Monthly Archives: January 2014

Legislative Meeting Media Briefing Feb. 4

By news

WHO:       DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson

WHAT:     Legislative Meeting Media Briefing

WHEN:     Monday, February 3, 2014

                10:00 am

WHERE:   John A. Wilson Building, Room 412

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC

Background:

Chairman Mendelson will hold a media briefing to   preview major actions to be taken at the upcoming legislative meeting, which   will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 10 am.

For additional information, please call: (202) 724-8032.

Statement on GAO Budget Autonomy Act Opinion

By news

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson expressed his disappointment in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion issued today on the legal effect of the Local Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 (Autonomy Act).  The Council unanimously adopted, and the Mayor subsequently signed, the Autonomy Act in December 2012, and voters overwhelmingly approved a Charter Amendment to effectuate the Autonomy Act in April 2013.

“I strongly believe that the amendment to the D.C. Charter, to provide the District with autonomy to spend its own local dollars, is right, legal, and proper,” Mendelson stated.  “Although the opinion of the GAO is not law, today’s opinion will certainly be cited by those opposing District control over its own local funds.  Contrary to GAO’s opinion, the Autonomy Act retains Congress’ role and authority in local budget matters, and the new procedure meets the requirements of the Anti-Deficiency Act.”

Mendelson continued, “Given the ambiguity caused by GAO, Congress should take this opportunity to acknowledge explicitly the right of District residents to determine how their tax dollars should be spent.”

The District is unfairly tethered to the federal appropriations process, causing local government services to be jeopardized by purely unrelated national squabbles in the federal appropriations process.  Adding insult to this injury is the fact that the District’s budget is derived approximately 98 percent from local revenue and federal grants available to every jurisdiction.

COW Agency Performance Hearings

By committee update, , , , , , , , , ,

FISCAL YEAR 2013/2014 AGENCY PERFORMANCE OVERSIGHT HEARINGS

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announces the scheduling of a series of public hearings of the Committee of the Whole for Fiscal Year 2013 and 2014 Agency Performance in anticipation of the Fiscal Year 2015 budget submission.  Hearings for individual agencies will be held on the dates and times indicated in the table below in the John A. Wilson Building.

Those who wish to testify should contact the approrpriate staff (indicated in the table) at (202) 724-8196, or via e-mail by clicking on the appropriate staff and provide their name, address, telephone number, organizational affiliation and title (if any) at least two business days before the hearing.  Persons wishing to testify are encouraged, but not required, to submit 15 copies of written testimony.  Witnesses should limit their testimony to five minutes; less time will be allowed if there are a large number of witnesses.  Materials provided by agencies related to performance hearings can be found at http://dccouncil.us.

If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record.  Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee of the Whole, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 410 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  The record will close within two weeks of each hearing.

Monday 2/24
Tuesday 2/25
Friday 2/28
Wednesday 3/5
10:00 am – 4:00pm (Rm 500)
11:00 am – 6:00pm (Rm 412)
Noon – 4:00pm (Rm 120)
9:30am – 6:00pm (Rm 500)
Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP)
Innovation Fund
[Evan Cash]
University of the District of Columbia (UDC)
University of the District of Columbia Community College (UDC-CC)
[Christina Setlow]
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)
District of Columbia Auditor(ODCA)
Office of Budget and Planning (OBP)
Office of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining (OLRCB)
[Renee Johnson]
Contract Appeals Board (CAB)
District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB)
District Retiree Health Contribution
Teachers Retirement System
Police Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System
Office of Zoning (OZ)
Office of Planning (OP)
[Jessica Jacobs]

Hearing on B20-602 (Feb 10th)

By committee update, , ,

CHAIRMAN PHIL MENDELSON ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC HEARING

Bill 20-602, Attorney General Partisan Election Implementation Amendment Act of 2013

Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole on Bill 20-602, Attorney General Partisan Election Implementation Amendment Act of 2013.  The hearing will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2014 in Hearing Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building.

The stated purpose of Bill 20-602 is to amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to provide for election of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia in a general election whereby a candidate for office is permitted to indicate a political party preference in reference to his or her candidacy and have that preference appear on the general election ballot in conjunction with his or her name; to amend the Attorney General for the District of Columbia Clarification and Elected Term Amendment Act of 2010 to clarify the timeline for transition from an elected to appointed Attorney General; and to amend the Prohibition on Government Employee Engagement in Political Activity Act of 2010 to exempt attorneys employed by the District government from the prohibition of filing and campaigning for the position of Attorney General.

Those who wish to testify should contact Mr. Brian Moore at (202) 724-8196, or via e-mail at bmoore@dccouncil.us, and provide their name, address, telephone number, organizational affiliation and title (if any) by close of business Thursday, February 6, 2014.  Persons wishing to testify are encouraged, but not required, to submit 15 copies of written testimony.  If submitted by the close of business on Thursday, February 6, 2014 the testimony will be distributed to Councilmembers before the hearing.  Witnesses should limit their testimony to five minutes; less time will be allowed if there are a large number of witnesses.  A copy of Bill 20-602 can be obtained through the Legislative Services Division of the Secretary of the Council’s office or at http://dcclims1.dccouncil.us/lims.

If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record.  Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee of the Whole, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 410 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  The record will close at 5:00 p.m. on February 24, 2014.

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