agency Authority after the end of the public health emergency that legislation will expire next month thus on moving this emergency legislation to ensure that language does not ex certain language does not expire but I will note this emergency does strike some language from the October 21 version related to programs no longer in effect such as state DC making those Provisions move specifically the legislation will do the following first it extends the requirement that condominium unit owners associations Co-op boards and any association committees provide an option for members to participate remotely including to vote regardless of their buyers next the legislation would extend the ability of entities subject to the district's open meetings act to offer remote meetings through the end of 2023 the legislation provides that the Department of Public Works will continue it gives the Department of Public Works continued authority to administer virtual composting trainings and finally with respect to third-party food delivery platforms the emergency legislation would extend both the five percent and 15 percent commission fee cap while allowing third-party delivery platforms to charge additional fees for advertising and special promotions I want to note that the committee on business and economic development is considering a permanent Bill related to the regulation of third-party delivery platforms and is holding a hearing on that bill tomorrow morning so folks who may want to testify on that can testify at that hearing I move the emergency declaration thank you customer check um councilmember McDuffie I saw you shaking your head did you want to clarify something yeah just to clarify that that was what we discussed at breakfast this morning there there is no hearing on that bill tomorrow morning uh it was originally scheduled for the same date in which you chairman Middleton are holding a hearing requiring dcra's attendance about a major uh effort of the agency and so we're rescheduling that hearing at which time uh anyone who wants to testify about the bill uh and third-party platforms can testify uh specifically by the contents of the bill or about the contents of cancer they so choose thank you uh is your discussion on the Declaration that's before us the vote will be on the post public health emergency protectionist extension emergency declaration Madam Secretary would you call the role councilmember Allen yes I'm from Alan votes yes councilman yes council member bonds votes yes councilmember Che yes number Trey votes yes councilmember Gray yes council member gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes remember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes yeah my mendels and votes yes councilmember Joe yes councilmember Joe votes yes councilmember pincho yes remember Pinto votes yes customer Sullivan yes I'm a Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes remember Robert White votes yes council member Treyon white yes I'm Betrayal on white boats yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 24-975 councilmember Chang so move discussion the vote will be on bill 24-975 by Voice vote all those in favor say aye aye aye aye opposed uh I don't see or hear any no votes the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is pr24-905 Inspector General oversight consistency emergency declaration resolution of 2022 council member Robert White thank you Mr chairman this emergency legislation mirrors prior emergency and temporary legislation that's set to expire on October 7th 2022 the language of the emergency declaration and act has only been updated to reflect a change date and need for renewed emergency and temporary for consistency the rest of the language is the same as when we passed it last time as I noted when we pass these bills earlier this legislation ensures that the inspector General can continue his investigations of the D.C Housing Authority we need to continue that authorization as investigations are ongoing before we pass the prior emergency and temporary bills the oig had the authority to initiate Audits and investigations of all district government agencies other than the council and the courts including all independent agencies with the exception of the Housing Authority this issue came up after the Inspector General let members of the housing committee know that there needed to be an investigation of the Housing Authority but couldn't move forward without the council's requests ultimately last year the housing committee sent a series of letters requesting that the oig conduct that investigation I want to thank council member bonds and my housing committee colleagues for their assistance at that time in requesting the ig's help yaji wrote to us late last year explaining how the need for a council requests of an investigation presented his office with an inherent conflict with their statutory requirement to conduct independent investigations so we moved the emergency in the past and we need to move another one again today so I do want to thank my colleagues councilmember bonds Lewis George Nadeau McDuffie Pinto Silverman and Chase for introducing the permanent version of this bill thank you Mr chairman thank you and I think you said so moved so moved uh so we have the Declaration before us is there discussion the vote is on pr24-905 Madam Secretary would you call the roll council member bonds yes I'm from the bonds votes yes councilmember Shea yes okay votes yes councilmember Gray yes Brave votes yes councilmember Henderson yes or Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes I remember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes that's one of the McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilman Joe yes when the Joe votes yes councilmember Plateau yes that's remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes I'm Robert White votes yes councilmember Treyon White yes man white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill built 24-954 councilmember Robert White so moved their discussion uh the vote this will be a Voice vote on Bill 24-954 all those in favor say aye aye it would be helpful if folks would speak up please I will try again all those in favor say aye aye are there any opposed I don't see or hear any no votes the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is pr24-910 perinatal Mental Health task force emergency declaration resolution of 2022 councilmember Henderson thank you Mr chairman today I am moving the perinatal mental health task force emergency declaration resolution and corresponding emergency Amendment Act during the FY 23 budget I was proud to work with the Department of Healthcare Finance uh chairperson the health committee chair Mr Gray and you Mr chairman to include the creation of this task force and the budget support act to study maternal mental health needs in the district and further the work being done by the Department of Health Care Finance pertaining to maternal and perinatal Health here in the District of Columbia it's emergency Bill removes the requirement that the council excuse me confirmed certain task force members with a 45-day council review period and it also extends the deadline for the submission of the comprehensive report from August 31st 2023 to October 1st 2023 giving the task force a total of 75 additional days to Contin to fully consider its mandate this allows the director of healthcare Finance to appoint members of the task force instead of requiring nominees to go through the mayor's office of talent and appointments which would delay the start of this very important task force I've worked closely with director Turnage since joining the council and I'm comfortable with his commitment to maternal and perinatal Health consideration and appointment of qualified individuals to similar internal advisory panels and with the healthcare Finance staff ability to implement this task force with fidelity um giving the task force an additional 75 days to do its work will ensure adequate time for it to thoughtly cons thoughtfully consider its scope review the perinatal needs in the district and write its reports and recommendations um as required by the law additionally it is necessary to approve this emergency prior to October 1 as the law currently mandates the request currently requires the mayor to begin nominating individuals on that date in alignment with the beginning of the fiscal year so we've worked closely with the Department of Healthcare Finance on this emergency like I said they are ready to go and get started and as opposed to requiring a 45-day review period we think it's in the best interest of birthing individuals in the district that this task force go ahead and get started and with that Mr chairman I moved the Declaration thank you councilmember Henderson we have the Declaration before us is there discussion Madam Secretary would you call the role the vote is on pr24-910 council member Che yes Jay votes yes councilmember gray yes Mr Gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes house number Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes with George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelsohn yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes comes from Roman Nigel yes that's where when the jail votes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes from the Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes remember Robert White votes yes try on white yes grand white boats yes comes from Valen votes yes and councilmember bonds yes remember bonds votes yes Mr chairman they have 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill 24-963 customer Henderson so move Mr Sherman is there discussion uh by a Voice vote on Bill 24-963 all those in favor say aye aye hi hi are there any opposed uh the odds have it unanimously we're fourth of the way through our emergencies the next item is pr24-906 Department of Health functions clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2022. I believe I'm calling on council member Pinto yes thank you Mr chairman this emergency is an extension of something that we have previously voted on before and just clarifies the dates that are needed to Rectify that the timeline running out and you said so moved it is so moved we have the Declaration before us is there discussion I'm Madam Secretary would you call the role the vote is on pr24-906. I'm from the gray yes that's one of the great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes that's remember Henderson votes yes comes from Blue Ridge George yes Louis George faults yes councilmember McDuffie yes my Duffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes councilmember Joe yes um so member Nigel votes yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Robert White yes remember Robert whitefield's yes councilmember Tran White all right votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember yes okay both yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the Declaration is approved unanimously thank you Madam Secretary we have the underlying Bill well 24-956 Department of Health functions clarification emergency Amendment Act of 2022 councilmember Pinto it is so moved thank you council member uh is there discussion by a Voice vote on Bill 24-956 all those in favor say aye aye aye opposed I don't see or hear any no votes bill has approved unanimously the next measure is the 2022 World Cup emergency declaration resolution of 2022 pr24-915 councilmember McDuffie thank you Mr chairman the 2022 World Cup Tournament is scheduled to occur between November 20th 2022 and December 18 2022. this event takes place every four years and is a Super Bowl type sporting event for soccer fans the host country is seven hours ahead of the District of Columbia notwithstanding a time difference local soccer fans are expected to watch the 2022 World Cup Tournament regardless of the hour to meet the demand some licensed establishments will likely want to amend their hours for this sporting event to allow on-premises retailers manufacturers and temporary license voters to remain open for operation sales service and consumption of alcoholic beverages during the hours of the World Cup Tournament as it's been done previously emergency action is necessary so that licensees can Avail themselves of the extended hours I'll move the underlying measure thank you councilman McDuffie the Declaration is before us is there discussion Mr chairman councilmember Henderson um I just want to add some levity to this meeting so I'm going to ask councilmember McDuffie what times will alcohol be allowed to be served for the World Cup under this bill oh am I something I didn't mean to you I'm sorry I was that directed towards me councilman yeah it was I'm sorry I I uh was not listening if you want to repeat your question oh the times under the spell it is it is all times it is it's 24 hours um actually it's 22 hours to be able to sell alcohol they can remain open for 24. 22 hours so that extra two hour was just like yeah no nobody's laughing okay never mind I appreciate the attempt at levity though thank you I'll let it ride yes I think we all appreciate the attempt at levity it goes from 6 a.m to 4 a.m I was just curious why we just didn't Let It Go 24 because that two hours is just I'm sorry we're talking about the council meeting going from 6 a.m to 2. uh Is there further discussion that was funny we have the Declaration coming that she said uh we have the Declaration before further discussion I'm secretary would you call the vote uh the role this is on pr24-915 councilmember Henderson yes and votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes I remember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes Debbie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilmember Nadeau yes that's Marvin a Joe votes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman all for it yes council member Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember Treyon White yes the crayon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmember bonds yes bronze votes yes councilmember Shea yes council member Shea votes yes councilmember gray yes I'm great votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill build 24-972 councilmember McDuffie so moved is there discussion uh by a Voice vote on Bill 24-972 all those in favor say aye aye aye aye aye are there any opposed I don't see or hear any no votes uh the bills approved unanimously the next measure is earned income tax credit expansion clarification emergency declaration resolution of 2022. pr24-913 comes from McDuffie thank you again Mr chairman um earlier the daily Council approved the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion clarification Amendment Act of 2022. and the purpose of the permanent legislation is to exclude monthly payments of earned income tax credit and other refundable income tax credits from the definition of earned income and exclude direct cash assistance payments from the definition of income for the purpose of qualifying for public assistance the legislation would ensure to the extent allowable under federal law that the benefit of the expanded eitc as well as the direct cash assistance received from District base uh cash assistance program of Pilots does not adversely impact low-income households by causing them to become ineligible for assistance on the state of a lot the permanent legislation will not take effect before the beginning of the next fiscal year in order to ensure consistency for the treatment of the eitc other refundable tax credits and direct cash assistance emergency legislation is necessary uh to ensure that legislation enacted by October 1 2022. and I will move the Declaration thank you councilmember we have the Declaration before us is there discussion Mr chairman councilmember Allen thank you very much I want to thank counselor McDuffie for moving this legislation forward so expeditiously um if we're working with me to make sure we get it done in time for the beginning of the district's new monthly basic income rollout the transition to monthly payment starts in October with the new fiscal year so the timing has been important with this legislation when eligible District residents are going to file their taxes beginning in January they can rest assured that they will not lose other benefits by receiving this additional support as I've talked about several times before during the FY 22 budget process the council nearly doubled our local earned income tax credit and we took that opportunity to convert our local eitc employee payment into a monthly payment for our lowest income residents after hearing concerns from the Department of Human Services that a monthly payment might be considered additional income which could make some residents ineligible for other public benefits like TANF and snap I worked with my colleagues to ensure that we clarify this language so that residents won't be in danger of losing benefits as we help those who need this assistance the most so I'm pleased that we're able to vote on this measure today happy to say that our action today is going to put more than 30 million dollars per year directly into the pocketbooks of District residents I look forward to working with all my colleagues to find ways to further expand this program as we see the impact and benefits for residents and families in the months to come and encourage all my colleagues to support this thank you thank you councilmember Allen uh Is there further discussion on the Declaration yes um thank you chairman and I really want to express my gratitude to councilmember Allen on this measure because I think his his closing comment is very Apple Pro because I think we're going to discover that there are more households that are in need of this um service is what I like to consider it as opposed to an entitlement and so I'm looking forward to this becoming a way of doing business with some of our households as we strive to continue to make DC a place where everyone can um can call home so thank you thank you customer further discussion on the Declaration the vote will be on pr24-913 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Lewis George yes I remember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes Duffy votes yes chairman Nelson yes remember Nelson votes yes councilmember Joe yes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilman council member Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes the Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes councilmember Robert White votes yes councilmember Treyon white yes remember Treyon white votes yes council member Allen yes councilmember Alan votes yes councilmember bonds yes remember bonds folds yes councilman Che yes okay votes yes councilmember gray yes gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Henderson votes yes Mr chairman they're 13 yeses uh thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill build 24-969 councilmember McDuffie so movements is there discussion on the bill I will dispose of this by a Voice vote the vote is on Bill 24-969 all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes I don't see you hear any no votes how the bills approved unanimously the next measure is child wealth building emergency declaration resolution of 2022 pr24-912 councilmember McDuffie thank you once again Mr chairman uh as noted in the notice announced in the introduction in the measure that we just mentioned the council funded the District of Columbia's child trust fund program during last year's history of 2022 budget process since that time the office of the Chief Financial Officer has been working to establish and implement the program as part of its efforts to finalize and promulgate the program regulations and procure the services of a fund manager ocfo determined that a few clarifying amendments in law are necessary accordingly to meet the timelines at Fourth uh for the above Mission activities legislation is necessary to permit the district to make this uh distributions from the child trust fund established by the child wealth building Act of 2021. so with that Mr chairman I will move the Declaration thank you councilmember McDuffie we have the Declaration before us is there discussion the vote will be on pr24-912 uh um secretary would you please call the roll councilmember McDuffie yes I remember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelton yes councilman Joe yes council member Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes farmer Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White votes yes comes from patreon White yes on the crown white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Alan both yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember Shea yes number Jay votes yes councilmember gray yes I'm a gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Anderson votes yes comes from Believers George yes comes from Louis George votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-967 councilman McDuffie so moved is there discussion uh by a Voice vote on Bill 24-967 all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any opposed I don't see or hear any no votes all the bills approved unanimously the next measure is pr24-914 tax abatements for affordable housing in high need areas emergency declaration resolution of 2022. councilmember McDuffie the purpose of the tax abatements for affordable housing and how many areas is to authorize tax abatements as incentives for the production of new affordable housing and higher income areas of the District of Columbia the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to delegation by the mayor has completed several competitive rounds for projects to apply for tax abatements in the Hampton program a technical change to the existing law which inadvertently presents anti-deficiency issues with dacd is necessary because as enacted it cannot be administered the technical change will enable reservations of tax abatements be made to projects currently in the development uh which will increase the number of affordable housing units in those areas of the district that are in high need with that I move the Declaration thank you councilmember we have the Declaration before us is there a discussion the vote will be on pr24-914 Madam Secretary would you call the roll chairman Mendelson yes Wilson votes yes councilmember Joe yes votes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes council member Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes remember Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran White yes from betray on right votes yes councilmember Allen yes councilmer Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember yes I'm from the chief votes yes councilmember gray yes gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George yes George votes yes and councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember McDuffie votes yes councilman Remy Jeffy votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-970. comes from McDuffie so moved to discussion the vote is on Bill 24-970 all those in favor say aye aye aye can we try again uh the vote is on build 24-970 all those in favor say aye aye are there any opposed uh I don't see or hear any no votes bills approved unanimously the next item on the agenda is pr24-876 fiscal year 2023 income tax secured Revenue Bond General obligation Bond and general obligation and income tax secured Bond anticipation note issuance authorization emergency declaration resolution of 2022. councilmember McDuffie thank you Mr chairman this emergency measure is necessary to ensure that the District of Columbia can issue Bonds in a timely manner and take advantage of favorable market conditions to provide funding for or to reimburse the district for funds already expended on fiscal year 2023 capital projects approved and undertaken pursuant to the district's fiscal year 2023 budget and financial plan then I moved the Declaration thank you councilmember is there discussion the vote is on pr24-876 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Nigel yes votes yes councilmember Pinto yes Rapunzel votes yes councilmember Silverman yes councilmember Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran white yes remember crayon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes yes councilor bonds yes councilman yes Jay votes yes councilmember Gray yes remember great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes Louis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes I remember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes and then mendels and votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously the underlying measures pr24-877 councilmember McDuffie so move Mr chairman thank you councilmember we have the tech the uh underlying resolution approval resolution before us is there a discussion we will do this by Voice vote on pr24-877 all those in favor say aye aye aye uh are there any no votes I don't see or hear any no votes the resolution is approved unanimously the next item is pr24-920 the medical marijuana patient access second emergency declaration resolution of 2022. uh there is emergency contemporary legislation in the law currently it includes that uh medical patients with a card that expired previously can continue to use that card even though it appears to have expired through this month so I should say some extends that time it extends that time too if I remember correctly March 31st 2023 the emergency also increases the amount of dried cannabis a qualifying patient may possess it any one time from four ounces to eight ounces that actually has been in the earlier emergency it also creates a temporary non-resident qualifying patient registration process to allow for the issuance of two-year qualifying I'm sorry no I misspoke creates a temporary non-resident qualifying patient registration process for renewable 30-day periods it also allows for the reissuance of two-year qualifying patient and caregiver registration cards and also provides the board with the authority to issue patient and caregiver registration cards at no cost and it also allows qualifying patients to establish residency in the district with one document most of this has been adopted previously by the council a couple of these items are new I move the Declaration it's a discussion foreign secretary would you call the role the vote is on pr24-920 councilmember Pinto yes councilmember pencil votes yes councilmember Silverman yes Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran white yes OTS councilmember Allen yes Allen Boots yes comes from the bonds yes customer but Che yes I'm from Richard votes yes councilmember Gray yes gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Mendelson votes yes and councilman Joe yes Mr chairman they're 13 yeses uh the declaration has approved unanimously uh the underlying bill was built 24-981 medical marijuana patient access second emergency of 2022 so moved is there discussion by a Voice vote on Bill 24-981 all those in favor say aye aye aye are there any no votes uh the I don't see or hear any no votes uh the bills approved unanimously the next item is emergency rental assistance reform emergency declaration revolution of 2022 pr24-921 this measure or this legislation has been adopted previously as emergency and temporary legislation and I believe that the temporary expires on October 1st a permanent measure is pending in the committee on human services this new round of temporary legislation is necessary to continue the erap reforms approved last year while the permanent bill is pending in committee I moved the Declaration as a discussion Madam Secretary would you call the role the vote is on pr24-921 councilmember Silverman yes I'm Foundry Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes former Robert White votes yes councilmember Tryon white yes former crayon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes council member bonds folks yes councilmember Shea welcome back councilmember Gray yes welcome to gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes or Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes I remember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Captain Mendelssohn votes yes councilmember Joe yes Reserve votes yes councilmember Pinto yes council member pencil votes yes councilmember Shea yes from portray votes yes missed and then there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-983 so moved is your discussion uh by a Voice vote on Bill 24-983 all those in favor say aye aye aye opposed I don't see or hear any no votes bills approved unanimously the next emergency is Omnibus Berry Farm Redevelopment emergency declaration resolution of 2022 pr24-922 the purpose of the street and Alley closures is to allow for the development of Berry Farm the development will consist of or include 380 public housing replacement units for rent as well as additional housing the committee as a whole approved a permanent version in July the council was voted first and second readings July 12th and today making the closing effective sooner than the Congressional review would enable the project to proceed without risk of further delay I moved the Declaration is there discussion Jimmy councilmember Treon white oh thank you chairman uh this measure along with its respective emergency measures on the agenda today is necessary to further the development of a Berry Farm we need to move quickly on the street and Alley closing listening legislation so developers can get the proper permits for construction as you know uh Berry Farm residence has been have been the place uh for a few years now um even some of the prominent members who've been fighting for them to come back has since passed away um and we believe that the district residents uh and Berry Farm deserve safe stable in affordable housing that accommodates families and seniors it's important that we get this project completed on time to set up presidents for other public housing developers in our city they can no longer wait as they've been told to this legislation is critical to making this happen I want to thank you chairman uh for letting me share my comments thank you thank you councilmember there's no further discussion the voters on the Declaration pr24-922 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Robert White yes Obama Robert White votes yes councilman betray on white yes votes yes councilmember Allen yes remember Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes remember bonds votes yes councilman yes remember Trey votes yes councilmember Gray yes free votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes I'm from Louis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes chairman Nelson yes my notes and votes yes comes from the Joe yes yes councilmember Pinto yes until about yes comes from Mary Silverman councilman Silverman yes remember Silverman votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-985 so moved discussion I will dispose of this by uh Voice vote and build 24-985 all those in favor say aye aye aye aye are there any opposed I don't see or hear any no votes you guys have it unanimously the next item on the agenda is non-public student educational continuity emergency declaration resolution of 2022 pr24-923 uh this legislation it's a little hard to explain um deals with those students who are enrolled in DCPS who are DC Public Charter School who are attending a non-public school or program who have been in foster care and are placed in a permanent care of an individual who resides outside of the district this legislation ensures that those individual students can complete the year as well as the following year without having to pay non-resident tuition oh the council has adopted emergency and temporary legislation since 19 since 2020 since 2020 uh the permanent bill was approved by the Council on July 12th and second reading was earlier today uh this emergency is necessary to continue to provide Authority for Assi to ensure that these individual students are afforded the and public placement um this emergency avoids a gap in the law while awaiting the permanent Bill to become law there's no temporary that will move along with this because the permanent second reading today I moved the Declaration Mr discussion the vote will be on pr24-923 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Tran White yes Republic yes councilman Allen yes can you hang on I have to vote did you call me not yet okay sorry councilmember Allen yes muted councilmember Shea okay councilmember bonds yes yes comes from Pache yes Richie votes yes councilmember Gray yes gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes councilmember Henderson votes Yes councilmember Lewis George yes who's George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes Duffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes and votes yes councilman Joe yes yes councilmember Pinto yes councilmember councilmember Silverman yes Silverman votes yes and council member Robert White yes it's one of the Robert White votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-986 so moved is there discussion by a Voice vote on Bill 24-986 all those in favor say aye aye aye can we try again the photos on Bill 24-986 all those in favor say aye aye aye hi are there any opposed I don't see you here any no votes the bills approved unanimously we are 75 of the way through our emergencies the next item is pr24-907 Metropolitan Police Department overtime spending accountability emergency declaration resolution of 2022 councilmember Nadeau thank you Mr chairman all right um so we are doing this again I'm going to be quick about it um actually you know what I'm just going to say so moved because everybody nobody wants to hear about this for like the third time so moved Mr chairman uh thank you councilmanado it would be useful to say on the record that this is um an emergency similar to previous emergency that's right the Metropolitan Police Department over time spending accountability emergency resolution emergency declaration resolution um is similar to what's on there we're getting a written report every two pay periods on overtime pay and the point is we can get ahead of it if um MPD is overspending on overtime so we don't end up with a large bill that we have to pay reluctantly so um with that I move the deck thank you councilmember we have the Declaration before us is there discussion this is pr24-907 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember Allen yes councilmember bonds yes that's remember bonds votes yes councilmember yes votes yes councilmember Gray yes gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes that's remember Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George yes customer Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes councilman McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes my Milton votes yes councilman Joe yes that's where I'm going to jail votes yes councilmember Pinto yes that's one Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes remember Silverman votes yes that's remember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes and council member Tryon White yes votes yes Mr chairman they're 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declarations approved unanimously we have the underlying bill before us bill 24-958 councilmember nadeaux so moved is there discussion the vote will be on Bill 24-958 all those in favor say aye aye aye aye opposed I don't see or hear any no votes the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is Council vaccination policy enforcement emergency declaration resolution 2022 pr24-919 this is the second round of emergency and temporary legislation the measure provides a mechanism to continue to ensure Council employees comply with the vaccine policy in the case for an individual employee's Personnel Authority refuses to take disciplinary action against an employee is provided for the policy only for the purpose of enforcing covid-19 vaccine mandate I moved the Declaration is there discussion Mr chairman councilmember bonds um thank you very much I'm just very curious as to how this um um declaration that is before us will fit in with the the decisions that have been made about the vaccine in general and that is that the president of the United States that says we are no longer in a pandemic I wonder if that somehow affects what we do and then I think a judge recently said that the mayor could not enforce the vaccine and the mask um so I just wondered uh with regard to the Superior Court decision that was because there was no legal Authority for the mayor to enforce uh the Mandate um the council rules require the vaccine right now and until we change the rules um that would be the requirement uh this resolution itself does not um we have the Mandate the Mandate is in our rules further discussion on the Declaration the vote will be on pr24-919 Madam Secretary would you call the roll council member Barnes yes I'll vote for it yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember yes councilmember Gray yes remember gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes remember Henderson votes yes comes from Blues George yes comes from Louis George for OTS councilmember McDuffie yes councilmember means I think can you turn on your camera for me for a second thank you yes thank you councilmember McDuffie votes yes chairman mendelton yes Milton votes yes councilman Joe yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes customer Silverman yes Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes number Robert White votes yes councilmember Tran white yes councilmember Allen yes Alan votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 24-979 so moved is there discussion the vote will be on bill 24-979 by Voice vote all those in favor say aye aye aye aye are there any no votes I don't see or hear any no votes oh the bills approved unanimously the next measure is pr24-918 department for higher Vehicles delivery vehicle traffic enforcement expansion emergency decoration resolution of 2022. councilmember Allen thank you very much Mr chairman this past June I was convening a meeting of our ancs some District agencies and some other Southwest D.C neighborhood stakeholders as we were trying to work through some Transportation challenges and choke roadways and some dangerous conditions in the area one of the concerns that several neighbors and businesses raised was food delivery drivers double parking and blocking Lanes of travel for vehicles and buses blocking bike lanes and blocking crosswalks in a meeting we had a representative of the Department of four higher vehicles and they explained that while the department had been stepping up traffic enforcement the agency did not actually have statutory authority to issue citations to app-based delivery vehicles as the agency can for app-based passenger services I also found that at least half of the traffic violations they see are Vehicles they cannot issue citations to and so they have to give them a warning the Department's mission is focused on passenger service like uber and Lyft those drivers often toggle back and forth between passenger pickup and drop off and then other deliveries oftentimes at the same app they sometimes and sometimes the drivers are doing both simultaneously take an example of an Uber driver who drops off a passenger that immediately puts on their hazards double parks and gets out of the car to pick up food delivery when the driver double parked as a Uber driver with a passenger the department could issue a citation but once the driver became an Uber Eats driver Department can no longer issue that same citation but when does that shift actually take place working with the mayor and the department this legislation removes that ambiguity and loophole emergency and temporary legislation here are very narrowly tailored to only give the department the power to issue traffic citations the department cannot impose any other regulations on food beverage or personal delivery service and to be clear this would not apply to delivery services like Amazon or FedEx this is targeted to delivery services that operate in the same way as the ride-hailing services the department already regulates what the Department's statute calls public and private vehicles for hire does a common sense fix for an agency that's eager to do its part to move us toward our vision zero goals I hope my colleagues will support both the emergency declaration and the underlying emergency measure I also want to thank the mayor and the department for working closely with me to craft this legislation and with that Mr chairman I move the Declaration thank you councilmember Allen we have the Declaration before us is there discussion comes over Pinto thank you just a friend for councilman Allen uh well this bill also apply to companies like instacart or Amazon or is this for food delivery companies primarily like doordash and GrubHub um we believe in working with the Department this is based off their existing app-based enforcement so in the example you're giving uh I don't shop with I guess instacart all that often but if it's a app based ride hailing service so think of your ubereats type of example that would work a simple delivery like a instacart would not now we'll also be moving permanent legislation that will go through uh so we can also kind of work on fine-tuning that as the permanent legislation moves through but this gives the department uh clears up that ambiguity and close that loophole for them on the ride-based app side which is really where they spend their time from an enforcement perspective got it okay just want to clarify thank you so much Is there further discussion on the Declaration yes chairman council member Crown Mike um I guess for me I'm just trying to get some clarity on this I don't know uh uh what areas this is happening more frequently yet but I'm concerned about the everyday workers is I think about Uber Eats drivers they're getting out to run into a house or a building or to drop off food so they're not stand there that long I just think that I'll see this move into a place becoming very punitive as relates to uh drivers in DC um you know most of these workers are trying to hustle to make ends meet in an economy that's becoming wider between the Haves and the Have Nots and we are setting the Precedence yet again for giving tickets and to penalize people who are trying to earn a living um I don't see and I'm I'm just one of many where people are parking to deliver food and stay in a very long time because that time is money they're trying to get to the next delivery and so you know um just pushing a move along is one thing but you know again enforcement is another thing and when we've took taken away so many parking spaces in DC right I was in the Navy Yard uh yesterday it was yesterday or yesterday and I just see that you know some of the parking spaces have gone um DDOT has done a number of things that you know to eliminate parking space all throughout the district but very very rarely doing things the community decide City they want so there's nowhere to park right um my car was told what last Friday um and Went to went inside a place they said 15 minute Parker came back on my car was gone so I'm like man what's going on in our city so I'm a little concerned about what we're doing in the presence of resetting uh in the name of safe Rose because it's not really about how they say this predator and it's about generating tax dollars thanks if I could respond Mr chairman uh yes if you wish thanks yeah um this is I appreciate a concern um to help add the clarity though this is not predatory uh we're talking about uh in the same way that they would be regulating uh let's say you're dropping off a passenger uh you're able to stop your vehicle you know you're letting passengers in and out um what we're talking about is when a vehicle is parked in the crosswalk uh when they are blocking all the travel it started off from a conversation trying to address a lot of transformation challenges in Southwest but very quickly morphed into seeing this take place on many of our commercial corridors where the roadways get choked off by people that are just leaving their cars in the middle of the road or blocking bike Lanes or blocking crosswalks so uh that's the goal here I think the department has as we've seen with the ride-based apps has been uh very strategic in the ways in which they work that and it worked to have the enforcement work and in most cases just make sure vehicles are moving along and I think we'd expect based on their past performance you'd see the same thing here thank you I wanted clarity it comes from yeah for Claudia I did not state that this was predatory I'm saying the way the city is going is becoming predatory where we got DDOT and DPW workers out four o'clock in the morning giving tickets two o'clock in the morning giving tickets which made me have to come work those hours and that has alluded to nothing to do with Public Safety thank you Miss Wright uh thank you is there further discussion on the Declaration uh we have the Declaration before us pr24-918 Madam Secretary would you call the roll foreign yes I'm a j votes yes councilmember Gray yes number gray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Henderson votes yes councilman believes George yes George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes yes chairman mendelton yes and votes yes councilman Joe yes votes yes councilmember Pinto yes Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes Silverman votes yes comes from Robert White yes that's under Robert whitefields yes customer betray on white no because I'm a Tran white vote snow councilmember Allen yes councilmember bonds yes Alhambra bonds votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one no the Declaration is approved we have the underlying Bill build 24-978 council member Allen so move Mr chair thank you is there discussion I will do this by Voice vote on Bill 24-978 all those in favor of the bill say aye aye aye are there any no votes no uh councilmember Tran white do you want to be recorded as voting no yes I want to be recording this voting no the bill is approved we will turn now to emergency legislation at the request of the mayor the first is new communities initiative Bond issuance emergency declaration resolution 2022 councilmember McDuffie thanks Mr chairman um my office has uh been in communication with uh dent and ocfo as well as uh the oag with you in your office Mr chairman and as well as councilmember bonds and Silverman's office and so I'm actually going to withdraw a pr24-925 and 926. um we are communicating with dimpad and the office of the Chief Financial Officer about working together to to transmit a new legislative package that addresses some challenges with the current law uh and time for our October 4th legislative session so uh I'm going to enjoy the measures at this time oh the measures were strong the next item is pr24-929 the migrant services and supports emergency declaration resolution of 2022. councilmember Nadeau thank you chairman since April over 8 000 migrants have arrived by bus in the District of Columbia for six months Mutual Aid volunteers have stepped up to greet welcome and meet the needs of Travelers desperately in need of rest and support and over those five months we've seen the number of persons arriving in the district each day increased from 50 to more than 300. it's our responsibility as a sanctuary city as a city that has always welcomed those cast off from somewhere else to greet every single person who arrives here with dignity with a warm welcome and ultimately with the services they need to thrive that is a responsibility that falls to all of us not to just a small group of compassionate volunteers not just to those who work in immigration law not just to a FEMA grantee but to all of us many of us children of immigrants in a country of children of immigrants right now though we don't have the tools to exercise that responsibility we have no specialized institution that can work with immigration officials that can ensure people get their sponsors and establish a permanent address that can get people what they need to survive and then send them where they're going to thrive and for those who choose to stay here we have no legal tools to serve them in the best way possible I've spent months coordinating with our regional Partners who are eager to help Montgomery County is already providing services in a respite site and we must be doing the same this legislation allows the district to answer that call to leadership too by creating a new office within Department of Human Services the district will direct Specialists to special needs and better meet the needs of everyone this legislation will ensure that every migrant is greeted by a bilingual culturally competent professional that they have respite that they have food and clothing and that they are safe and welcome and we can do all that without undermining Decades of progress in our struggle to end homelessness in the district we know that because we are following the lead of Border towns and jurisdictions with specialized newcomer networks in this best practice in 2017 this Council strengthened our homeless Services Reform Act and since that time we've funded thousands of units of housing for those experiencing homelessness this legislation allows us to continue that work as well I plan to move a permanent version of this legislation through the committee on Human Services as soon as possible and I promise to work to ensure that with this office comes hope care and accountability that is a sanctuary City we can finally match the strength of our actions to the tenor of our words with that I move the Declaration thank you councilmember uh councilman though um the mayor introduced the permanent legislation yesterday have you scheduled a hearing or are you scheduling a hearing we'll be noticing a hearing shortly our intent is to include it on October 20th and we already have a round table scheduled where the department of human services will be appearing so the notice hasn't been filed but you're looking at October 20th that's right is there discussion on the Declaration councilmember Pinto customer Robert White after that thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much to council member Nadeau for your thoughtful leadership on this really important and ever evolving issue our city is often used as a bargaining chip upon or ire of the federal government by Republican colleagues and for the last five months Republican Governors from Texas Arizona and Florida have been using human beings arriving in our country oftentimes fleeing from untenable or dangerous situations in their own home country as a political Stunt by sending thousands of migrants to our city and other cities around the country people are arriving with no information about where they're going when they will get there when their child's next meal will be and what will be waiting for them upon their arrival we have non-profit organizations who've been greeting these individuals and families to provide needed Aid and these organizations are not given information ahead of time as to when folks will be arriving they have scrapped together resources volunteers lawyers religious organizations and neighbors to try to respond to the overwhelming need in a timely and comprehensive manner I'm so proud of our city partners for coming together to address this emergency with compassion I joined council member Nadeau and other colleagues in July in sending a letter to implore the executive to take action to serve those who are being sent here on buses I'm grateful to our attorney general Carl Racine who used his own office's resources to provide grants to organizations who are doing this work on the ground now with about 300 people arriving each day and estimated over 10 000 people who have already arrived the need for establishing infrastructure and resources to arriving migrants is Paramount and overdue our nation is enriched by the perseverance presence and participation of migrants in our communities as a city we value immigrants and Asylum Seekers and we treat them with dignity and respect DC stands with our dreamers and those who seek refuge in the United States by establishing the office of Migrant Services we are living out these DC values and I want to commend mayor Bowser and my colleague councilmember Nadeau for working together to establish the office of Migrant Services I this office will allow our city to get folks connected to Services transportation to their destination and help people find where they are meaning to go and often this is outside of the district however this emergency bill is currently structured does not meet our standards for dignity and safety and today I'm offering a few amendments to ensure that our intentions are appropriately met these amendments seek to clarify eligibility prioritize how families may be sheltered in private and safe units set health and safety standards and ensure due process rights are enshrined and protected so first this amendment ensures that establishing the OMS we are not inadvertently excluding I have another out without objection but let me remind you that we have the Declaration before us not the underlying bill oh right okay well then maybe that's a perfect break point I'll uh I'll stop there um and then when we get to the underlying bill I can address the Amendments more specifically all right thank you thank you is there further discussion on the uh declaration Mr chairman councilmember Robert White uh thank you uh Mr chairman I want to really give a lot of thanks to uh council member Nadeau and and her staff uh and to the administration for working closely uh and for working and to thank them for working closely with with my team on parts of this measure right now I think our goal is to uh is harm mitigation both in the short term and in the long term for the migrants being sent to our city as part of political stunts by other jurisdictions the people come into our city need help now more assistance should be coming from the federal government absent that we have to step in to provide help and uh in the short term we need to set up a system that will be able to address and serve lots of new people coming to our city at a rapid Pace while not destabilizing our existing Human Services system in the long term we need to make sure our work here does not Overlook long-term consequences of setting up a separate system for different populations including case management capacity my committee the committee on government operations has oversight over our procurement system so I've given a lot of attention in partnership with council member Nadeau to the procurement aspects of this bill our joint review of this Bill had two goals first we want to provide the level of flexibility necessary to meet the needs of the migrant Community second we must ensure that any exceptions to our normal procurement laws are limited in scope and duration and that protections are in place to ensure transparency and accountability council member nadeaus proposed amendment in the nature of the substitute which we worked on closely together would address each of those concerns I know it can feel very technical to talk about procurement processes in the face of real human needs but my committee also oversees the inspector General's office the IG and their contractors have put an enormous amount of work into five separate Audits and risk assessments that raise significant concerns with procurement practices in the district and especially emergency procurement practices during covet we already had a hearing scheduled on the most recent series of those reports my goal here was to take the lessons we learned from the covet emergency and work with the mayor and council member of the doe to find the right compromise to support migrants without repeating the mistakes of the past so again I want to strongly thank council member Nadeau and mayor Bowser and her team for working with us on these changes to the bill and I look forward to supporting it thank you councilmember is there for the discussion on the Declaration uh the vote will be on pr24-929 Madam Secretary would you call the roll councilmember grade yes that's number great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes from the Henderson votes yes comes from Lewis George Yes councilmember Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes remember McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron mendels and votes yes customer Bennett Joe yes Robin and Joe votes yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto volt yes comes from Silverman yes some woman votes yes councilmember Robert White yes awesome Robert White votes yes comes from betray online yes crayon white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Alan votes yes yes remember bonds votes yes councilmember Che yes number Jay votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the declaration has approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 24-990 comes from bernado Mr chairman at this time I would also like to move an amendment in the nature of a substitute how about if you say so move to the bill and then move the ANS I can do that so moved and then you have an amendment nature of a substitute I do you want to move that I would be delighted okay thank you upon reviewing the legislation drafted by the executive the council's office of the general counsel recommended that we make several Technical and clarifying changes to the bill I'm proposing these changes via ANS at the recommendation of ogc many of the proposed changes do not revise the substance of the legislation but merely provide additional technical Clarity my staff also work closely with the office of council member Robert White to ensure accountability and transparency in the executive's exercise of the emergency procurement Authority granted by this legislation under the ANS the executive will be required to report the details of each emergency procurement to the council before entering into the underlying contract the executive's emergency Contracting Authority would also be limited to several categories of permissible contracts my staff and the staff of council member white worked with the executive to arrive at this list which allows the executive to move quickly but not to overstep the goals of this legislation and with that I move the ANS thank you councilmember we have the amendment nature of the substitute before us discussion councilmember Pinto question four subsequent amendments that be better to move after we vote on this ANS uh I think we can be I think you would if you have amendments move them now I believe you drafted them to the an amendment nature substitute I did there are changes to this ANS yes there is a rule about third level and we'll see if that comes into play it would be in order now okay good thank you um so thank you very much again to my colleague councilman Bernardo for all the work on this um the Amendments that I have today seek to do four things the first is to ensure that while we're establishing the office of Migrant Services we are not inadvertently excluding qualifying immigrant residents from our homeless Services Continuum in the district district residents who are currently in Immigration proceedings should still be able to access these Services the current language of Title II excludes all people who have an immigration proceeding from our homeless services and that is too broad I initially hoped to strike all of title II but I heard concerns from councilman doe and the executive and others and therefore offer a compromise in order to clarify who is not considered a DC resident for the purposes of accessing your homeless Services System I also circulated an updated amendment of human ago that seeks to make a further compromise to Title II in keeping C one and C 2. excuse me C1 and C3 in Title II so again I believe this strikes the right balance at making sure that those who are arriving here as migrants arriving to our city go into our office of Migrant services and those DC residents who are already here and who are immigrants can still access our current homeless Services System second the amendment encourages the mayor to use individual rooms to shelter families rather than large congregate settings that can be hazardous and dangerous especially for families with small children or families deserve private and safe shelter and this amendment authorizes the mayor to do so third it ensures minimum health and safety standards are met for all shelters serving migrants and those standards must be sent to the council and fourth lastly it ensures sufficient due process procedures are established for immigrant families in the event that they are denied Services which is a fundamental right for our city and our country so I look forward to working with colleagues in the permanent bill as this crisis evolves and we hopefully get more assistance from our federal Partners who we need support from but this is an emergency right now and in an emergency we must ensure that our rights of our most vulnerable residents are protected and so I ask my colleagues to support these amendments today uh thank you councilman Pinto uh there was an amendment that you circulated at about 1 50 P.M and then uh there's something that your staff circulated at 509 pm and I believe they are different so what you are moving is what was circulated at 509 PM that's right there's one change to the 509 circulation which adds back a section of Title II because we heard concerns that we want to make sure there is a bifurcated system so we're providing the services that our micro Community who is arriving needs and that section is section C3 that reads were paroled in the United States after January 1st 2022 and goes on so all of those individuals would then go into the office of Migrant services so thank you uh discussion councilmember Nadeau thank you chairman um it's late and I know everybody's very tired so I know we don't want to get into a fulsome debate on this right now um so I'll just say that you know I appreciate councilmember Pinto bringing up these amendments um and working through them this afternoon you know I think the fact that there have been a couple versions today and you know later in the evening is just really to me an indicator that we shouldn't rush these changes we need to be deliberate just like we were with the changes that we made in the ANS where we took some time to work through them carefully and build consensus around them I do pledge to do that um as we prepare for uh the final the permanent Bill I've agreed to have a hearing on that next month and to work with all due haste on that and I think there may be other changes as well that we may wish to make to the permanent bill I am more than happy to consider these changes but I I ask that we do not do them today as an amendment to the emergency I just feel as though we haven't had enough time to consider them and while they may have Merit I want to make sure we get this right we don't have any unintended consequences with the language in this amendment so I ask colleagues to vote against this amendment but I pledge to continue working with council member pinto and the mayor to work through these concerns I do think they are important to address thank you chairman thank you councilmember nadeaux further discussion um so what we have before us is councilmember Pinto's Amendment which would be to the amendment nature of a substitute councilmember Silverman yes thank you um so I want to emphasize something that my ward 2 colleague said so as District residents we are all too familiar with being treated like political Thoughts by politicians from other states uh and the busing from Southern border states to D.C of people legally seeking Asylum by the Republican governors of Texas and Arizona is a new political strategy by the GOP to score points on federal immigration policy and it's not random that they have chosen us or New York City or Chicago to make their point um you know we are democratic party strongholds we declare ourselves Sanctuary cities we Embrace and welcome immigrants who are seeking hope and opportunity um so I think we all agree the way to respond to this cruel political stunt is the rise to the occasions to remain consistent to our values of being a jurisdiction that's compassionate welcoming and strategic about how we use our resources to meet the need um and I just want to emphasize again the reality is that many of those busts who are in the United States legally are seeking Asylum and many of them I think the majority of them have plans to live with family or sponsors elsewhere uh not in DC um you know this burden shouldn't have fallen on Mutual Aid organisms organizations and non-profits my congregation on the hill is one of the groups that you know had people coming one two three o'clock in the morning to respond um that's you know we could we couldn't let that happen as is because the volume of people is simply incredible that are coming on the buses um mayor Bowser told us in her letter to us today 9 400 people have come in the last six months it's an average of 50 people a day it's not a volume you know our ngos can handle and as has been said by both council member pinto and council member Nadeau we need infrastructure government needs to step in and I think that's we're doing the right thing with the office of Migrant Services because and here's where yes I came to council member pinto and council member Nadeau and said let's meet let's get to compromise because I don't want the GOP to win here you know we often talk about unintended consequences but this is an intended consequence that Governor Abbott wants and Governor Ducey wants and the GOP wants to tear us apart and what I honestly said to councilman councilman goes let's not look like that let's not be torn apart Mr chairman can I have like 30 more seconds without a protection okay so they want to tear our city apart with ugly divisive tactics and I say no so I have to admit here I'm struggling all right so you know I want to thank councilmember Nadeau I want to thank mayor Bowser I think we we're doing the right thing with this ANS and with this legislation on this amendment though I have to I guess I I'm struggling to understand what is objectionable with councilmember Pinto's Amendment what I hear is that we're going to be overwhelmed but what I when I read this and I showed council member Pinto I was like doing a side by side analysis on the Deus here what we're doing is just giving people due process if they're denied Services uh and allowing services to continue until that due process um is completed um and uh customer service okay I'm sorry Mr chairman but I guess my point is on this issue I think we should all come together and make sure we are giving people access to services not overwhelming our homeless system but I don't see that in councilmember Pinto's Amendment thank you I'm sorry for going overtime thank you councilmember so we need further discussion is that councilmember Henderson uh yes Mr chairman um I actually just have I have some a few questions for clarification um councilmember Silverman similarly to you I um I agree in terms of not allowing the Republicans to win here but I do understand what councilman bernado is coming from in terms of having a more fulsome debate about this right um [Music] I am not a member of the committee on Human Services we obviously have been following the issue um not just with migrant services but also what is happening in our homeless Services continuum and so I have a director who's telling me one thing and then I have council members who are saying oh it's not that serious or they might be over exaggered all of these various things which I feel like I want to hear it on the record I want to hear from experts I want us to understand fully because for some of us who are not on that committee we may not know all of the ins and outs of these so for example councilmember Nadeau I asked you earlier around what type of legal services are provided in let's say if someone showed up at Virginia Williams versus what type of Legal Services would we we would we be providing in an office of Migrant services that would be specialized to immigration um and I I want to hear that from you on the record if possible chairman is that okay yes please thank you councilmember Henderson so you know I think one of the most important things to to understand about the office of Migrant Services really is this a beautiful thing we're creating we're setting up a system for people who are going through a very difficult Federal process and helping them navigate it using our supports and systems um we've never done that before and I don't know that anybody else has either so if you are applying for a humanitarian parole or Asylum you have regular court dates you have regular meetings with immigrations and Customs you're going to be going out to Chantilly regularly for those meetings because they don't have them here anymore you've got a whole lot of things on your mind and on your plate that somebody working day in and day out of Virginia Williams serving homeless families in the District of Columbia is just not familiar with um so I think we should be really proud that we're creating this special system and these services to help people navigate this because I think you know one of the values we have here in the district is a welcoming Community as a sanctuary city is a place that has welcomed immigrants for decades and generations as evidenced by the many non-profit organizations that are tailored to them um we want to be the best we can be for them and we want them to access these Services um and I'm running out of time one last section I wanted to ask was I know that on the agenda today is an emergency bill as well as a temporary um and obviously you said to the chairman that you plan to hold a hearing on October 20th and then move fairly quickly thereafter would you be open to amending the temporary to match whatever it is that we pass in the permanent so that I think for you know yes emergencies are 90 days Temporaries are last longer and I I can imagine that there might be some feeling that we are kicking the can down the road here but really I'm I want to get to this hearing because I want to understand this more um as I am not an expert in immigration wow exactly um thank you for that yes so I think you know we can work together over the next couple weeks whether we come to a resolution for the temporary or whether it goes to the permanent that will be up to how those discussions go but I think either way we're going to be in a much better position to tackle this once we can sit down with the executive and all the stakeholders on this because it is important um and there are people with very real expertise in this area that that should be part of that conversation thank you thank you Mr chairman let's see if there's anyone who has not spoken before I go to second round uh thank you I want to thank my colleagues for I think this um robust conversation and and debate any Congress NSA debate conversation we've been having and sharing news um I want to thank councilman Pinto for working on this amendment today um I share some of her concerns that the bill as is before us has does have some problematic language which if an actor could have the effect of stripping thousands of District immigrants from the right to access shelter and reversing a best practice policy of housing families and individual non-congregate units um I think we are in listening to everyone you know stuff that's being a rock and a hard place and working as best we can to hold on to our values of what we declared as a city I think the reality is that District immigrant residents and migrant residents intending to settle in our city uh permanently uh who are currently going through long-encumbersome immigration process risk losing access to our homeless care system because of the broad sort of exclusion uh exclusionary language in this bill I think that that is one truth that is true I think the other truth is that resources aren't you know I know you know we don't have uh finite res you know resources are finite so every year I think this Council scrapes the bottom of the budget Barrel to find more resources for shelter for housing for benefit increases and legal and victim services for many of our most vulnerable residents and still I think there are thousands of District residents many Native washingtonians whose basic needs are not able to be met by this city but I think pitting two vulnerable communities against each other is not how we create a more just and Equitable City it's not I think we all know this I we think we also know that overwhelming a system with the net res with finite resources only have the effect of sort of leaving both communities behind so I you know looking at the amendment I think council member Pinto is going to make does I think more appropriately tailor away to Target resources to migrants without harming immigrant residents who call DC home I think you know this is sort of a tricky Venn diagram to legislate for but by removing sort of overreaching exclusion now we can come back in two weeks if we need to with changes if needed that can strike the right compassionate and and inclusive Solutions so um and I will remind my colleagues that migrants will not be eligible for hsra services overnight if we pass it passes in Amendment and it will be easier to legislate I think in two weeks to steer migrants to the right set of services for their situation versus trying to backtrack to add people back into a set of services we may cut them all from today and so um with that I think you know striking the balance here today and and how we need to move forward I think councilman Pinto Amendment does kind of move in the right move in the right direction uh thank you councilmember Chris George councilmember bonds um thank you chairman and I want to thank um both of my colleagues for their um thoughtful uh quick response to this emergency and to thank the mayor for agreeing to put forth a plan um given that we were not getting the kind of assistance I'd hoped we would get from the federal government at this point but I understand and what I understand is that we must do something immediately so I'm aware um councilmember Robert White is and that is that we've got to do something and let's go ahead and let's do what we can now um and then we'll come back once we have this hearing which is going to happen I think you indicated chairman in a few weeks and let's see where we are and what more can be done if is needed I certainly don't want this government to be in a position where we have um played one group of of I'll say residents against another because that's what we would be doing if we merge the migrants into our homeless program and so I'm I'm very supportive of where uh councilmember NATO is and will be supporting that aspect of the bill today thank you thank you councilmember councilmember McDuffie thank you Mr chairman I'll try to keep my remarks brief I did want to add a note of thanks to the mayor uh for her efforts uh and in particular to councilman Nadeau and her team for all their efforts um yeah this is hard work um and I think the drafting that has occurred in the ANS that councilman Nadeau has offer takes into account a number of the concerns that have been raised uh since we saw the initial bill and I've appreciated the efforts to try to address would is such a horrible position that we have to find ourselves in because I don't think any of us want to be in this position I mean for the governors of two Faraway States in Texas and Arizona to callously play political gains with people's lives I mean it is truly repulsive um but I think that there is something that we can be proud of as residents here in the District of Columbia because from the day the first bus arrived from Texas uh last spring tons of DC Mutual Aid societies residents churches non-governmental organizations really stepped up um to welcome them warmly uh to the city and to do all that they could with the resources they had to ensure that um the people arriving from Texas those migrants had food they had shelter they had transportation and they had whatever they needed and so um I've heard the stories of of how some people have even housed migrants in their own homes uh and I think the compassion that's been shown here is an example worthy of uh note of the governors in Texas and Arizona and all who might support uh the political gangs that they're playing with these people's lives and so I command these groups for continuously demonstrating uh really uh generosity of spirit and resiliency that having truly embodies this sort of city that we are here in the nation's capital and so again uh I want to thank the mayor councilman NATO and councilmember Pinto for efforts um to to on her Amendment um I really think that councilman monado with the ANS has has gone to a point where I'm going to support what she's put forward but also recognizing her uh efforts to hold a hearing on this I text her and asked about a round table she was she gave me a specific day right away about the hearing and I think it'll give us an opportunity to to further refine our efforts to make sure that we're supporting uh the migrants were coming to the District of Columbia so again thank you all and thank you Mr chairman Thank You councilmember Is there further discussion I'm looking at councilmember Pinto but I want to make sure I get first first round councilmember Robert White 10 councilmember Pinto uh thank you chairman the uh the concerns raised in in the proposed amendment are are very valid uh they also are nuanced and prescriptive in a rapidly involving evolving landscape though the emergency legislation is being introduced five months after the first buses arrived in DC volunteers and organizers were on the ground immediately responding and getting a first-hand look at this situation at the same time other organizers and providers were continuing their work with communities already in DC experiencing homelessness and financial instability as DHS can greatly creates this new office of Migrant Services it is very important that DHS seeks and utilizes guidance from those working with existing impacted communities and those working with incoming uh people and communities without this operation we are likely to miss impacts that can only be seen on the ground which can lead to unintended harm and practice I encourage Grassroots groups to be at the table and to State the needs from their perspectives so that we get this right as the foundation is laid that's where the focus needs to be DHS must also continue Consulting with immigration Specialists and attorneys this level of immigration comprehension and Service delivery is new for the Department of Human Services they're going to need to rely on outside immigration experts to make sure that the steps they take in creating eligibility and residency determinations for a new program do not cause undue harm to the pending immigration statuses of incoming residents as the situation develops DHS must have some flexibility to act immediately to address the situation while thoughtfully incorporating the critiques that they have received about their current proposal and guidance from experts and impacted community members that flexibility has guard rails including consistent oversight from the council and individual council members the council will have an opportunity to make changes if and we observe any harms on the ground to arriving migrants and into existing clients in our homeless Services System if we Circle if circumstances change we can do this in two weeks at second reading for the temporary and at and after the hearing that council member did Nadeau has committed to hold on the permanent measure what I'm stressing here is that this is a difficult complex and nuanced issue I have worked through a number of issues in this bill but I still have concerns so these aren't the final round of changes that are necessary it's not the final round of changes that we're going to want to make we have I believe a comprehensive well thought out amendment in the nature of substitute we are going to have other changes I think we we should take the opportunity to see how how this plays out what we need to change and make those changes at the same time as opposed to trying to amend something that's been in the works for for many days thank you Mr chair thank you councilman councilmember Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you to all of our colleagues for your thoughts I do want to just comment on a few of them um one council member Silverman talked about the importance of standing together and not being torn apart especially in light of um of being used this way and these people more importantly being used this way as as a pawn and that is not what's happening here and I want to be very clear that we are still all on the same team here um and I think councilman Bernardo has worked for many many years I'm supporting our immigrant communities and our neighbors experiencing homelessness and so those intentions are not under question um but we do have an emergency here and that is more important to me to make sure that we we fight to get this right now because it is an emergency and it can't wait for many of these families I do want to remind everyone there is no fists to my amendments um I did worry that the fact that we had multiple versions maybe maybe look a little bit disorganized but I didn't want that to be a reason that we didn't promulgate uh a version that addressed some of the concerns that have been raised in an effort to compromise so uh don't use that that latest version against us in your consideration for for voting for this because that was again uh for the purpose of reaching a compromise councilmember Nadeau talked about unintended consequences of having kind of an on-the-fly emergency and that's exactly what we're trying to address the current version if we don't pass these amendments excludes anyone from our homeless Services Continuum who has an immigration proceeding outside of the District 100 of people who have immigration proceedings are outside of the district because we're not a state yet and we don't have an Immigration Court and so this is going to affect D.C residents who are immigrants wholly on related to the migrant buses that are arriving now which is why this is an emergency now and those families cannot afford to wait until the permanent could I have 30 more seconds without an objection thank you um to councilmember Henderson's point about assuring That We're Not Making kind of snap decisions this ensures that we're maintaining existing rights for our D.C residents so that we can hear from experts during the the hearing on October 19th and continue making sure that the permanent version is not stripping away rights that current D.C resident immigrants have that's that's what this amendment seeks to do so I hope we keep those people in mind today who can't wait and who don't have the benefit of of time because if this emergency passes some of them will be harmed so I thank you all again for your consideration um and ask you to support these amendments today I thank you councilmember Pinto um councilmember Silverman two minutes yes uh Mr chairman so I want to be clear that there is much agreement on the Deus about creating the office of Migrant Services about having for lack of a better word a bifurcated system so that giving immediate aid including temporary shelter to those legally seeking Asylum who got bust to the district um you know sometimes not of their own volition that that we keep that separate from access to services to our homeless Services Continuum I think that's common ground here and that we've waited until now after 9 400 people have been bussed here to take action I think is a little bit embarrassing for all of us but that's where we are um but the point is that the pace of the buses is increasing and there's a gap my understanding is the ward 2 council member is addressing the issue of D.C residents who are in the immigration system who are in the process legally in the process of seeking Asylum who are district residents and that my understanding is that the current language would exclude them from accessing Services through the continuum uh and that you know I and I asked councilmember Pinto how many people is this I don't we don't know but I think the issue is that that is troublesome I think also in here is a prioritization saying that if your families with children that you should have a prioritization which is what we have in our current uh our current values of accessing homeless Services if not living in a congregate setting if you are with children I think that makes sense I'm out of time but I just think I think we're all tired this is a difficult issue but the amendment proposed is reasonable and I I still struggle to see where this changes the bifurcation uh or overwhelms the system it just gives access and rights to people to make sure that they have proper access to um Services if needed any and eligible so I will be supporting councilmember Pinto's Amendment thank you councilmember Silverman councilmember Bernardo second round thank you chairman um I I will be quick I just want to clarify because I know people here are very caring and want to ensure that we are creating services for everybody who need them um what we are doing today does not exclude folks from accessing services or shelter it directs them to the appropriate services and shelter so we are providing housing for people on a temporary basis we are providing um School enrollment in school we are apply providing Health Care um and ich is working right now to ensure people who are eligible for migrant Services can access hypothermia shelter it's part of their winter plan we are very much trying to stand up a Humane response here so I just want to clarify that because having having a specialized set of services is not the same thing as excluding people so um I'll leave it there and I know folks have already heard enough um so I'm sure we'll be moving to a vote shortly thank you chairman thank you councilmember uh we're gonna proceed to a vote uh the vote is on council member Pinto's Amendment Mr chairman we have a roll call about please and we will have a roll call vote um um secretary would you call the roll council member Henderson no councilmember Henderson votes no councilmember Lewis George yes Michael Lewis George votes yes councilmember McDuffie no councilmember McDuffie votes no chairman Mendelson no chairman Mendelson votes no councilman Adele no councilman manager votes no councilmember Pinto yes until votes yes councilmember Silverman yes Silverman votes yes councilmember Robert White oh councilmember Robert Whitefield snow councilmember Treyon white no that's when patreon white votes know comes from by Allen no councilmember Alan votes no councilmember bonds no I'm from the bonds followed snow councilmember Shea no remember Trey vote snow and comes from the gray yes the gray votes yes Mr chairman there are four yeses and nine no's the amendment fails we have the still have the amendment nature of the substitute before us Is there further discussion uh I see one hand or two hands I think I see one person with two hands uh councilmember Lewis George thank you chairman um and thank you Council Martindale for your leadership here um the district is currently facing a humanitarian crisis because the governor of governors of Texas and Arizona have chosen to recklessly use migrants as Pawns in a political stunt with no regard for their lives their rights or their well-being their actions are despicable and we could then we condemn them without reservation since migrant Bustin started arriving in the district this April Mutual Aid groups and Community organizations have led BC's response helping Greek immigrants provided needing supplies and helping them prepare for their next steps aside from grant funding provided by FEMA both are DC government and federal government really our federal government mainly has not stepped up really to meet the Urgent needs created by the busing of thousands of migrants in our city we have a responsibility to respond to this situation with humanity and decency in accordance with our volumes values as a welcoming Sanctuary City the services that will be provided by a new D.C office of Migrant services are needed and are long overdue especially as more migrants continue to arrive in our city in the months ahead however there are several aspects of this legislation that get makes me uneasy particularly um entitled to which sets to limit access to our homelessness services and other wraparound services I think we should be clear about what is happening the overwhelming majority of migrants arriving in DC have another final destination where a family member friend job or other opportunity is waiting for them for them our responsibility is to provide the short-term support needed during the few days these migrants stay in DC before they go to their next stop but there is and I think will continue to be maybe a small minority of migrants who choose to settle in the district permanently this is their writing and dozens of families have already settled into our communities as residents for the Long Haul I'm concerned because the bill has written sort of what we've seen and talked about I guess during the day of the amendment explicitly excludes these migrants who choose to stay in DC from accessing long-term Housing Services and wraparound services and for those migrants who are staying in DC to seek out new opportunities it would be a mistake to allow them to fall through the cracks in ways that threaten to exaggerate our single and family homelessness crisis I think the entire country is watching what we're doing and how we are responding and our response must meet the needs of all migrants arriving in our city whether they're moving on or making a new home here I think we've started talked about this back and forth but I I have seen this city do previously thought impossible things to meet human care needs during covid and I've also seen the city make degrading choices that fracture public trusts and government as we prepare to respond to yet another unprecedented public emergency in our city I think we must get this right and I think we must do it together and I'm sure um and I'm not sure right now we have struck the right balance needed just yet to provide services within our City's capacity while also not creating inadvertent exclusions chairman can I have one more 30 more seconds please without objection but within the constraints of emergency legislating for me um a no vote here is not an option we cannot delay authorizing the standing up of long overdue Services we can't do that I know more work is needed here to get this right and I want to give ourselves more time to do that on a second vote of a temporary to ensure we are protecting act protecting access to Lifeline Services for our district residents who are also happen to be immigrants I will be voting president present today to keep the conversation going and I look forward to working with my Human Services colleagues and partners on the ground to create a more balanced framework for migrants and immigrants in need of BC Services thank you thank you councilmember uh if there's no further discussion with the voters on the amendment nature of a substitute after we dispose of that then there'll be a vote on the bill on the amendment nature of a substitute all those in favor say aye aye are there any no votes chairman I would like to be recorded as president uh councilmember Lewis George will be um artist present right we have the bill as amended before us is there any further discussion um Madam Secretary oh uh councilmember Pinto thank you just wanted to again say I'm looking forward to working with all of our colleagues um and with you Council Bernardo on the preparation of the temporary and the permanent Bill and hope um that will particularly be able to work together to ensure that our current resident immigrants are not being um inadvertently excluded that we can prioritize families for private and safe shelters we can ensure our migrants have access to Due Process rights and concerns and have minimum health and safety standards so looking forward to working with you on that in the coming weeks thank you thank you councilmember all right we have the bill as amended this is Bill 24-990 uh by Voice vote all those in favor of the bill say aye aye are there any no votes these are Columbia's present I hear see no no votes councilmember Lewis George will be marked as present or recorded as present uh the bill is approved unanimously uh that takes us to the temporary legislation uh there's no objection I'm going to move everything in Block that would be the ghost gun clarification temporary the battery stewardship program temporary the post public health emergency protections extension temporary the Inspector General oversight consistency temporary the perinatal mental health task force temporary the Department of Health functions clarification temporary child wealth building temporary tax abatements for affordable housing in high need areas temporary medical marijuana patients access second temporary emergency rental assistance reform temporary Metropolitan Police Department overtime spending accountability temporary Council vaccination policy enforcement temporary Department of For Hire Vehicles delivery vehicle traffic enforcement expansion temporary and migrant services and supports it's your emergency but it's actually the temporary act and that would be the um same version as we approved on um for the Emergency general counsel is that clear yes understood Mr chairman uh and I don't believe there were amendments to any of the other emergencies so the temporary they will conform to the emergencies um I heard no objection to motion with all of these Temporaries at once is there any discussion I will do a roll call on these Temporaries again it's one through 14 plus the migrant services Mr chairman yeah I'm sorry can you please uh a separate vote for the ghost gun bill all right and I'll be voting and I'll be voting again present on them all right let me pull those two out so the um to be clear it's items two through two through fourteen are um we'll do a roll call on them I'm secretary sir that's remember Lewis George which one are we on this is where the motion is on the temple series number two through fourteen got it yes I'm from Blue George votes yes councilmember McDuffie yes McDuffie votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron Mendelson votes yes councilman benedo yes yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes come from Silverman yes I'm a government votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes customer patreon white yes number three on white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Allen votes yes councilmember bonds yes councilmember Shea yes from betrayed votes yes councilmember Gray yes I'm a great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Robert Henderson votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses are those um items 2 through 14 are approved unanimously thank you Madam Secretary uh the ghost gun clarification temporary Amendment Act of 2022 bill 24-962 is moved by councilmember Allen discussion uh roll call Madam Secretary McDuffie yes remember I'm exactly votes yes chairman Mendelson yes Cameron mendels and votes yes councilmanado yes I'm gonna do a votes yes comes from a pinto oh I'm looking to vote snow councilmember Silverman yes Robert White yes Robert White votes yes councilmember tray on right yes try on white votes yes councilmember Allen yes Alan votes yes councilmember yes yes Gray yes great votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Henderson votes yes comes from Blue Storage yes my name is George folks yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one no uh the measure is approved uh migrant services and supports emergency Act of 2022 bill 24-991 okay councilman discussion uh Madam Secretary uh this this is the bill conversion conforming with the emergency great chairman mendelton uh aye chairman mendels and votes yes comes from window yes councilmember Pinto yes remember Pinto votes yes councilmember Silverman yes the supplement votes yes councilmember Robert White yes Robert White votes yes council member Tran white yes between white votes yes councilmember Allen yes for Allen votes yes that's one of the bonds yes councilmember Shea yes Jay votes yes councilmember Gray yes Ray votes yes councilmember Henderson yes Amazon votes Yes councilmember Lewis George present re-recorded his present councilmember McDuffie yes remember McDuffie votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one present I thank you Madam Secretary the bill is the temporary version has approved unanimously that's going to conclude the business of this meeting the time is 605 pm and this meeting is adjourned