I'm calling to order of this meeting this is a additional meeting of the committee of the whole of the Council of the District of Columbia I am Phil Mendelson shair of the council and chair of the committee of the whole today is December 5th 2023 the time is 1:35 in the afternoon and this meeting is being held in the council chambers room 500 of the John Wilson building this meeting will be followed by the regular monthly meeting of the council and which will be the 17th meeting in case anyone wants to know the 17th legislative meeting of council period 25 uh there are seever at least one member who's participating in this meeting there are at least two members of the council who are participating virtually uh council member Vincent gr and council member Kenya McDuffy uh we have several bills for markup in the committee of the hall by the committee of the hall and then we have roughly a half dozen bills that have been reported out of other committees that uh have to go through the committee the whole for clearance for the legislative meeting today we always begin our committee of the whole meetings uh by determining whether we have a quarum it's kind of a good thing to useful thing to do to know if we have a quarum Mr Cash would you call the role chairman Mendon president council member Allen here Council M bonds here council member fuman here council member gray here council member Henderson here council member Lewis George here council member McDuffy here council member Nido here council member Parker here council member Pinto council member Pinto council member Robert White Council Robert White council member Tran white pres Mr chairman you have a COR thank you Mr Cash as I indicated we have three measures for markup in the committee the whole the first is PR 25-30 public Char School Board Karissa Stanley BT confirmation resolution of 2023 the purpose of this resolution is to confirm the mayor's nomination of Miss Karissa Stanley Bey for appointment as a member of the public charter school board for a four-year term to expire February 24th 2026 the dist of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 gave the District of Columbia the authority to start independent autonomous Public Schools commonly known as Charter Schools the law initially gave authority to the District of Columbia Board of Education to Charter these schools and also established a public charter school board or pcsp the seven member pcsp was created for the purpose of authorizing new Charters monitoring the operation in student academic progress of the schools under its purview and ensuring that the public charter schools under its author uity are in compliance with the terms of their Charter and applicable federal and local laws as an independent authorizer the pcsp charters new schools through a comprehensive application review process monitors existing charter schools for compliance with applicable local and federal laws and ensures public charter schools are held accountable for both academic and non-academic performance the public charter school board or PCSB is currently the district of Columbia so Charter School authorizer the board of Board of Education no longer has that Authority and the PCSB now oversees 69 Charter local education agencies or leas with 135 campuses if Miss Stanley Bey is confirmed there would still remain one empty seat on the Public Charter School Board Miss Stanley began her career in education as a fifth grade math and science teacher with Teach for America uh she also has held positions as a full-time program administrator uh no in the in the as a full-time program in the full-time program Administration uh as the site director for heads up she was on the leadership team of imag Southeast public Char school she uh has had a career in policy at the knowledge Alliance she's been Regional director of the national capital region at leadership for Education Equity or Lee in fact has held several positions there between stints at Lee Miss Stanley Bey uh served as the executive director of a prek through 8th grade Charter School serving over 650 scholars in Southeast DC she's a native Washingtonian has over 20 years of experience in banking and finance she has held leadership positions with the DC Housing Finance Agency DC open doors Fidelity and Trust Bank and Eagle Bank across her roles M Miss py has worked on affordable housing Residential Mortgage programs and Commercial Acquisitions currently uh she is the Mid-Atlantic team leader with Amalgamated Bank she's been involved with education as a parent of a DC Public Charter School student she's been a leader with the parent advocacy cou pave she was a candidate for the W five DC State Board of Education representative uh and she has also served as the mayor appointee to the Washington to the uh historic preservation review board the uh this legislation was introduced at the request of the mayor on June 13th of this year and the committee of the whole held a public hearing uh on November 21 of this year meaning last month uh the committee's no received no testimony or comments in opposition to this uh legislation um without objection I move both print Report with lead for staff to make technical conforming and editorial changes is there discussion uh the vote will be on both the print and Report with leap for staff I think we do roll call votes these days still Mr Cash would you call the rooll councelor McDuffy yes councilor McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes chairman Mendon votes yes council member noo yes council member noo votes yes counc member Parker yes council member Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes council member Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes counc Robert White votes yes council member trayon white yes counc trayon white votes yes council member Allen yes council member Allen votes yes council member Bond yes Council M bonds votes yes council member freuman yes council member freuman votes yes council member gray yes council member gray votes yes council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes Council Lewis George yes Council leis George votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses uh thank you Mr Cash uh the print and Report are approved unanimously Adam General council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is M secretary's the record complete once the report and hearing record are filed Madam budget director does the measure's fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting uh the next measure is Bill 25- 342 which which is now called the term clarification Amendment Act of 2023 it was originally introduced as the Public Charter School Board term clarification Amendment Act of 2023 and in fact the committee report that was circulated yesterday uh speaks to the bill as originally introduced with that title but as I said it's now referred to as determ clarification Amendment Act of 2023 this bill makes three changes to the law first it clarifies the law regarding vacancy appointments to to the public charter school board for which there have always been term limits the bill clarifies that a vacancy appointment to the public charter school board does not count toward the two-term limitation if the vacancy appointment is less than three years second the bill revises the term limit for non-governmental appointees to the commission on out of school time grants and youth outcomes to permit appointments and reappointments limited to a maximum of 15 years service currently the law allows 18 years but with a break-in service third Bill 25- 342 the committee print amends a council period one law to allow and the amendment would allow Council resolutions including appointment resolutions to become effective without having to await for publication in the District of Columbia register publication would still be required as soon as possible of the committee of the whole no this bill was introduced by me on June 13 2023 the committee of the whole held a public hearing on the bill on November 21st 2023 I move the print uh with leaf for staff to make Technical and conforming changes is there a discussion uh the roll call vote will be on the print Mr Cash would you call the role chairman Mendon yes chairman Mendon votes yes council member noo yes council member noo votes yes council member Parker Council Parker council member Pinto yes Council Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes Council robber white votes yes council member Tron white yes council member Tran white votes yes council member Allen yes council member Allen votes yes council member Bond yes Council Bond votes yes council member fuman yes council member fuman votes yes council member gray yes council member gray votes yes council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes council member Lewis George yes Council Le George votes yes council member McDuffy yes Council Duffy votes yes Council Parker is absent Mr chairman there are 12 yeses one absent uh thank you Mr Cash the uh print is approved unanimously I move the report with Le for sta make technical conforming and editorial changes the report needs to be revised substantially to reflect uh the other uh two of the three uh changes that I outlined in my presentation is there discussion on the report by a Voice vote all those in favor of the report say I I I uh opposed I don't hear see look any no votes the um Report with leaf for staff is approved unanimously Mr Deputy general counsel how'd that show up so quickly Mr General councel is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration it is Madam Secretary is the record complete once the report and hearing record are filed uh Madame budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does uh without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting just a moment uh the next measure Bill 25-54 the school Improvement Amendment Act of 2023 I'm informed that we do not have a fiscal impact statement so I'm going to withdraw that and bring it back on December 19th assuming that we have a fiscal impact statement we don't have a fiscal impact statement a f uh trust me I've had some conversations um and there's nothing more to it than that there is not a fist thank you very much so the measures withdrawn for today that gets us to um consideration of measures from other committees uh the first is from the committee on Recreation and youth Affairs shared by council member Tran white it's pr25 d421 entitled director of the Department of Parks and Recreation thei Freeman confirmation resolution of 2023 councilor member white thank you chairman so our committee received recommendation from the May through you September the 19th 2023 for on to the committee on Recreation librar and youth Affairs uh affirm and support the nomination of Dany Freeman as director of Department of Park and Recreation Miss Freeman currently serves the interum director of Department of Park recreation a position she has held since April 2023 she joined DPR as a deputy director Recreation services over in Direction and management of the agency's recreation programs the operations of all recreation centers Po and Aquatic facilities in 2020 she was honored with the Kish award for exemplary service to DC residents including her work in enhancing the district's marber Summer Youth Employment Program she started her District government service in 2008 as an out of school time coordinator for District of Columbia Public Schools and served as associate director of The Office of youth programs at does which is Department employment servic from 2012 to 2022 she is a w a resident and plans to plans to remain as a w a resident uh of the District Columbia throughout hero appointment her knowledge personality experience as in director has can has continued to be a tremendous as at the DPR um as we look to vote her yay on n as the permanent director um we had a round table on October the 18th in which she came out the committee with the unanimous vote uh thank you Council white are there questions and we're limited to questions at this point not seeing or hearing any Madam General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's the 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 today's legislative meeting next measure is PR 25474 Board of Library trustees Maria peace confirmation resolution of 2023 council member Tran white thank you chairman uh the mayor peace confirmation was introduced to the Council on September the 19th 2023 um by way of the mayor through youth Council uh chairman Merson the committee on Recreation libraries and youth Affairs uh supports the nomination from rear pece to the board of libraries and trustees Miss peace is the owner and project manager for PMG LC where she has managed strategic financial budget planning of the company and efforts to grow the company's General Contracting Services in District of Columbia Maryland and Virginia for the last 12 years prior to that she has served as a program manager at General Electric government relations Global Research for 14 years Miss peace who received her Bachelor of Arts and NBA degrees from Trinity University meets the qualifications to be public member of the board of Library trustees she's also award seven resident and plans to remain as a resident uh in the District of Columbia throughout her appointment her education knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset to the Board of Trustees uh there was also a question about her library card we have not received information on that but she did have a Roundtable hearing on October the 18th 2023 which was voted out of the committee unanimously thank you Council M white are there questions Mr chairman um can you please Henderson can you um I don't have a specific question for U council member white but can you please put this nomination on the non-consent agenda thank you uh you're hearing silence for me or you're not hearing silence for me because I'm making note of it uh if there are no questions M General council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Adam secretary's record complete yes it is Adam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does this measure will be placed on the non-consent agenda for actually will be removed from the consent agenda uh for today's legislative meeting the next two measures were reported out of the committee on Executive Administration and labor chaired by council member Anita bonds the first is Bill 25134 minimum wage clarification Amendment Act of 2023 Council M bonds um thank you Mr chairman the bill before us today Bill 25-34 the amum way clarification Amendment Act of 2023 amends dced law 9 d248 the minimum wage act revision Act of 1992 the bill was introduced by council member Lewis George on February 8th 2023 and was co-introduced by council members Robert White Pento Parker Henderson Nao gray and myself along with a co-sponsorship from council member fruman we held a public hearing on May 26 2023 where members of the public spoke in favor of the bill does director Dr unique Morris Hughes also supported the bill particularly because it will help address wage manipulation the committee held a markup of this bill on November 16 2023 and receive unanimous support from the committee the bill would amend the minimum wage act revision Act of 1992 to clarify the circumstances when an employer must pay an employee working in the district of Colombia the district minimum wage the bill would require that employers pay the District of Columbia minimum wage to employees that work in the district for at least two hours in one Work Week under the current law and employees only required to be paid our City's minimum wage if they work at least 50% of their hours inside the district the District minimum wage is higher than our neighboring states and so some employers move employees in and out of the city to avoid the 50% threshold so that they do not have to pay the district's minimum wage for example construction traffic controllers of flaggers may be moved from one construction site to another on the same day of work companies can move flaggers from Virginia to Maryland to DC and back to Virginia all in one week so they never work more than half of their hours in the district by doing this they don't have to pay those employees the DC minimum wage at all this bill will close that Lo loophole and discourage ganship so that everyone who works in the district is fairly compensated for their work the DC minimum wage is meant to be a living wage that pays workers a fair wage for their work most of our neighbors have similar Protections in their workers in fact you can find similar laws across the country in places like New Mexico Maine and of course Maryland if enacted this bill will make the city and the region more fair for its workers and I encourage the council to support the legislation thank you chairman and I move the bill uh thank you counc Bonds are there questions from members uh Council rento has a question thank you Mr chairman um I had some questions this morning at the breakfast particularly around individuals who in practice may be serving as an employer by hiring someone kind of on a one-off occasion um my questions have since been resolved and so it is good with me for this to go back to the consent agenda um if it's not too late thank you uh thank you council member Pinto council member leis George questions yes I will frame it in a question um I want to thank uh Council Vons and her hardworking staff for working with me and my staff to to move this legislation um I wanted to ask uh uh did we get uh a ria report from the Council Office of racial Equity um and if so uh what was the findings uh of the Ria report I'm sorry um someone was in my ear could you the Ria report is it is it true that the Ria report according to the office of uh racial Equity um noted that this would likely improve economic outcomes for black indigenous and other residents of color in the district of Colombia uh and additionally according to the uh a 2017 report from the Department of Employment Services found that all black workers in the district about 30% earn $15 per hour compared to just under 10% of white workers who were earning 15 per hour or less um and so this legislation would likely improve their economic outcome um thank you very much for your your question and um I you know we on this dis and throughout the city um do everything that we can to lift up um our black and brown community and so thank you for putting that on the record thank you I think I saw another hand council member Henderson thank you Mr chairman um I also want to express thanks to council member of bonds for moving this bill forward um my question council member of bonds I believe um as this is referred to an Omnibus Bill could you share the other bills that were folded into this one yes yes I can just give me a minute because I believe you are the sponsor one of the other bills I believe you're right okay um I may not have it at my fingertips because we have reorganized the the record so that we could get the legislation through no I I I completely understand and and um uh just in the interest of of time I think the the bill around um prohibiting or the provisions around prohibiting um employers to seek uh wage history is important um in terms of uh wage discrimination that many women face is that accurate you are 100% correct and I think specifics about your bill it relates to um hopefully the next bill that I'm able to Pres and uh forward great thank you okay thank you any other questions Mi Mr chairman counc McDuff I'm slightly confused I heard a conversation about what sounded like wage transparency but I thought we were still on minimum wage I know we are I was I was incorrect okay all right thanks okay thank you yes we are thank you the bill that's before us is minimum wage clarification Amendment Act of 202 23 Bill 25-34 Mr McDuffy did you have more oh no I'm I'm I'm I understand where we are I think it was I was confused by the question Allan did you want to be recognized I I do on the wage transparency not this one okay if there no other questions on Bill 25134 mam General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for the for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's the record complete yes it is M budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact no it does not uh without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the next measure is Bill 25-1 194 wage transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2020 23 and I'm told that Council Bond circulated an amendment this morning to it which you may choose to move here if there's no objection and there cannot be discussion councilor Rons thank you um thank you very much um chairman yes we are moving the um Amendment and the rationale for moving the amendment is to uh amend the definition of employer to apply to an individual firm Association or Corporation who uses the services of another person for pay in the district not including the district or the federal government amending the wage transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 definition of employer in this manner maintains consistency with pre-existing DC law provided under the wage transparency Act of 2014 the amendment um seeks to amend the definition of employer by amending the employer cap size from the 25 or more employees to no employer cap furthermore the amendment seeks to create an additional provision that should an employer not provide a perspective employee with the act's disclosure then the perspective employee May inquire about this information the purpose of this amendment is to form to existing law and not disrupt the pre-existing protections provided by the wage transparency Act of 2014 as stewards of the law it is our duty to ensure that our amendments bolster pre-existing code not remove protections that have already been voted on and enacted into our law amending the wage transparency Act of 2014's employer definition to contain an employer size limitation would remove protections afforded by the current law for any employer out of the outside of the range and this bill requires employers to disclose wage information to prospective employers and prohibits them from inquiring about a prospective employees salary history creating transparency will reduce gender and ra wage gaps where data overwhelmingly in illustrates that persistent systemic pay in equities may exist the bill makes the district an even more marketable place of employment for job Seekers and works to alleviate discrimination by better equipping job seekers in their negotiations for fair pay moreover job Seekers will no longer be confined to an earn earning potential based on their salary history instead candidates will be better positioned to amplify their skills and experiences for more Equitable pay taking these steps allows the district to join with 14 other states may I one second without objection all right and localities trailblazing the nation with pay transparency laws um I'll just mention this amendment inumin Ates the state of Colorado and our neighbor Maryland which impos no employer S size limitations on their wage transparency laws in fact in 2021 88.2% of employees working in the district um reported that their firm had 10 or more employees and in 2022 the figure was 98.5% an employee size limit of 10 or more employees would considered the recommendation provided by the office of Attorney General and figures specific to firms however according to the Bureau of labor standards quarterly census of employment and wages on average of 69.1% of businesses in the district have fewer than five employees and therefore by passing this legislation the district would help Empower prospective employees of the district and contribute to the nearly 44.8 million people in the labor force already covered by wage transparency laws removing the employee cap would lower the threshold and allow more employers in the district to adhere to the principle of wage transparency and pay Equity without eliminating already guaranteed protections for all employees under the wage transparency Act of 2014 and there therefore I urge my colleagues to support the amendment and thank you Mr chairman and I move the Bill thank you counc Bonds are there I'm sorry did you move the amendment yes yes I did that's part of the amendment very lengthy the amendment was circulated this morning if there's no objection have discuss it there's no objection the amendment will be accepted otherwise this has to be a non-consent in the amendment will be moved at the legislative meeting you can put it on non-consent Mr chairman are you objecting to the amendment I have I have questions if if we're still on the amendment can ask questions are in order what's before us right this moment is the amendment if the amendment is accepted then the amendment can be added to the bill now okay the the the I guess my question council member just gave a lengthy informative statement which sounded like the bill and I wasn't sure which aspect of that was the ACT where she was speaking to the amendment and if you could just share what time the amendment was circulated counc member bonds yes the um Amendment um that was circulated um a little earlier today is an amendment that he asked what time it circulated right before 10:00 a.m. I believe I don't know the time okay it was circulated before 10 am today I heard somebody say 956 you know it might be easier if is this going on non-consent Mr McDuffy you want the bill on non-consent yeah I'm just trying to get up to speed on whether the amendment I hadn't seen it yet Mr so but this doesn't speak to the amount of employers I think that that was already in the all right I'm going to uh instead of doing the amendment here we'll do it at the legislative meeting if there are no other questions we'll have this on non-consent there no other questions since we'll get to discuss this at the legislative meeting and general council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is madam secretary's the record complete yes it is mam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does is there a fiscal impact there is no cost um this measure will be on removed from the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the two next two measures will reported out of the committee on business and economic development shared by council member Kenyan McDuffy the first is Bill 25136 Golden Triangle business improvement district Amendment Act of 2023 Council M McDuffy thank you Miss Mr chairman Bill 25-1 163 amends the business Improvement districts Act of 1996 to authorize revised bid tax rates within the Golden Triangle bid the new bid tax rate will increase from 17 cents per net rentable square foot to 19 cents for improved class two and class three property excluding hotels for hotels the tax will increase from 14.5 cents to 16 cents per net rentable square foot non-exempt class one Residential Properties will be taxed at $163 per unit per year which is an increase from $120 Council approved emergency and temporary legislation along these lines earlier this year and these increases are meant to help the bid both keep up with inflation and help with its continuing work in redeveloping downtown Leona Leona agaras and her team have led the through the challenging years of the pandemic and these necessary changes will help support their important ongoing work in making downtown a welcom in place for residents workers and visitors that I move that the bill be placed on the consent agenda for the allege meeting today thank you Mr McDuffy other questions from Members mam General council is to measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes is madam secretary's record complete yes it is Madame budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does does it have a fiscal impact uh no without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting Bill 25-13 sorry Bill 25-49 again 25-49 Friendship Heights business improvement district Amendment Act 23 council member McDuffy thanks again Mr chairman the Friendship Heights business improving District Amendment Act of 2023 would permanently establish a new Friendship Heights business improvement district to operate in conjunction with the neighboring Friendship Heights Urban District recently created by mcgomery County Maryland Council M fuman has helped lead this effort along with key community and business stakeholders the Friendship Heights business improvement district is the 12th bid operating in the District of Columbia the bill establishes a tax rate of 16.5 cents for each net rentable square foot for class two properties excluding hotels hotels will be taxed at $120 per room annually non-exempt class one Residential Properties with five or more residential units would also be taxed at $120 per unit and before I move uh this measure I want to briefly address the racial Equity impact analysis analysis for this bill which concludes that bill 25-49 would uh exacerbate racial inequity disc Columbia this conclusion is not because of anything specific to the Friendship Heights bid which the Ria acknowledges would not uniquely worsen racial equity in the district but because of broader concerns of entrenched and persisting racial inequities in the District of Columbia the Ria argues that the existing bid system is a key cause of those inequities ities as chair of the committee on business and economic development and somebody who's lived here my entire life who cares deeply about equity and opportunity for black and other District residents of color the tension between the economic growth and Equity are often on my mind and so I agree um while I disagree I should say with some of the conclusions of the rear I do believe that these overarching concerns about the bid system that it raises including how we can make it operate more equitably for the benefit of black residents and residents color deserve uh another conversation that is not centered around this specific Friendship Heights bid instead of delaying uh this measure today the committee is going to take up and evaluate some of the Ria's recommendations uh in a separate effort outside of this today but I wanted to just lift that up and the concerns that have been raised by the Ria and I've also had concerns with some of the other colleagues Who U share some of the concerns that I've just raised with that Mr chairman I move the bill be placed on the consent agenda for the legislative meeting today thank you counc MC Duffy are there questions from Members Adam General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is mam secretary's directed complete yes it is madam budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements yes it does without is there a fiscal impact no without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting the last measure uh from other committees is Bill 25-28 the work order Integrity Amendment Act of 2023 reported out of the committee on facilities and Family Services council member jice leis card uh thank you chairman um I was proud to introduce Bill 25-28 the work order Integrity Amendment Act of 2023 uh with unanimous support of the full Council earlier this year on March 16th 2023 um I just want to take a moment to thank my colleagues most of whom have joined me on at least one facilities Readiness tour this year after being uh leading uh facilities having oversight over DJs this year this has been a major focus of mine and I really appreciate getting your support to dig deep on this uh we work together on this and I'm grateful for your partnership to help improve facility maintenance in our Public Schools uh I also want to thank all the pto's the principes the foremans the wtuu members who participated in our School Readiness tours earlier this year uh together we visited at least one school in all eight Wards earlier this summer we observed some systemic issues related to entering tracking and managing work orders which will which uh we will fix within this bill we are also doing a lot to improve quality insurance uh over djss work in our schools um and persistent um issues from our tours um here's what this bill does first it codifies requirements uh that DJs train school-based staff in the use of Salesforce at least once every year year salesforce's dgs is computerized maintenance management system and every enduser must know how to use it to enter track and manage work orders if we are going to be successful in facilities for our schools second it codifies requirements that dgs work with DCPS to update Salesforce notification emails at least once annually this was an issue we highlighted in our fiscal year 2024 budget report and and has since now been resolved but this is something DCPS and DJs must continue to work on together in the future a lot of our foremans at the schools were not getting notifications and we found out the email list was so old from years ago and so that was stopping some of the issues that we having some of the issues we were seeing with not getting notified and not saying this work order has not been complete third it codifies that dgs must include a space and Salesforce for school-based staff to share feedback on work order completion this process or is already in existence now but we believe it's important that this be made permanent so this line of communication between schools and dgs remains open finally it requires a dgs representative review work orders marked complete but not reviewed by a DCPS staff member during the 14-day feedback window we believe that this is help a helpful compromise that allows dgs to pay its vendors on time but also to ensure robust quality control uh the committee on facilities and Family Services plans to continue its focus on dgs Quality Control process and performance oversight and budget hearings this upcoming spring I also appreciate director Hunter for embracing many of these reforms early on in his tenure at dgs this bill codifies several improvements so they won't change or Drift Away under new leadership with that I request that this resolution be placed on the consent agenda of our upcoming legislative meeting thank you oh thank you council member Lewis George we have the bill before us are there questions M General council is the measure legally and technically sufficient for our consideration yes it is Madam Secretary is the record complete yes it is Madame budget director does the measures fiscal impact statement comply with Council requirements uh yes it does and there's no fiscal impact without objection this measure will be placed on the consent agenda for today's legislative meeting that's going to conclude the uh business for this committee the whole the next committee the whole meeting is regularly scheduled for December 19th at 11:00 a.m. uh we will set up we will start the legislative meeting at 2:25 or at least I will be here Mr Taylor I will be here at 2:25 it's 2118 this meeting is adjourned fig going some meat I'm calling to order this meeting this is a regular legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia it's the 17th legislative meeting of council period 25 uh today is Tuesday December 5th 2023 the time is 2:25 in the afternoon I'm Phil Mendelson chair of the council and we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence I would ask if everyone in the chamber would respect that we have a moment of silence for reflection Madam Secretary would you call the RO council member Allan here council member bonds here fan counc fan counc gray council member gray council member Henderson here counc M LS George here counc mcdy here chairman melson present Nell here counc member Parker counc Parker counc Pinto council member Pinel council member Robert White presid council member trayon white pres Mr chairman you have a quorum thank you Madam Secretary you heard council member Pinto say she was present no I didn't thank you oh thank you n sorry about that off microphone but we could hear her in the chamber thank you we have the um secretary's report of committee filings I'm going to recognize the share Mr McDuffy thank you Mr chairman and I will move to wave the reading of the secretary's report been a motion to wave the reading of the secretary's report of committee filings is there discussion on the motion all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed yes I have it unanimously we have the secretary's report of introductions and referrals is there disc uh Mr McDuffy I recognize you yes and I will move to wave the reading of the secretary's report of introductions and referrals there been a motion to wave the reading of the log is there discussion point of clarity yes Mr White I just want to have a point of clarity for uh inter recor thany Freeman she is a resident of w seven I believe I say W8 but I know for a fact she's a w seven residents give Clarity on that for public record all right thank you is there discussion on a further discussion on the motion to wave the reading of the of the log by a voice vot all those in favor say I I are there any NOS yeah I just have it unanimously turn to the consent agenda uh these are my notes on page three under first reading bill 25-54 which is item C1 is removed from the agenda not just from the consent agenda but removed from the agenda uh because it was not moved in the committee of the whole item um item four which is now known as the wage transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 Bill 25-1 194 is removed from the consent agenda but remains on the agenda and I believe those are the only changes nope and on page six on under reading and vote on proposed resolutions item E2 Board of Library trustees Maria peace confirmation resolution 2023 that's PR 25474 is removed from the consent agenda uh those are the only changes that I know are there any other changes to the consent agenda we have the consent agenda as amended before us there'll be a roll call vote Madam Secretary council member trayon white yes TR white votes yes council member Allen yes counc Allen votes yes council member bonds yes bonds votes yes council member Freeman yes counc fan votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes council member Henderson yesc member Henderson votes yes council member L George yes council member Le George votes yes council member McDuffy yes counc member mcy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes chairman Mendon votes yes council member nadell yesc n votes yes council member Parker yes council member Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes counc member Pinto votes yes and council member Robert White yes coun member Robert White votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses the consent agenda is approved unanimously turning to page three item C4 that's Bill 25-1 194 now the bill is now known as the wage transparency Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 council member bonds thank you very much um chairman um today I'm moving amendment number one to um the wage transparency um us Amendment Act of 2023 which is Bill 25-1 94 this amendment seeks to amend the definition of employer by amending the employer size cap from 25 or more employees to no employer cap it is found in section two a line 36 page two my striking paragraph three which speaks to cap language furthermore the amendment seeks to create an additional provision that should an employer not provide a perspective employee with the acts disclosure then the prospective employee May inquire about the information by and through the amending of section 2 C and adding the new section line 70 on page three the purpose of this amendment is to conform to existing law and not disrupt the pre-existing protections provided by the wage transparency Act of 2014 as stewards of the law it's our duty to ensure that our amendments bolster pre-existing code not remove protections that have already been voted on and enacted in our law and therefore the wage transparency Act of 2014 prohibits the employers from discharging disciplining or retaliating against employees who disgust employee wages or the wage of another employee additionally employers are prohibited from restricting employers employees from lodging complaints testifying or participating in an investigation of proceedings related to the ACT and therefore by amending the wage transparency Act of 2014 um employer definition is to to contain an employer size limitation would remove protections afforded by the current law for any employer outside of the range and this bill requires employers to disclose wage information to prospective employees and prohibits them from inquiring about a prospective employees salary history clearly um transparency also reduces gender and racial wage gaps where data overwhelmingly IR illustrates persistent systemic pay inequities taking these steps will allow the district to join 14 other states and local local localities that are trailblazing the nation will pay transparency laws I urge my colleagues to support the amendment number one to the amended um wage transparency Amendment Act of 20123 thank you Mr thank you Council BN so implicitly by moving the amendment you've moved the bill we have the bill and the amendment before us with regard to to the amendment is there discussion council member Allen then council member and you can put me in the lineup Please Mr chairman yes thanks Mr chairman um and thanks to council bonds I am supporting this amendment and I want to thank her for moving this language uh via the amendment when we look back at our 2014 law the council pass that to help protect our workers in particular thinking about how do we help our our workers and espe of those in vulnerable spaces be able to help organize and and the ability to create a Prohibition against employers acting against employees for disclosing their salary is uh removing that protection would be a very anti-labor step I think Council Ran's Amendment addresses that very clearly and I appreciate her moving this um because I think it is a a protection that is important to the District of Columbia uh and is part of our values and so I really appreciate that I know there may be some conversation around exact uh whether all the other Provisions should apply uh for employers at 10 or more or less or 25 or more or less um I'm not going to wait into that at this moment I do think though that no matter uh if there are changes for example between first and second reading I would hope that we make sure we maintain this aspect which is to ensure that these protections for our workers uh are there regardless of employer size so I'm supporting Council Ran's Amendment today and I appreciate her taking this step to make sure that we are protecting uh the Integrity of our law that was passed already in 2014 thank you Miss bonss council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much Council bonds for moving this bill today the gender pay Gap in our country continues to leave behind women especially women of color for every one doar that white men earn black women earn only 70 cents Hispanic women earn only 65 cents and women overall all earn only 82 cents on the dollar by requiring disclosure of minimum and maximum projected wages non-wage compensation and schedules of benefits to prospective employees this bill takes an extremely important step in reducing the employment and pay Equity barriers to many of our residents encounter on a daily basis many Studies have shown that wage transparency laws like this one can help reduce the gender pay Gap and we hear anecdotally from so many women and women of color who aren't given the same access to information at the time of applying to a job or don't think to ask so I want to thank you again Council Vons for your leadership on this issue and think that this is a really important measure um I do want to note as I think about the Practical implications of this bill and how it could affect not just businesses small and large but individuals who seek to employ somebody um perhaps an individual seeking to hire a dog walker and posting on a neighborhood board um posting on Facebook about a service they may need in their home um I think many residents would be surprised to learn that they would need to post a similar type of range and so I hope to have some more conversations and work with you between first and second reading on just hammering out how we can ensure that this is protecting workers reducing ing the pay Gap um and also is going to be workable for residents across the District of Columbia many of whom may have ad hoc Services um that they're seeking for for themselves and their families um but thank you in advance for those continued conversations thank you council member Pinto council member McDuffy thank you Mr chairman and thank you to council member bars for all your work on on this bill I know that you you and your team have really put a lot into this and as the author of the original wage transparency bill in 2014 um it's important to me uh as I know it is to you that we do everything we can as uh the legislative body that for Colombia to eliminate um any issues to the pay disparities that exist across gender uh in the district of FL I will say I had originally voted on this at markup when it was a different bill um there were concerns raised with the changes that the new amendment makes in The Breakfast um and earlier and since this is a I think a fairly significant change with this amendment that uh is before us right now um it really means that a vote on this bill in favor of it means it be a change that affects every business in the district when it is used to um the original underline bill and the mark of I believe only affected businesses with 25 or more employees uh I know that during the the hearing there was some concerns raised from people in the business Community uh about the original bill I appreciate some of the modifications you made um along the way um and I can't see the clock so I'm GNA try to you limit how much I'm talking about this right now but I had asked during the markup a clarifying question um about the intent of the bill the question was whether the bill meant to list the structure of the schedule benefits or just the existence of bonuses and you mentioned that it was a ladder I think this bill is still unclear on that actually and and now since the bill affects every single business in the District of Columbia that um hires employees of one or more employees this still needs to be clarified to the point that it it doesn't confuse um businesses small businesses in particular um and I think before second reading if we can continue to work with you and your team to address that so there's crystal clear for small business Community who especially the ones under 25 who originally not a part of this bill and likely did not testify because they weren't going to be included I think it'll be important to make sure their voice is captured and and and we can achieve the goal that is sought by this and so I look forward to working with you uh between now and second reading to try and address those concerns thank you Mr chairman thank you Mr McDuffy further on the bill actually further on the amendment we have the amendment per for us by Voice vote all those in favor of the amendment say I I I I are there any opposed the amendment is approved unanimously we have the bill is amended Is there further discussion uh Madam Secretary do you recommend a roll call Vote Yes Please Mr chairman well then please call the role vot is on Bill 25-1 194 as amended council member Allen yesc member Allen votes yes council member Bond yes counc member Bond votes yes council member fuman yes fan votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes council member Henderson council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes council member LS George yes George votes yes council member McDuffy yes McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes Menon votes yes counc NAD yes votes yes counc M Parker yes counc M Parker votes yes counc M Pinel yes Pinel votes yes council member Robert White yesc Robert White votes yes and council member Tran white yes white votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the bill is approved unanimously turning to page six under proposed resolutions item E2 PR 25474 Board of Library trustees Maria peace confirmation resolution of 2023 council member Tran white so move discussion council member Lewis George he thank you chairman um I uh will be voting present on this uh nominee um I I do not sit on this committee um but I did reach out and I haven't had the opportunity yet to uh speak to uh the candidate regarding uh her interest and tenure for uh being serving on the library board uh as you know War 4 has had particular uh issues and interest uh regarding libraries and communication and transparency with our A&C Commissioners and neighborhood associations um and so uh as such as we look at uh issues with our uh Wanita Thorton library in Shepard Park as well as the Kennedy Street Library um because I have not had the opportunity to speak to speak with uh the candidate regarding um the importance of communication and transparency with our neighbors with ourc Commissioners and neighborhood associations I'll be voting present on on the matter today uh in the hopes that that conversation can be had and and we will see an improvement for the ward four community and its leadership thank you thank you further on the resolution council member Henderson um thank you Mr chairman I um I'm also going to be voting present um on this nomination um I don't think I would be as skeptical about this if we hadn't had a nominee earlier this year who also had some questionable not questionable there was a nominee for the library board earlier this year who not only had no library card but also was known to support book Banning efforts um that got withdrawn and so I'm not saying that this nominee is any parts of that but I feel like for a central question of whether or not you have a library card or have you been to your neighborhood Library those are things that I I couldn't gleam from the documents from the committee um and um as Council m l Stewart said haven't had an opportunity to connect with the nominee so I'm gonna I'm going to vote president today thank you council member Henderson further chairman I also want to note for the public record there was a question ask about the library card and to acknowledge I just received a message that Miss peace did have a library card as late as high school and haven't had one since um if that gives Clarity to the members who ask that question coun white i p white I have a coun white I have a question for you did you have a hearing on this nomination yes I did and was there any opposition expressed at the hearing there was no opposition expressed at the hearing thank you uh further discussion to make sure I heard that right apologize she hasn't had a library card since high school that's correct if there's no further discussion there's no further discussion Madam Secretary would you prefer a roll call to a Voice vote a Voice vote should should suffice on this all right callest a roll call roll who would say that again roll call Council M leis George has requested a roll call Madam Secretary would you call the role bonds sorry present council member bonds will be recorded as present council member fan present council member frean will be recorded as present Council MC gray here pres council member gray is that a yes or a present as a yes yes thank you council member gray will be council member gray votes yes counc member Henderson I'm voting no Henderson votes snow council member LS George present council member Le George will be recorded as present council member McDuffy counc McDuffy chairman Mendelson yes CH Mendon votes yes council member noo yes counc noo votes yes council member Parker no council member Parker votes no council member Pinto yesc Pinto votes yes council member Robert White no council member Robert White votes no council member Tran white yesc Tran white votes yes council member Allan no council member Allan votes no Mr chairman oh is council member McDuffy back council member McDuffy council member McDuffy is absent Mr chairman there are five yeses four NOS three presents and one absent we should have a spread like this on every vote um there are five yeses and four NOS uh the resolution is [Music] approved continuing with the non-consent agenda on page seven we have um emergency legislation and the first is the green housing transition extension emergency the Declaration resolution is pr25 d545 council member Robert White um chairman um I'm sorry on the last vote I I counted four yeses I'm just trying to get was it five okay thank you all right sorry I'm I will say more but that's not because it's in order to question the decision since the vote has been announced but council member gray myself Nido pinto and Tran white voted yes and council member Robert White you have the floor with regard to pr25 d545 Yes uh thank you chairman I I apologize I didn't have my statement up clearly that last vote took a toll thank you for the drama there we are uh thank you again chairman by the end of 2026 the department of energy and environment and Department of buildings are required to put out a new net zero energy code it will require most new or substantially renovated buildings in DC to consume less electricity than they produce through renewable sources this approach requires additional investment in things like better ins insulation and energy efficient systems but it's worth it because we absolutely have to do our part to slow the de devastating effects of climate change now the Net Zero mandates coming online in a few years will apply to all major building efforts including private ones but local Advocates have made a compelling case that our government buildings should lead the way that's why I introduced The Greener government buildings Amendment Act of 2022 which we passed last year it accelerates The Net Zero timeline for projects that we uh own or fund this summer council member Lou George and her team worked hard to line up funding for my Greener government buildings bill so it became appli applicable on October 1st but as we wrapped up the budget process our Housing Finance agencies and the executive branch started raising concerns about affordable housing projects that were already very far along in the development process they explained imposing a net zero mandate on these projects at the last minute after years of development would mean sending them back to the drawing board it would delay the construction preservation of affordable housing that we desperately need therefore this June we unanimously passed emergency and temporary legislation saying that residential projects that receive funding commitments before the end of this calendar year wouldn't have to achieve Net Zero compliance after all today I'm moving what amounts to a technical correction it turns out we need to exemp we need the exemption to to to roll through the end of March 2024 instead of December 2023 since some of these projects were trying to grandfather in still need to secure funding from the DC Housing Finance Agency so you're all aware the mayor's Administration has also been meeting with my team and council member Allen staff with the committee on transportation and the environment about a longer term modification to the Greener government building law they're arguing that it would be better if none of the affordable housing projects in our financing pipeline for the next three years had to meet Net Zero standards I expect the mayor will seek to introduce legislation to that effect in the coming weeks but my team and I are working with the administration and Consulting with outside experts and environmental experts to see if we can find a more tailored solution for now I move the green housing transition extension emergency declaration resolution of 2023 thank you chairman chairman I'm here we have the Declaration before us Mr chairman yes sir council member Allen thank you um I want to thank council member white for and your staff for working on this to ensure the bill is effective but also narrow in its scope uh I know we're going to see a permanent measure soon and while I do understand the difficulty of financing affordable housing as construction costs and interest rates have risen over the last few years we also know that green housing is not incompatible with affordable housing last Friday as the chair of the transportation environment committee I took a tour of three projects that the green bank has helped finance in our city I went to Fairfax Village where they were able to install a massive solar array that generates about $6 million in rent and reduced utility costs for those residents that's allowing the association to keep its fees flat for the last three years in a neighborhood that's been hit hard by the pandemic I also visited a great infield development project on 22nd Street Southeast in w 8 that's going to add affordable units to a neighborhood in a building that's going to be fully electric using Innovative materials and building techniques it's a small development company that's owned by native Washingtonian who's staying on The Cutting Edge and then I went and saw the early stages of what's going to be an amazing Jubilee Housing Development award one a building that will be all electric and will even include an aquaponics facility the building will have transitional and permanent housing for returning citizens and will provide them with job training meals and support these projects all layer a lot of different type of housing subsidy programs available in the district but they all include forward-thinking green features and we need to support our thriving affordable housing developers in the district and we need to push all of our building industry to stay on The Cutting Edge of Green Building those two goals are not mutually exclusive and I look forward to working with Council White and the housing committee to continue to help strike that right balance for the District of Columbia thank you Mr chair thank you further discussion we have the Declaration before us pr25 d545 council member excuse me Madam Secretary would you please call the role counc member fuman yes fuman votes yes counc member gray yes gray votes yes council member Henderson yes counc member Henderson votes yes counc Le George yesc Le George votes yes Council McDuffy yes counc McDuffy votes yes chairman Mendelson yes mson votes yes Council yes votes yes Council Parker yes council member Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes Robert White votes yes trayan white yes white votes yes Allan yes Allan votes yes and council member bonds yes counc member Bond votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimously we have the underlying bill bill 25-5 588 council member white so move Mr chairman discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously we'll do a Voice vote votes on Bill 25- 588 all those in favor say I I I let's try again all those in favor say I I I thank you uh all those opposed uh the I have it unanimously the next measure is pr25 d549 study program extension emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member McDuffy thank you Mr chairman I move this uh declaration and then well I move the bill later I move this DEC ation um on June 30th 2022 the reopen Washington DC alcoholic beverage regulation Amendment Act of 2022 took effect which allows the AFA licensed establishments that register with the board to offer beer wine or Spirits for sale on expanded outdoor space until December 31st 2023 as of October 17th of this year there are currently 178 licensed establishments that have registered and possessed temporary streety program endorsements from the board that will expire on December 31st 2023 on October 11th 2023 the district Department of Transportation announced the extension of the the temporary streety program permits through December 31st 2024 to allow D do more time to develop regulations and guidelines needed to facilitate a permanent streety program the alcohol beverage and cannabis Administration is currently working on the legislation that would amend title 25 of the DC code to create a permanent streety program endorsement ABA is also working collaboratively with D do on a permanent sty program the interim emergency legislation is necessary to extend the strey program for an additional year while permanent legislation is considered by the council with that I would move the deck how from McDuffy you were done yes I'm done Mr chairman thank you we have the Declaration before us is there discussion council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much council member McDuffy um the streetery program has allowed many of our businesses to survive the pandemic um we would have seen many more restaurant closures had we not open up uh the ability for out outdoor dining uh and allow them to really flourish under difficult circumstances and over time I think so many residents have really enjoyed having the ability to dine outside in these Streeter it's helped restaurants bring staff back to work hire more people at a critical time for employment um helped folks who are living here or visiting the district have additional Avenues to support our restaurants and and enjoy themselves and I intend to support this emergency legislation but I do think it's essential that we keep a sense of urgency around the promulgation of the regulations for our streetery program this program we first came up with in 2020 in this emergency environment that I articulated um year after year we have told residents and businesses regulations are coming um last year I promised residents and businesses that regulations would be here this year we're now nearing the end of 20 23 we still haven't seen the regulations from Dot and you know if those regulations come and the um ABA component of determining liquor licenses goes along with that that's great but in terms of determining how we're utilizing this public space thinking about consistency Aesthetics Alternatives um if every location is the best location for a streetery we we cannot continue to tell residents okay we're in 2025 five and we haven't come up with regulations for five years for a program that was adopted in an emergency time and so I will support this today because it's focused on the ABCA component and I don't want to hold up the endorsements uh of these businesses receiving what they need but I I do want to make sure we all continue to be mindful that time is of the essence here and we we really can't be um casual about the very real impact that these dories have on businesses and and residents and so I look forward to seeing those regulations very soon um and ensuring that we have a robust public process of Engagement uh moving forward thank you thank you council member Pinto further discussion council member Tron white yes thank you chairman uh I'm going to support this measure today to bring regulations to the street reg in the District of Columbia I just want to make a point that I believe that we are we Street serve this useful life as relates to the pandemic giving people opportunities to still dine uh and still socialize during the environment where we in the height of the pandemic but I'm also cautious about the number of parking spaces that have been removed from the district I sent a letter to D dot trying to get an accurate number of uh parking spaces taken away from the the bus lanes to the new uh road refiguration to uh uh to the streetery to all the different things we've done in the city in the last 10 years and they don't have that data so you know I know that this is one of the many ways that parking is Tak away especially in the business corridors and some of the communities and so I'm going to support this measure and bringing regulations but I will look forward to hearing more from d dot about where do people Park when they want to patronize these businesses and go get a get a haircut right in our city so thank you chairman thank you council member council member fuman uh thank you chairman Merson I'm I'm going to uh second the sentiment that council member Pinto expressed I mean many of our Streeter are great some of our Streeter have devolved into nuisances and we need to get these regulations out so that we can have uniformity and how it's done have predictability it has been a long time and we we should as a council think about what we can do to try to encourage the executive to release the proposed regulations and have an engagement process around them we can't go this is going to be a theme on a couple of different things we can't go on forever extending emergencies we need to get to a permanent solution on this and that that requires the executive to release the proposed regulations thank you thank you council member fuman council member Allen thank you very much Mr chair thank you councelor McDuffy uh for helping ensure we have the continuation of what I think is an essential program the stry program was a lifesaver for many restaurants during the pandemic it's also a lifesaver for a lot of jobs and keeping people employed during the height of that pandemic and what I think is beyond the pandemic though it has also turned into an incredible success story of what happens when we shift public space from asphalt to vibrant active public uses I hope that we can learn from the successes of the street Aries that we've installed so far and then work to extend that success uh further the new regulations are going to create a specific type of public space permit for Street Aries and a more clear Authority for permitting and being able to review them rather than what we have today which is just as we've talked about a hold over of an old outdated public space permit that dates back to the pandemic my understanding is that those proposed regulations have been put forward by dot to the executive office and that we are waiting for eom to be able to release them and then have regulations come out so I I think uh both in our conversations this morning during the breakfast meeting meeting as well as here we encourage those uh for momentum on that and for the executive to be able to release those regulations so that we can take these next steps for our businesses for our jobs and for our neighborhoods thank you Mr chair thank you council member Allen there's no further discussion we have the Declaration before us pr25 d549 Madam Secretary would you call the role Council gray yes member gray votes yes council member Henderson yesc Henderson votes yes council member Lis George yes counc L George votes yes council member McDuffy yes counc member McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes nson votes yes council member n yes votes yes council member Parker yes counc M Parker votes yes council member Pinto yesc M Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes Robert White votes yes counc trayon white yes TR white votes yes counc member Allan yes Allan votes yes council member Bond yes Bond votes yes council member fan yesman votes yes Mr chairman there have 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimous we have the underlying Bill Bill 25- 593 council member McDuffy so discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously we'll vote have a Voice vote this is on Bill 25593 all those in favor say I I I I don't hear any no votes uh the eyes have it unanimously the next measure is pr25 - 538 people's Council holdover extension emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member mcfi can you hear me Mr I heard you say can I hear you I haven't heard any anything else you've said okay perfect I think you can hear me all right thank you uh the current people's Council Sandra matab fry has a term that expired in June um since then she's been serving in holdover capacity and by law that hold over period is set to expire on or about December 10th of this year miss m fry was renominated by the mayor on November 1st and the confirmation resolution was referred to the committee on business and economic development on November 7th this timeline did not provide adequate time for the committee and the council to View and act on her nomination before the current allowable holdover period expires the committee will hold a confirmation round table on miss m fr's nomination on January 11th of 2024 in the interim however emergency legislation is necessary to extend her hold over term while a confirmation resolution is considered by the council preserving the continuity of the people's Council term of office is vital to the district as there are several important rate cases before the Public Service Commission numerous climate related proceedings and water and energy litigation before the court of appeals that could be disrupted if there was a vacancy with that I'm move the there thank you Conor McDuffy is there discussion Mr McDuffy I have several questions for you when did Miss mavu Fry's term expire the term is set to uh well I had to get you the exact date well the holdover period you mean the original term Mr Mr chairman are you talking about the holdover period oh she's holding over when did her term expire um I can get you that date I don't I don't have it off that it was at some point in June but I'd have to get you the exact date had known before this point I would have researched the exact date but it was in June Madam General council do you know the dated expired looking it up oh thanks St looking it up right now it's the council member is correct it is in June it was in June all right June 13th June 13th I believe when did the mayor send out so her term expired June 13 when send down the legislation um I understand it was November 1st uh it was referred to the committee on November 7th I think I get at the point you're making so it was about four and a half months after the term ended for renomination yes of course it wasn't a secret when the term was going to end um and the committee has scheduled a hearing on the on her Nom a round table on January 11th next year thank you and as I'm sure you're aware miss m FR enjoys lots of support and and again this is not a new nominee it's a renomination uh which speaks both to I think getting it in a more timely fashion but also the likelihood that it will be supported and passed uh thank you I have no further questions are there any other questions or discussion from members uh we have the Declaration before PR 25538 Madam Secretary would you call the role I'm Henderson yes counc member Henderson votes yes council member Lewis George yes counc member Le George votes yes council member McDuffy yesc McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes mson votes yes council member noo yes counc member noo votes yes council member Parker yes counc member Parker votes yes council member Pinel yes member Pinel votes yes council member Robert White yes counc member Robert White votes yes council member Tron white yes Tran white votes yes council member Allan yes Allen votes yes counc member bonds yes M bonds votes yes counc M fan yes fan votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes Mr chairman there are 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimous we have the underlying Bill Bill 25582 Council M McDuffy so move Mr chairman discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously we'll do a Voice vote on the bill all those in favor say I I I I are there any no votes I don't hear any no votes the the bill is approved unanimously next measure is PR 25- 539 adjustment of building restriction line in square 2950 along the southern side of Fern Street Northwest says here Sr but I think that means s o 23- 06301 emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member Lewis George uh Mr chairman uh thank you today I moving a small and Technical emergency measure that would allow a very important Housing Development to move forward board on the Walter Reed campus the adjustment of building restriction line in square 2950 along the southern side of Fern Street Northwest Sr 23- 06301 emergency Act of 2023 will make a small adjustment in the building restriction line from 15 feet to 9.5 feet uh the change is needed because the original records provided to the developer showed this section of the campus did not have a building restriction line in October the developer was informed that that was a 15ft restriction a restriction that would have caused the entire section of the development to literally go back to the drawing board uh rather than starting over and throwing away the development behind many uh months uh the developer work with DC agencies and the advisory neighborhood Commissioners to make a slight adjustment in the building restriction line uh Mr chairman if there's no objection I would like to move the resolution so that this much needed Housing Development can move forward on schedule thank you councelor leis George their discussion uh thank you I just want to State for the record that generally um since building restriction lines were something to come under the committee the whole uh we don't favor uh removals or changes to building restriction lines but there was a um a lack of clarity in the records it was not discovered until long after building permits had been issued as I understand it uh it was a plat from the 1970s our office and or the committee staff and discussing this with the Sor office uh found that um there was a a feeling that um there had been a mistake and that this this change was not um a problem so I'll be uh voting for this but I just wanted to say that for the record um and you've also provided quite a bit of background material which is helpful thank you and uh permanent bill has been introduced and we will have a hearing on it if there's no other discussion the vote will be on PR 25539 M secretary would you call the role Le George yes George votes yes council member McDuffy yes counc member McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes votes yes counc yeso votes yes Council M Parker council member Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes pin votes yes Robert White yes Robert White votes yes Tran white yes votes yes council member Allan yes counc M Allen votes yes council member bonds yes bonds votes yes council member fruman yes fan votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes council member Henderson yes Henderson votes yes Mr chairman there have 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 255-5842 25583 all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed I don't hear any any no votes the eyes have it unanimously the next measure is PR 25555 retired firefighter and police officer redeployment emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member Henderson thank you Mr thank you Mr chairman this bill would Grant firefighters retired from the fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and police officers who are retired from the Metropolitan Police Department eligibility for rehire at the discretion of the director of the office of unified communication as a temporary full-time or temporary part-time 911 call taker or 911 dispatcher without decreasing their retirement benefits OU has struggled in recent years to maintain minimum Staffing levels currently OU has 13 vacant call taker positions and is interviewing for 15 open dispatcher positions in October 2023 as many of you know 30 of the 6799 one call Taker and dispatcher shifts did not meet the Staffing Targets this was also the case for the 26 out of 64 shifts in the September 20123 and for six excuse me and for 26 out of the 66 shifts from this past August call weight times also continue to exceed Targets in November of 2023 fewer than half of the 911 calls were answered in the 15 seconds or less um on four days OU needs additional Staffing they also need a broad recruitment pool applicant groups of 400 people can result in as few as 200 hires due to some of the rigorous nature of the application process retired firefighters and police officers would be excellent additions to 's 911 operations but are detered from applying um to work there under the status quo currently any District government employee who is collecting pension benefits and is rehired by another District agency is subject to an annuity offset this bill would allow MPD and fims retirees to collect both salary as a temporary 911 call taker or dispatcher in addition to their full pensent annuity firefighers and police officers would bring the experience the expertise and knowledge that they have acquired over Decades of on the front lines of Emergency Response Into the Heart of OU operations including their knowledge of the city's geography their medical expertise and innate knowledge of the information that firefighters and police officers value from dispatchers when reporting and responding to a call on a scene consider too that mpdn fims are eligible to retire at 25 years a retired fighter fire or police officer could be as young as 50 and have a desire to continue to serve the community I'm moving this bill with the support of fem MPD OU and I also want to thank the DC firefighters Association for bringing this um bringing this need and attention um to my office and working with me on this legislation I urge my colleagues to support thank you counc member Henderson is there a discussion council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman I will be enthusiastically supporting this legislation today and want to thank councelor Henderson and her team for working on this important issue with what I think is a really creative solution to address some of the challenges that we're seeing with Staffing at OU I've spoken a lot this year about the need to address Staffing shortages at our Public Safety agencies including at OU which has had significant ific vacancies in recent years these vacancies have had significant impacts on 's ability to perform its critical Public Safety function short staffing has no doubt contributed to errors and impacted the agency's ability to meet national standards for call answer and dispatch Times short staffing also potentially has harmful impacts on the agency's ability to retain current staff who are chronically overworked this emergency legislation will provide an important tool to address staffing issues at OU and in doing so will help improve Public Safety outcomes I do want to note as a followup um to some of the the emergency OU hearing that we had um earlier this fall that training and filling of some of these vacancies is ongoing um and there should be significant Pro progress made in the next several months with the next training class completed by this January um with the geographic training that they need to get set up but f M and MPD um firefighters and and officers who have this type of expertise of working in our city know where things are know what What It's Like on the ground to be dispatched and respond to these incidents have a unique perspective to lend um and I think as we weigh ways to help it's it's much better that somebody get paid a little extra and be able to continue serving than worry about the pension excluding their paycheck so I um I'm I'm thrilled about this bill I think it will make a real impact and so I want to again thank you council member Henderson um and look forward to to getting this pass today thank you Council rinto Council bero thank you chairman when a person calls 911 for a medical emergency fire or crime they need to know that someone will pick up the phone that the dispatcher will understand what their emergency is and dispatch it correctly and that they will receive help quickly the this is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of District government and something that is critical to improving Public Safety the office of unified Communications the 911 call center that residents of the district and our First Responders rely on is dangerously understaffed the office reported that in October 45% of shifts nearly half did not meet the Staffing Target Staffing is an issue as we know at other agencies including MPD where even significant bonuses and other incentives approved by the council are not enough to fill positions with qualified officers and the crime lab too the bottom line is that Staffing in many of our Public Safety agencies is a challenge and the district must look at Recruitment and Staffing in innovative ways to supplement the traditional methods that have been used I proposed legislation last week that would use 911 call center staff more efficiently transferring fire and emergency medical calls to a new fire and EMS call Center for better Effectiveness and efficiency that legislation will cost money and will take time to implement council member Henderson's proposed legislation is another way to fill the ranks at OU and because it doesn't cost anything has the advantage of being something the council can do now to make a positive change retired First Responders are exactly the experts and committed public servants we need to supplement overworked 911 call takers and dispatchers this exemption would give OU access to a new pool of candidates who would help the 911 Center maintain minimum Staffing levels for 911 call takers and dispatchers and bring the expertise and knowledge that they acquired over decades on the front lines I will be voting yes on this bill and I also want to continue working on ways to recruit for all of our Public Safety agencies and pursuing changes to how agencies operate that can reduce the burden on employees and result in stronger outcomes for the people of the District of Columbia thank you chairman thank you council member noo council member Allen thank you very much and thank you Council M Henderson for moving this forward I'm enthusiastically going to be reping this there's not a week that goes by that I don't hear from constituents in my ward that have called 911 and they're put on hold they can't get through um it has happened to me waiting minutes while I watched a building Catch Fire um it is unacceptable and it's dangerous um I think that an effort like this can only be a net positive uh of being able to create more people that can be eligible to take on these crucially important roles when we look at the stats of 40% of the shifts in October being underst staffed um 30% the month before that those are sobering numbers now this Council has also added resources to OU for Recruitment and Retention um so I I think it is incumbent upon the agencies and the executive to be able to utilize this new tool and I think that I know with the committee be keeping a close eye of oversight of how they're actually implementing this um because we've seen those resources for example for recruitment attention support not get out the door and not get to the call takers the way that we want to so I think this is a uh very Innovative and useful tool to be able to help expand the pool of Eligibility I hope that we see it translate into filling more of those staff positions and so I'm very much in support of this appreciate uh the partnership that you've got to to make sure this happens and we'll be enthusiastically supporting this and hope to see that it makes a difference Mr than you council member alen council member bonds um thank you very much um chairman I just wanted to add my appreciation to um council member Henderson for this um legislation I think um it brings very welcome and likely expertise to this issue where we know that the UniFi call center is relatively challenged and so thank you very much for that bringing the resource that can really um make a difference through our firefighters um our part of our First Responders Community thank you thank you council member buns council member Robert White thank you chairman I I look forward to voting uh in favor of this measure um having people answer uh our 911 system when people call is one of the most basic aspects of a public safety infrastructure it doesn't matter how many laws we pass if people are left on hold or not getting an answer when they call 911 we have a broken public safety system uh that's one of the reasons that that I tried to address our call center as one of the aspects of my whole of government approach to Crime bill um and I think that this will help make sure we have people in place that calls get answered and so that we have a public safety infrastructure that we can build on top of which we we don't don't have right now uh so I appreciate the the efforts in this bill and and I look forward to voting in favor thank you Council M white uh we have the Declaration before us pr25 d555 Madam Secretary would you call the rule council member McDuffy yes council member McDuffy votes yes chairman mson yes chairman mson votes yes council member Nido yes counc member Nido votes yes council member Parker yes Parker votes yes council member Pinto yes counc member Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member trayon white yes trayon white votes yes council member Allen yes counc M Allen votes yes council member Bond yes counc member bonds votes yes council member fuman yes council member fuman votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes counc member Henderson yes counc member Henderson votes yes council member L George yes L George votes yes Mr chairman there 13 yeses thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved unanimously we have the underlying bill before us Bill 25- 602 council member white excuse me Council Henderson um thank you Mr chairman I just want to U mention for the record that we did introduce a permanent version of this bill um and I look forward to consideration of that going forward but so moved on the emergency we have the bill before us is discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously we'll do a Voice vote on the bill all those in favor say I I I I are there any opposed I don't hear any no votes the bill is approved unanimously the next measure is Fidelity and electronic communications second emergency declaration resolution of 2023 PR 25-5 554 council member bonds thank you very much um chairman um the council first voted on this issue on March 1 2022 when they unanimously passed the Fidelity in access to government Communications clarification emergency Amendment Act of 2022 the emergency Act was passed after a concerning report regarding the executive's use of WhatsApp Messenger was published online among many features available within the application is the ability to Auto autod delete messages after a set period of time on April 4th 2023 the council unanimously passed the Fidelity and access to government Communications clarification temporary Amendment Act of 2023 to clarify that all Communications created or received electronically in the course of of official business are subject to existing record retention obligations the current temporary Act is set to expir on the 25th of January 2024 emergency legislation is therefore necessary to ensure that existing record retention guidelines continue to apply to a wide variety of electronic communications and to ensure public access to information is not diminished or compromise and that is why we are moving this um emergency and temporary today thank you chairman I move the bill oh thank you Council bonds we have the Declaration before us discussion the vote will be on pr25 d554 Madame secretary would you call the role CH mson yes Menon votes yes counc n yeso votes yes council member Parker yes counc member Parker votes yes council member Pinto council member Pentel council member Robert White yes Robert White votes yes counc Tran white yes white votes yes counc Allan yes Allan votes yes counc Bond yesc Bond votes yes counc fan yes fuman votes yes council member gray yes counc member gray votes yes council member Henderson yes council member Henderson votes yes council member leis George yes counc L George votes yes council member McDuffy yes counc member McDuffy votes yes council member Pinto Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one absent I have not announced the vote yet um Madame secretary there was one absent yes council member Pinto Madam Secretary I'm here my vote is yes thank you council member Pino votes yes Mr chairman there have 13 yeses the Declaration is approved unanimously we have the underlying Bill Bill 25- 600 council member bonds thank you Mr chairman again thank you to again Mr chairman today I'm urging my colleagues to support the hotel enhance cleaning and notice of service disruption second emergency and temporary um council member Bond Bill 25600 Fidelity and electronic communications so move Mr chairman uh we have the bill before us is there discussion since the Declaration was approved unanimously uh we'll deal with the bill by a Voice vote on Bill 25600 all those in favor say I I I I that was anemic let's try again all those in favor of the bill say I I I are there any opposed yeah eyes have it unanimously thank you everyone for that partic ipation uh the next measure is pr25 d553 hotel cleaning and notice of service Interruption emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member Vin again thank you Mr chairman um I'm urging my colleagues to support the hotel enhanced cleaning and notice of service disruption second emergency and temporary Amendment Act of 2023 thus allowing this important employment measure to continue as the concerned parties that is the hotel industry and our Union sisters and brothers negotiate a permanent solution outside of the glare and regulations of government earlier this year in February the council passed the hotel enhan cleaning and notice of service disruption emergency and temporary Amendment Act of 2023 the emergency legislation authorized the mayor to issue regulations that establish requirements for cleaning and maintaining DC's hotels and motels and to establish standards for public notice of lodging establishment service disruptions the emergency and temporary legislation before us today will reauthorize the provisions of the previous bill as the temporary expires in January 2024 the tourism industry continues to rebound as evidenced by recent data Trends travel and tourism industry in our city has generated up to $7.1 billion dollar annually in the pre pandemic years including two billion dollar in spending on hotel rooms alone in 2022 tourism Rose 10% from the previous year and is now about 9% short of the 2019 levels as tourism in the district continues to grow it is essential that we meet the demands of our guests by continuing to provide both routine and enhance housekeeping and I urge all my colleagues to support this measure by doing so we will be supporting our workers as well as our wonderful Hotel industry and thank you Mr chairman and now move the legislation thank you Council we have the Declaration before us is there discuss question council member Pinto thank you Mr chairman and thank you council member bonds for your continued work in this space um I guess I just have two points one is that I I feel procedurally it's a bit odd that the mayor asked us to authorize her ability to come up with regulations for this issue as opposed to work on regulations and then send them to the council for review um especially when we haven't even seen the outcome of those negotiations and regulations at this point after it's been a year um or over a year since this began is just kind of an unusual order of operations to me um but second as I've spoken about before I think that it is an overstep for the legislative body to tell an entire sector um how their day-to-day operations should work uh the example I've given in the past which I continue to think about is with restaurants um we don't say okay you can only have this server cover two tables at once for example why then for the hospitality or hotel industry would we say this is how you have to have dat to-day operations um with that being said I'm happy to to hear that it may have have worked um to keep folks employed and um there may have been a lot of other benefits of this in the past but I do think on principle having our local legislative body intervene in the day-to-day operational decisions and activities of an entire sector is not appropriate so I I'm gon to vote no on this today uh further on the Declaration uh I'll just weigh in and say that I'll be supporting for this I'll be support V supporting and voting for this declaration as I have done in the past and listening to the comments of my colleague uh we've taken this posture because this was the posture that was originally uh followed and that was authorizing the mayor to adopt regulations and if I remember correctly the regulations were were temporary just as our legislation was temporary and the idea was to get the parties negotiating if the mayor were to uh promulgate regulations that she sent to the council or we were on our own to take regulations and adopt them on a permanent basis that would be different posture and I don't think that's where we want to be um my understanding as I think others have acknowledged is that there are discussions that are taking place which is exactly what should be happening yeah and I think this legislation because it's been in existence on a temporary basis has helped to stimulate those discussions which I think is a good thing so um we would not take a different posture as in this is an unusual way to go about this because this is meant intentionally meant to be uh temporary to get the parties talking um and it appears to be effective so I'll be supporting this declaration is there anything else on the Declaration council member fuman yeah so um I I share the concern about getting too deep into day-to-day operations through legislation as opposed to regulations I do think that's an odd place for the council to be but it is this is a a special setting and as the chairman said the idea was to get the parties negotiating and I think that is happening I hope that they are close to a resolution I'm G to vote I said last time the same thing that I was concerned about this and hoped it could be resolved through negotiation it didn't happen I I I'm going to support it again this time but I you know this is another one of those things where can't go on forever the parties need to solve this and I hope they'll solve it soon thank you coun member if there's nothing further on the Declaration Madam Secretary would you call the role the vot is on pr25 d553 counc N yes votes yes Council Parker yes Parker votes yes council member Pinto no counc member Pinto votes no council member Robert White yes Robert White votes yes counc Tran white yes Tran white votes yes counc M Allan yes counc M Allen votes yes council member Bond yes Bond votes yes council member fuman yes council member fuman votes yes council member gray yes counc member gray votes yes council member Henderson yes counc member Henderson votes yes council member Lewis George yes counc Le George votes yes council member McDuffy yes yes mcy votes yes chairman mson yes mson votes yes Mr chairman there are 12 yeses and one no thank you Madam Secretary the Declaration is approved we have the underlying Bill Bill 25598 Council rebond so moved Mr chairman thank you um is there a discussion on the bill since the Declaration was approved unanimously we will do a Voice vote vot is on Bill 25598 all those in favor say I I I I Mr chairman please record me as voting no I was going to ask if there are any no votes are there any no votes counc member Pinto no anyone else mam secretary would you record council member Pinto is a voting no so no did Mr chairman uh the have it uh the next measure is PR 25559 Paul Lawrence Dunbar Apartments Topo emergency declaration resolution of 2023 council member n do thank you chairman um the concern that we were responding to as of last week has since been resolved so at this time I will be withdrawing the measure and the measures withdrawn Council M NAD you wanted to be recognized for something else I do pursuant to council rule 345 I move to reconsider PR 25- 474 the board of Library trustees Maria peace confirmation resolution of 2023 I know at least one colleague was not present when we took the vote and um I understand there are others who may wish to change their votes so so move chairman all right there's a motion to reconsider Mr chairman may I uh request a roll call sure I'm going to say that this is in order I'm because we passed a declaration and we passed the bill but um this would be what are we moving to Recon we're reconsidering um 25-4 excuse me um I'm all messed up here uh sure 25- 474 the board of Library trustees yes okay okay and you've asked for a roll call vote I think a motion to reconsider is debatable if the underlying is debatable so yes in this case it's debatable if anybody wants to debate it I have a question Mr chairman yes Mr McDuffy um I uh I experienced some technical diffic last time the vote came up I know there was some I don't know if it was conversation on the dayas but I missed some aspect of what may have been the debate uh around the nominee um my question would be I guess to the the chairman of um Library committee whether he still given what he knows now supports the nominee I understand that there was a um reference to when was the last time she had a library card um is there any indication that despite not having a library card for some time that she is or does not have the experience to actually fulfill her Duty as a member of the library Board of Trustees because I don't know that one necessarily uh uh amounts to her not having the necessarily experience of qualifications otherwise uh thank you uh councilman McDuffy as usual the mayor sends a nomination to the council um prior normal to of Duty we go through the hearing process to hear from the public and government Witnesses about this particular nomination uh I had no real reservation for uh Miss Pace uh beyond what I heard from the council and so there's not any over enthusiasm about the enthusiasm about the nomination but there's no reserve for me I mean it's just a nomination I haven't had anything that stuck stuck out to me that worried me um and so I think some of my colleagues are more concerned about other things which they should Express but for me um it's another mayor uh nomination if there's anything would stuck out to me I would have noted it and expressed it to the council thank you for that Mr chairman I appreciate it and it's not having a library card I guess is the point for me while it does seem troubling I have a library card but also have uh kids who are not so young anymore but but you required me to go to the library and and I don't get inside of the library as much as I used to um but I am still an avid uh uh reader and and I listen frequently to uh my books these days just because of the The Hectic nature of my schedule um but I I want to not give short shrift to the nominees qualifications while I will consider the fact that she doesn't have a library card I'm also going to consider all the other things that appears from her uh uh resume experience connection to the district uh experience and background with uh uh you know operations and governance which is ultimately the the role of a Board of Trustees members uh is in the governance field so I plan to support it thank thank you counc McDuffy Council fruman so Mr chairman and and I guess to you chairman Mendelson and to Chairman white is it procedur procedurally possible to withdraw the nomination for this session and we consider it at the December 19th session because we're all operating sort of on the fly with a little information and I voted present last time I probably am inclined to vote present again but none of us focused on this in the way that you would want to if it was something as big as rejecting uh the mayor's nomination I'm not comfortable doing it based on what I've heard so far but I do want to look at it more closely is that possible point of order um what's the point of order uh the motion is whether to reconsider yeah it's not on the measure itself that's correct okay I just want to make sure that we're limiting debate to the motion I think sometimes the discussion going a little bit beyond specifically reconsidering we're very good at that helpful no is helpful to giving members a comfort in however they're going to vote so uh my answer to council member fruman is that there is a motion pending to reconsider um I don't believe and I'm going to just rule that a motion to postpone would not be in order if the motion to reconsider succeeds a motion to postpone would be in order then so I think we have to I'm when I say I think we have to dispose of this motion before we would very very helpful thank you very much yes if there's nothing further on the motion to reconsider this is a motion to reconsider I think we all know what it is 25- 474 for the mayor's nomination and I think Council M you asked for a roll call vote I did thank you so Madam Secretary the vote is on whether to reconsider Madam Secretary call the rooll counc member Parker yes to reconsider Council M Parker votes yes council member Pinto to reconsider to reconsider yes council member Pinto votes yes council member Robert White yes council member Robert White votes yes council member trayon white no Tran white votes no council member Allen yesc Allen votes yes council member Bond yes bonds votes yes council member fuman yes fan votes yes council member gray yes gray votes yes council member Henderson yes counc member Henderson votes yes council member Lewis Jorge yes L George votes yes council member McDuffy yes council member McDuffy votes yes chairman Mendelson no chairman Mendon votes no council member Nadel yes votes yes Mr chairman there are 11 yeses and two NOS the um motion to reconsider is approved uh we have the Bill the uh resolution that's resolution 25474 before us Mr chairman is this at the appropriate time to try to make a motion to postpone or to make a request that we postpone because uh it would be in order to try okay I would like to make a motion that we postpone or alternatively request no you can only make I make a motion to postpone you only get one of the learning is I'm going uh so there's a motion to postpone to the next legislative meeting um which is debatable Mr chairman I'm going to ask for question of council member Tron white first uh and maybe somebody else could answer if you can't and that is when is this nomination deemed approved or disapproved um I'll have to get that I don't have it in front of me somebody could look that up real quickly I believe it's sometime in January Mr chair January 25th I'm told January 25th that sounds about right but I haven't yet to verify okay so just so everyone is clear Council refan has moved to postpone to the ne this matter to the next legislative meeting and uh this the nomination is is uh valid as a nomination until January 25th further discussion on the motion to postpone to January 25th council member Henderson um thank you Mr chairman I'm gonna speak to this just because I was the one who originally asked a question I just asked a question and I just want to say that again in light of our breakfast conversation I feel as though sometimes with nomin ations we just approved them because they were sent and this may seem innocuous to folks I I think that I I think we have one of the best public library systems in the country I think if you're going to be on the board of our library system then I need to be able to I should be able to see from the documents and in your statement Etc a demonstrated interest in the system or some other thing right sometimes we people are put on boards for other reasons or other levels of expertise that they're bringing to the body whether it be around real estate that could be it whether it be around business that could be it um operations or otherwise um and so if if the majority of my colleagues feel like they can gather more information between now and the next meeting I'm happy to support this but I will I'm also want to say to mayor's office of talent and appointments the office of policy and legislative affairs I hope you're taking this as a signal that the days of us just stamping them are over please send us individuals with complete packets of information um and not on the day we take a vote thank you uh thank you and I I'm told that I misspoke the motion to post is to postpone to the next legislative meeting um further discussion um Mr chairman Council McDuffy just what's the date of the next legislative meeting uh it could be the 19th or it will be January 9th um the motion is postpone to the next legislative meeting okay I wanted to follow up that's okay well speak up I did and you just answered the question I wasn't finished I think I have a little bit more time left um thank you Mr chairman uh I wanted to ask council member fan what he thought he might seek to accomplish between now and the next legislative meeting I think um I appreciate what council member Henderson expressed in her lot of questioning and and I think it's it's appropriate to ask those types of questions I think there's a time in which it is it is probably best asked and that's that's you know leading up to the hearing on the hearing and and leading up to the vote um but to the extent members still have questions that they'd like to get answered I would understand the desire to postpone the vote um now I mean the the code says you should have a demonstrated interest in the public libraries and I appreciate the question about library card I don't know in and of itself whether that demonstrates an interest um I think there are other things that would demonstrate an interest uh given the broad range of what the public library system uh does I do agree that we have one of the best public library systems in the country um I would ask you know council member Tryon white if there was anything that was brought to his attention throughout this process including during the the heing on her nomination where anybody was opposed or that to you did she demonstrate an interest in the district Public Library System both serving uh and you know putting in the time and the commitment necessary to be a contributing member of the Board of Trustees of uh dcpl council member can you repeat that I I wanted to know from you as chair of the committee in the hearing roundt process your interactions with the nominee did does she have a demonstrated interest which is what is required under the code for members serving on the board of uh Trustees for the libraries the short answer is yes um she met the the the threshold to be on the board um she expressed interest she talked about her plans and what she wanted to do uh as being a DC resident in war 7 to uh have influence on the board I mean I can look through some of the notes I guess from that but um there was no nothing that stuck out to me in the hearing there was no one opposing as mentioned uh so it was just a typical hearing from those who supported her got it I appreciate that I know you know not to oversimplify Mr chair my time has expired but I have a number of boards and commissions within the perview of my committee I I often get involved when they come up and ask questions I even make recommend sometimes to the executive for nominations um I know that every border commission I have a person who is nominated doesn't necessarily have a a license or permit um in the purview of that border commission while I think it is important I don't think it's just positive that the person doesn't have that uh and so um I I I think we don't need to postpone it but thank you Mr chairman uh thank you um so council member MC Duffy posed a question to me about what did I think that could be gained by a a delay and I I will say I me I until 10 o'clock well no it was a long morning so till a couple of hours ago there I would have deferred both to the mayor and to the committee on this I I hear council member Henderson's point and I think council member Parker and others have made a similar point that we need to be less deferential on these appointments and that is a fair point but this is a very much of a moving Target to me and I would use this time to reach out to the appointee to try to get a sense of whether regardless of whether she has a library card which is an indication of her interest in the library system what was her interest in the library system and how how had it been uh expressed itself over time so I'm reluctant on the what feels like on the fly to to throw all of that difference out of the window and would prefer to do some exploration in a window of time and that's what I think could be gained and could be gained by others uh we have the um chairman yes I'm trying to get us to a vote but yes Mr White um and I and I will take uh leadership on asking any additional questions uh from members uh if I need to that's not a problem for me I just want to caution because we often have conversations about nominations to different committees that we can't feel and then those nominees nominees uh not being DC residents and then going outside of DC uh and so you know I guess for me if someone is qualified and doesn't have any legal issues or any ethical issues or character issues then typically I I go with that um and so if there are any concerns I would love to address it but I haven't heard many of those outside of the uh Library Cod issue which I did I I reached out previously um because we have Library issues particularly in War 4 regarding the potential future of the Wanita Thorton Chev Park Library as well as the future of the Kennedy Street Library yeah but I speaking reference to this can oh okay I and and that's the only reason it would give me more time I think Council Duffy ask what are some of the reasons some members have uh for me uh though it's been uh there have been very politically charged decisions around the uh securing a Kennedy Street Library as well as uh what was about to happen regarding this wedita Thorton shepher Park library and so for me it's important to talk to the candidate about those and whether uh they will just fall in line with other board members or will be an independent thinker around issues I know I think Council pinto and Brianne had a request for a library in W two a letter that you all sent so I mean I think there's an interest in members being able to communicate with a candidate of any board that makes decisions that impact our community members we have before us a motion to postpone to the next legislative meeting by a Voice vote all those in favor of the motion to postpone say I I I those opposed I'm going to say no as well but I think the eyes have it uh the eyes have it so the matter is postponed you'll be all right all right hope we are in the home stretch we have uh the temporary legislation and we always adopt that in Block unless there's objection Mr chairman who's asking to be recognized council member Pinto there's something you voted no on yes I'm looking up the bill title but it's the hotel cleaning Bill yes got it you can do a separate vote on that okay so if there's no objection we will yes Mr chairman Mr chairman yes um we're on the Temporaries correct correct okay I'm gonna actually I'm gonna move a table I'm trying to find it on my agenda the to get the right number but the uh the temporary where is it strey program extension temporary Amendment Act of 2023 in light of the concerns that have been raised uh I appreciate my colleagues in the debate well the the concerns raised on the breakfast both on the Des as well uh I think it'll give us some time to work with the executive around the um D do regulations I'm in communication with Council Charles Allen as well and I think we both like the opportunity to out of order you can say that you want it pulled out of the group but then we'll deal with it I do want to ask our general counsel our rules require that a temporary has to move with an emergency yes is that for first reading so if it doesn't move today would it be out of order later yes because it has to move with an emergency yes all right so the effect of of our not voting on the temporary today is that it could not be voted on oh so just it would have to be what's the proper way to to remove it from the agenda then Mr chairman well you can REM well you can't remove it from the agenda if you want to be able to vote on it later if you want to slow it down we could vote on it today and then you would delay second reading let's let's yeah let's do it let's let's go ahead and do it today then right so um I appreciate I think there's a little bit of lag section we'll be voting in Block on number one green housing transition extension temporary that's Bill 25- 589 number three which is adjustment of building restriction line in square 2950 that's Bill 25- 584 Bill a number four which is Bill bill number 25603 retired firefighter and police officer redeployment temporary Bill 25- 63 and number five which is Bill number 25601 Fidelity and electronic communication second temporary Amendment Act of 2023 I hearing no objection that's what's before us those four bills street is not part of this and hotel cleaning is not part of this and Paul Lawrence Dunbar is not part of this I usually make the secretary go through a roll call vote I think we'll do a Voice vote here everyone's clear what we're voting on I am green housing adjustment and building restriction line retired firefighter and Fidelity and electronic communications by Voice vote all those in favor of the Temporaries say I I I I are there any no votes I don't hear any no votes all right those four are approved unanimously number two council member McDuffy I pulled that out um maybe I shouldn't have um if you want to postpone it but you want to be able to deal with it later I recommend that you move it today and then you delay it at second reading yeah no I appreciate it Mr chairman I I uh should have tried to clarify that a little earlier um but yeah I'd like to for us to go ahead and move it today and then Charles Allen and I and the folks who raise concerns we can we can deal with it on second reading thank you for that Mr chairman can I ask you a question about this yes well um yes yes yes so say the emergency took effect December 10th and lasts for 90 days is the idea that we could postpone dealing with the temporary December 10th January 10th February 10th March 10th so anywhere up until March we could have to have a second vote on the temporary and have the temporary kick in seamlessly if we if the regulations haven't come well remember temporary has to go to Congress the temporary has to go to Congress and has to have two readings I don't want to speak for councilor McDuffy but I believe he wants to uh work out some issues I'm happy to speak to it if it's appropriate Mr chairman um sure uh just briefly uh thank you for the question council member fan um I've been in conversation with colleagues about this uh in advance of today's vote both on the emergency an on attempt and I think a better way to approach it um is to have the emergency going to effect uh work with the executive push them to get the DT rigs published uh and open for comment public comment um and then if necessary move to Temporary um also with the understanding that ABA has a permanent bill which likely won't go into effect uh and we will need a temporary but I want to use this time with my colleagues to to work with the executive on the the regulations so I don't know if that answered your question Mr fuman the um our rules require that a temporary is in order If It Moves together with an emergency so that's why it has to be approved today or else it's not in order but it requires two readings and we have often I'm looking at council member Allen because he did this for about two years he kept postponing a I exaggerate when I say two years kept postponing whatever that was on the police accountability bill um so it could be postponed but at some point you we run up against the 90 days expiring on the emergency but this gives Mr McDuffy uh flexibility and he's put us on notice that he may want to work on the bill some more and he may want to delay the second reading all right thanks a so the vote will be on Bill 25594 the street re program temporary all those in favor say I I I opposed the vote is unanimous uh hotel cleaning and notice of service Interruption temporary Bill 25599 I'm going to speak for Council M Bond and say so moved is there discussion uh are we okay with the voice vote all those in favor of the bill say I I I are there any opposed no that means council member Pinto is voting no not that there's nobody opposed uh the measure the Temporaries approved on the first reading the number seven the Paul Lawrence stumbar was withdrawn I'm sorry but I think that we are at the end of this fun unless anybody wants to reconsider the entire meeting uh the committee of the whole meets on January 19th and the next regularly scheduled legislative meeting is January 9th the time is whoops the time is 4:11 PM this meeting is adjourned did I misspeak no you 411 were adjourned