[{"_1":2,"_107":-5,"_108":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85,97],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6560971,"mediaKeyId","3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223","parentId",3303551,"title","Council hearing weighs HOPE bill to expand hiring pathways for returning citizens; city HR warns of heavy administrative burdens","audioSeconds",6660,"startMs",19000,"endMs",6679000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223&start=19&end=6679","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223/thumbnail_19000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6560971/Council-hearing-weighs-HOPE-bill-to-expand-hiring-pathways-for-returning-citizens-city-HR-warns-of-heavy-administrative-burdens","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6560971-1be31292e6672a8d68b522ceb2ef3f3b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487898&Signature=FwE7Q4wAPj-q3lseihzEcw-bnl7kFzrE1eA9rD1sikPvRiX-zPoxwzs2Me0t3yApjm1BtVXOp~ObGx6pUzyoQCG-eMmIHaAkJF09T46Ur~yAlYStYwD8wnIA99XkYqx8mkD2JpBjhNyYImh9E6lTPpl05ADm51GfNuyHra8jEx0rmvel7Gu5egU2AAs6D3oMe2VKEkqxZWYCHjDRRAZhp7LWU-sE4-aSQ7qNnBd6nLYsbmdXvgsZ59md3GQ6AZHkKixFN0Dw4cxT9XAp5bq7iJDpP67f2qR4vTDAhe1Y26Xl5HsGXcnmYQt7zsrhkTgaB4pYY8J4h5Ihupz5FUoCWQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","District of Columbia (Executive Administration and Labor)","date","2025-05-14T00:00:00Z","article","Supporters of the HOPE Amendment Act (Bill 206-185) told the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor on May 14 that the measure would increase public-employment pathways for returning citizens by formalizing hiring preferences for graduates of qualifying transitional employment programs, narrowing which criminal-history records are considered and improving transparency and appeals for applicants.

Councilmember Brooke Pinto, sponsor of the HOPE Amendment Act, framed the bill as part of a package to expand reentry employment and housing pathways. \"This bill ensures that program participation and job performance are meaningfully considered during hiring,\" Pinto said, describing provisions intended to focus hiring decisions on rehabilitation and job readiness rather than remote or irrelevant convictions.

Advocate testimony: Katie McConville, policy counsel for the Council for Court Excellence, urged widening eligibility beyond programs run by District agencies and shortening the bill's look-back windows; she recommended expanding qualifying programs to include high-quality community providers such as Georgetown's Pivot Program and DC Central Kitchen's Culinary Job Training. McConville also urged that pending charges be excluded from the criminal-history report and that misdemeanors and felonies have shorter finite look-back periods (she suggested two years for misdemeanors and three for felonies). Zachary Rigoni, policy director for the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens, likewise supported expanding the hiring preference beyond the relatively small number of participants in District-run transitional programs and shortening look-back periods to improve employment outcomes and reduce recidivism.

Government response and concerns: Charles Hall, Director of the D.C. Department of Human Resources (DCHR), said the District already follows many second-chance practices and cited data showing most applicants with prior law-enforcement interactions are found suitable: \"In FY '24, approximately 98 percent of applicants who had at least 1 law enforcement interaction were found suitable,\" Hall said. DCHR raised several operational concerns: the bill would require DCHR to create and publish lists of qualifying transitional programs, generate a new criminal-history report, coordinate suitability reviews with agency representatives, and develop a position-specific relevant-screen protocol across thousands of job classifications. Hall said those steps would add staffing and timing burdens, expand the number of people with access to sensitive criminal-history information and could increase the risk of discrimination. He urged collaboration with the Council on more targeted alternatives.

Workforce pipeline data: DOES summarized its transitional-employment activities and said Project Empowerment and other programs place many participants into work experience and unsubsidized jobs. Dr. Hughes noted that since FY23, about 76% of Project Empowerment participants go on to employment (measured using DOES data definitions), and that DOES recently won a federal PROWD grant to expand services for federally incarcerated individuals returning to the community.

Key unresolved issues: The hearing surfaced tensions between advocates' push for broader, clearer pathways into public employment and the city's operational concerns about confidentiality, process complexity and staffing. Witnesses asked for clearer program definitions, data collection and targeted pilot approaches. DCHR requested time to work with Council staff to identify less administratively burdensome ways to meet the bill's goals.

Next steps: The committee left the record open until May 28 for written testimony. Staff and agency officials signaled they will work with the sponsor to refine the bill's language to reduce unintended operational consequences while preserving expanded opportunities for returning citizens.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","District of Columbia (Executive Administration and Labor) - Committee on Executive Administration & Labor, Public Hearing, Anita Bonds, Chairperson - May 14, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Supporters said the HOPE Amendment Act would create clearer, more objective pathways for returning citizens into D.C. government jobs; the city's human-resources director warned the bill would impose heavy administrative, confidentiality and staffing burdens unless revised.","taxTitle","Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, Committees, Legislative, District of Columbia","taxId",15950,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":44,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":50,"_51":81,"_53":82,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":83,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":84,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6560975,"Hearing exposes split over portable paid leave: advocates press portability for people laid off or fired; DOES opposes as outside law's intent",1932,1951000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223&start=19&end=1951","/articles/6560975/Hearing-exposes-split-over-portable-paid-leave-advocates-press-portability-for-people-laid-off-or-fired-DOES-opposes-as-outside-laws-intent","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6560975-01c49d3a7696bff3abf026a79bff95b8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487898&Signature=AMpdx59aQCuzoy9QHbXemGq1c6frKG1i9NxOFC7TlrWFGtAK9cH7mZ0I6FZbdbvcqSlhyq1DwfXl1RSActJwV4-VG2B7~aT9bXIyRmiwGIcVhBAmpDM99Y3tQsaerdzGLL7x2NckzEI2u89cn9cAJKr-m-rd~2eKFQBFFxE29mb4FmOkkellYREnq87XxjP26wxr47PoyVB-q4ANRFPCKYZvrGkVy5rgoe1kCGwx5LPC~f4wO73EM6GDSwZ8qmyOv2Wd0QKJI137djNKpafkmbYGdW-F3y4pH8ygA4doXJIzJSRSj8Dmlim~XC51Hjx7zE6bb2utHCH9cfJ1te5DSw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Advocates, residents and city officials debated the Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2025 at a May 14 Committee on Executive Administration and Labor hearing. The bill would allow individuals to receive paid family leave wage replacement benefits if they are unemployed and not receiving unemployment insurance but were covered by the Universal Paid Leave Act in the prior 52 weeks.

Advocates' case: Multiple witnesses urged passage as a fairness fix for people who lose work because of caregiving, pregnancy discrimination, or layoffs. Laura Brown, executive director of First Shift Justice Project, said the bill would make benefits \"portable, attached to the worker instead of the job\" and called portability an issue of fairness for people whose employers had already reported wages and paid into the fund. Ward 4 constituent Mindy Lee described her personal case: at eight months pregnant and approved for 12 weeks of leave by her employer, she said she was laid off after federal contract cuts and, despite having wages reported to DOES, now lacked access to D.C. paid family leave. \"What should be a special and sacred time of preparing to become a new parent has been tainted by the stress of losing my job and trying and failing to access critical district support and benefits that I have contributed to as a D.C. resident,\" she testified.

Government position and operational concerns: Dr. Eunique Morris Hughes, Director of the Department of Employment Services, said DOES opposes the bill because the current statute contemplates leave taken from employment. In her testimony, Hughes cited statutory language that requires notice to an employer and explained DOES built its systems on the original leave-from-work model. \"The act clearly contemplates an individual currently has an employer to whom such notice must be delivered,\" she said. Hughes noted the program began collecting employer taxes on July 1, 2019 and administering benefits on July 1, 2020 and that DOES has paid over $130,000,000 in benefits. She recommended exploring benefit coordination with other District programs rather than amending the paid-leave statute.

Other testimony and policy details: Witnesses and councilmembers flagged several practical consequences and policy options: advocates asked the Council to ensure unpaid caregivers, self-employed people and those illegally fired for pregnancy can access wage replacement; some witnesses urged portability specifically for people who are not eligible for unemployment because they are not \"able and available\" to work due to caregiving or medical reasons. Witnesses also asked for better outreach to self-employed residents, and for data collection to measure how many returning citizens and caregivers are denied access.

Fiscal and administrative notes: Committee members and witnesses discussed the paid leave trust fund's balance and the effect of a lowered tax rate enacted in a prior budget (BSA) that reduced future revenues. Dr. Hughes and other officials cautioned that recent changes to the fund's revenue and the administrative design tied to current employment complicate an immediate expansion of eligibility without a fiscal and systems study.

Committee action: No vote occurred. The committee left the record open through May 28 for written testimony and indicated staff and DOES will explore benefit-coordination options and technical implementation questions before any markup.","At a May 14 hearing, advocates urged passage of the Universal Paid Leave Portability Amendment Act of 2025 to let D.C. residents receive paid family leave benefits even if they are between jobs or were laid off; the Department of Employment Services opposed the amendment on statutory-interpretation and operational grounds.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":92,"_51":93,"_53":94,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":95,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":96,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6560980,"Committee hears proposal to credit Marion S. Barry SYEP time toward D.C. retirement; agency flags data, administrative hurdles",5537,347000,5884000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223&start=347&end=5884","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223/thumbnail_347000.jpg","/articles/6560980/Committee-hears-proposal-to-credit-Marion-S-Barry-SYEP-time-toward-DC-retirement-agency-flags-data-administrative-hurdles","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6560980-99afd33260d8be9580a09411ad334329/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487898&Signature=K0S8GC5rRsNLZu4LsOcZ5-qn3CowRedGxeYFfIWkV204iUfTSjrqv6E4vrOVnpjlNkRTw~5wtz4JGVdJp0PnxEXVh79gGkZF3ieoRQBx8jd85z5Ip72~0a2EY40TMd9NDXJnUk0e0LplTFvzeBoVqw89YdxQaVMCvnJYfDzh~NBNYvwhjBLN-0T5c7DL88j6S4nnguJAbPTjxrUFAuVLaTs0YVRBxxjtNVeTnGfLbF9QXLgx10jPx9ePFKbkr6V6ctuprMU96IaONtN-cvaTkmYC7qEt02vPcQGBlIvyu8lfrJ~LkYMsLQ6Sw3hxlVLnCxKg1CSG0ml5ka4927TNQw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Committee on Executive Administration and Labor heard testimony May 14 on Bill 206-43, the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program Creditable Service Benefit Amendment Act of 2025. The measure would count past participation in the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) as creditable service for District retirement calculations.

Councilmember Kenyon McDuffie, who introduced the bill's SYEP provision, framed the change as recognition of SYEP participants' work as public service. \"This time in the program is service to the district and its citizens, and it should be treated as such,\" McDuffie said, describing his own experience as an alumnus and arguing the change could encourage youth to view D.C. government as a career path.

Witnesses and agency testimony: Dr. Eunique Morris Hughes, Director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES), described the program as a long-standing workforce pipeline and provided operational context: SYEP will run in 2025 from June 23 to Aug. 1 and DOES expects to serve roughly 12,000 youth this summer. However, Hughes said DOES's current records and IT systems only reliably retain participant enrollment and completion data dating back to about 2012. \"In compliance with the district's record retention policies, DOES no longer has access to participant enrollment or completion dating as far back as 1980,\" Hughes told the committee, adding that implementing retroactive credit for service would create significant administrative challenges.

Why it matters: The bill would recognize SYEP participation as time toward vesting and retirement eligibility for employees who later join D.C. government. Proponents said the step both corrects a long-standing omission and could incentivize youth employment and public-sector career paths.

Outstanding questions: Committee members and the agency discussed how to verify decades-old participation, the potential administrative costs of retroactive crediting, and whether to limit credit to participants for whom reliable records exist. Dr. Hughes said DOES is willing to work with the bill's sponsor and the committee to refine the proposal to preserve its intent while addressing operational hurdles.

Next steps: The committee left the record open for additional written testimony through May 28 and indicated staff will coordinate with DOES and the bill sponsor to explore technical fixes, including limiting the effective date to years with verifiable records or creating an applicant-driven verification process.","Councilmembers and government staff discussed Bill 206-43, which would allow prior Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program participation to count as creditable service toward District retirement. Witnesses praised the intent; the Department of Employment Services said records and IT limits could complicate implementation.",{"_33":98,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":99,"_41":100,"_43":44,"_45":101,"_47":102,"_49":50,"_51":103,"_53":104,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":105,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":106,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6560984,"Committee reviews brief bill to require 49-day special election if D.C. delegate seat is vacant during mass House vacancies",370,389000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3303551-5817335e3f65339c239ceb9a5a3cb223&start=19&end=389","/articles/6560984/Committee-reviews-brief-bill-to-require-49-day-special-election-if-DC-delegate-seat-is-vacant-during-mass-House-vacancies","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6560984-62a578abc7df7ab864b94549d96d1262/orig.mp4?Expires=1770487898&Signature=LrAnpo-mRL4Blcp8x18t36vGbhVhkznskGUwsHTXQ626GbuIWiakglCVtnTN6EP3RvLMQqBsTB37s3tFds6D0d-HJSXmj7sp6evK8SyOWJlNkaOd34KuWTBUcKnCnmPoBdPYYybAviPL7TdtF-mqinSpZd3p4Kwa-0HNoKAsdpi0Lhh9u47kFJhfgcvQCvG9evitABsqkluZ0e9iay1o7EZaiCqWpJhWR8p2XSs4s0ng~QLGp67r3IrpYtUsI6eGRT6FBp4rAF64q0Trwf~pg0724kGDQBn5Vl3OgL8ZhyLqxJ1sabjTdyTLK7656GuEtrYzxC~3VK-vHcbvj1VE0A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Committee on Executive Administration and Labor on May 14 heard public testimony on Bill 26-136, the Special Election in the Office of Delegate Amendment Act of 2025, a short bill that would require the Board of Elections to hold a special election within 49 days when federal law conditions trigger mass vacancies in the U.S. House and a vacancy exists in the District's office of delegate.

Council Chairperson Anita Bonds, chair of the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, opened the hearing by listing the bill among four measures scheduled for consideration and said the legislation was introduced to align local code with federal law. \"This bill was introduced to ensure that DC code aligns with the federal law,\" she said during the committee's opening remarks.

Why it matters: The bill would create a specific, short timeline for filling the District's delegated representation in a rare national emergency scenario. Proponents told the committee the change would close a gap uncovered by a recent Government Accountability Office review of state-level procedures for special U.S. House elections.

Public testimony: James Harnett, a Ward 2 resident, told the committee he supported the bill and called it straightforward: \"A short 4 line bill like this 1 deserves a short endorsement,\" he said. Harnett noted the GAO had profiled states and territories and found only nine had procedures aligned with the federal requirement. He urged the Council to adopt the measure quickly so the District would be compliant with federal rules in the event of a national crisis.

Council context: Chairperson Bonds framed the bill as an administrative alignment with federal law and noted the Council's interest in ensuring D.C.'s procedures conform to nationwide standards for continuity of representation. No formal action or vote occurred at the hearing; the committee solicited public and government testimony and said the written record would remain open through May 28, 2025.

What remains unresolved: The hearing did not include legal analysis of implementation costs, nor did it contain a motion or vote. The Board of Elections was not on the government witness list at this hearing to discuss operational readiness or logistics for a 49-day special election timeline.

Next steps: Committee staff said written testimony will remain part of the record through May 28; the bill may be revised based on witness input before any markup or vote.","The D.C. Council's Committee on Executive Administration and Labor held a public hearing May 14 on Bill 26-136, which would require the Board of Elections to hold a special election within 49 days to fill the District's delegate seat if a federal law declaration creates mass vacancies in the U.S. House.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council hearing weighs HOPE bill to expand hiring pathways for returning citizens; city HR warns of heavy administrative burdens

Hearing exposes split over portable paid leave: advocates press portability for people laid off or fired; DOES opposes as outside law's intent

Committee hears proposal to credit Marion S. Barry SYEP time toward D.C. retirement; agency flags data, administrative hurdles

Committee reviews brief bill to require 49-day special election if D.C. delegate seat is vacant during mass House vacancies