Council of the District of Columbia

Committee of the Whole

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

 

 

TO:                 Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council

              

FROM:           Phil Mendelson, Chairman

                                               

DATE:            May 2, 2025

 

 

This memorandum serves to update my previous notice of the following items to be agendized for the May 6, 2025 legislative meeting:

 

▪        Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Declaration Amendment Act of 2025

▪        Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Emergency Amendment Act of 2025

▪        Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Temporary Amendment Act of 2025

 

Bill 26-175, the Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act Amendment Act of 2025, would amend Section 215 of the Uniform College Athlete Name, or Likeness Act of 2022 (D.C. Code § 38-1631.05). The amendment would authorize institutions, athletic conferences, and associations to assist college athletes in selecting, coordinating, or compensating a name, image, or likeness (NIL) agent. Additionally, the bill eliminates the current prohibition that prevents institutions or conferences from providing direct compensation to college athletes for the use of their name, image, or likeness.  My previous memorandum outlines additional background on this issue.

 

I have added new language to address an issue that has come to my attention since circulation of this draft emergency.  Last year, the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability issued a rulemaking adding 47 new boards and commissions to the public financial disclosure requirements.  While this might be reasonable, the mostly volunteer members of these boards and commissions were unaware until this week.  I have heard from members of two boards under the Committee of the Whole’s purview that they may not want to continue their service if subject to public financial disclosure.

 

Emergency action is warranted because the BEGA public disclosures are due in one week (May 15^th).  I believe that the concerns being raised by a number of these Boards and Commissions are legitimate and warrant suspending the applicability of the new requirements until the end of the year, so that Council committees may work with affected boards and commissions, as well as BEGA, to better understand the rationale behind the new requirements and whether other forms of disclosure, such as a confidential disclosure like most of our own staff are held to, may be more appropriate.  A new Section 3 of the above-referenced legislation has been added to effectuate such a pause.

 

Updated draft