[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",[32,75,87],{"_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",6639402,"mediaKeyId","3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4","parentId",3741329,"title","DLCP says BEST Act changes and new corporate registry will streamline licensing; advocates warn budget cuts risk delays","audioSeconds",7590,"startMs",510000,"endMs",8100000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4&start=510&end=8100","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4/thumbnail_510000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6639402/DLCP-says-BEST-Act-changes-and-new-corporate-registry-will-streamline-licensing-advocates-warn-budget-cuts-risk-delays","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6639402-9e3747540f10c39454b8daa8318ac0d2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156989&Signature=jSMYkcYoatDJg2FVlBDModd1CC~hEBBsz0KVaxJn4gDsSkOB6s9Z9uuZlvpAim-jBvLFA7FK3XkiPqEaWmg1BkuPYBK8oZAw5m5-ufjZmZQEPU4i36PSVRMMLu4H1Ia774iafIFO3SWDNa9Lpc5oQhQLv1A~iGHwp8I6o7utncPWbeOqUbimeHnQo3wCvIoT23zn0JBPl05MRizn6OOuOG6RRU6gHXkOdXH1w54Nr9-SDgj7JJKDH7SplqKuLT0UzgxQoeY5Wsh5p5kc2oOL9LZGz13u-~jzjgMfN~lQyCPOHiCBXj2lu-fVS6gIPKTyXyN8qKeBKgyusPjX4b6i0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","District of Columbia (Public Works and Operations)","date","2025-06-09T00:00:00Z","article","Business groups including the DC Chamber of Commerce, Georgetown BID, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and small‑business speakers praised DLCP’s recent customer‑service improvements and called for full funding to complete the Business and Entrepreneurship Support to Thrive (BEST) Act implementation and the department’s corporate‑registry modernization.

Janette Hubbard, president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce, told the committee the BEST Act reforms “streamlining, simplifying, and economizing what has been a lengthy, confusing, and costly business licensing process” are integral to a broader growth strategy. John Wiebenson of the Georgetown BID and small‑business speakers likewise praised Director Tiffany Crowe and DLCP staff for faster licensing turnaround and improved responsiveness.

DLCP said the mayor’s proposed FY 2026 operating budget for the agency is $31,878,163, a nearly 18 percent reduction from FY 2025 driven primarily by projected fee revenue declines tied to the BEST Act’s reduced license fees. Director Crowe told the committee that DLCP will implement reductions in licensing categories, fee reductions and other streamlining measures effective October 1, 2025, consistent with the law, and that the agency has an IT vendor in place to launch an updated Corps Online system by January 2026.

Children's Law Center expressed concern about specific proposed cuts in the mayor’s FY 2026 submission. Policy attorney Makenna Osborne said the corporate services office needs adequate IT and enforcement capacity to make the corporate‑records database searchable by beneficial owner and to hold bad landlord actors accountable. Osborne testified that the proposed budget cuts include $475,000 to corporation services, $32,000 to the civil infractions enforcement team, and “most importantly, over $2,000,000 to the agency's information technology services,” and she urged the committee to ask DLCP how those cuts would affect the planned Core Online modernization.

Director Crowe said the department has allocated $2.5 million initially for BEST Act implementation and that contractors and platform teams have been selected; she confirmed the agency expects to spend the allocated funds and launch the licensing changes on October 1, 2025, while Corp Online is scheduled for a January 2026 roll-out. DLCP officials said they are working to reduce call volumes through better online tools, appointments, and chat support and to cross‑train staff to handle customer calls previously managed by contractors.

The committee sought more detail on several budget line items: what remains of the BEST Act implementation funding; whether legacy‑system maintenance cuts create an unacceptable risk before Corp Online launches; and how many vendor calls or customer inquiries are currently handled by contractors (DLCP said the occupational/professional licensing contractor handles roughly 5,000 calls per month). Director Crowe and agency fiscal staff agreed to follow up with specific figures on remaining BEST Act funds, legacy maintenance contingency plans, and projected call‑center staffing after the migration.

Ending: Council members pressed DLCP to provide a schedule of spending and deliverables for the BEST Act and Corp Online modernization and asked for a written assessment of the impacts of the proposed FY 2026 IT and contract reductions on the January 2026 launch date.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","District of Columbia (Public Works and Operations) - Committee on Public Works & Operations, Budget Oversight Hearing, Brianne Nadeau, Chairperson - Jun 09, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Business and industry witnesses at the June 9 oversight hearing urged the Committee on Public Works and Operations to preserve funding for DLCP’s BEST Act implementation and corporate‑registry modernization, which they said will simplify licensing and help hold landlords accountable.","taxTitle","Committee on Public Works and Operations, Committees, Legislative, District of Columbia","taxId",15951,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6639407,"Council hearing exposes tensions over street vending implementation, proposed recriminalization and enforcement in Columbia Heights",7018,242000,7260000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4&start=242&end=7260","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4/thumbnail_242000.jpg","/articles/6639407/Council-hearing-exposes-tensions-over-street-vending-implementation-proposed-recriminalization-and-enforcement-in-Columbia-Heights","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6639407-44be334b47a00225f0b2ab500578988b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156989&Signature=gxTXLo4A--1tQXGDSl9tJLqau4gwTvtKvPN5nmfdSXJtu9dokTLasWLtPtx8dQ2ZmanfWT7VNHXihcnGswoUs9HSKgCgxbrNhXqitBdM4TOFUthKE2xaQhZiHYQNqaJsz2YK6GI4pJrvXyZz~AtSNs29NwFqlKyAvaGDFZDFoNvy0Og-dNfZ8L5sMd-NnJRCiLpwLYVsiz8CHh7xIHg5gzJAP2HYCRHHaB22n9PEXfxjBhlPwwXViqXuQI7GE84Dg3Dug~0b-U5Q-XlYYtkpA-9aDp30OSH6VMRvnErsOU4345HuxqTOJifljuSw7J3-Onddsnfc1phSIj9VGCnlUg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chair Brianne Nadeau convened the Committee on Public Works and Operations’ June 9 budget oversight hearing on the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) to examine FY 2026 funding and agency implementation of recent laws. Much of the public testimony and subsequent questioning focused on implementation of the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act of 2023 in the Columbia Heights–Mount Pleasant vending zone.

Advocates and neighborhood officials described a failure of DLCP to carry out the law’s site-management responsibilities and urged the committee to remove language in the mayor’s proposed Budget Support Act (BSA) that would recriminalize unlicensed vending and raise fines. Janneke Mictin, an organizer who works with street vendors, said inspectors have repeatedly shown up without translators and that “DLCP clocks more hours on the street harassing street vendors than in their office actually trying to give vendors their licenses.” Jeremy Sherman, an ANC 1A commissioner, told the committee that sidewalks at Fourteenth and Irving are “overcrowded” and that licensing and management changes promised after the 2023 law have produced “little to no changes in Columbia Heights.”

Legal and vendor advocates asked the council to preserve the 2023 law’s decriminalization. Jeff Gilbert of Beloved Community Incubator said the mayor’s draft budget includes “a street vending subtitle that's more than 25 pages long” that he described as effectively a new law inserted through the budget process. He warned that the mayor’s proposal would “recriminaliz[e] vending without a license and reinserting into the criminal code a misdemeanor offense for vending without a license punishable by up to 90 days in jail.” Gilbert said DLCP had repeatedly called MPD to assist enforcement in Columbia Heights after the law’s passage and that a vending zone manager contract required by the 2023 law has not been in place since December 2023.

DLCP Director Tiffany Crowe defended the agency’s work and framed the BSA language as a combination of steps to make vending “easier to vend in the city” while giving the agency additional enforcement tools for vendors who “present a health and safety risk.” Crowe told the committee the BSA would create two new licenses — “the sidewalk vending license and the mobile vending license” — and give DLCP grant-making authority to help vendors with startup costs such as carts and tables. She said DLCP is testing a permit model that would allow licensees to vend in any lawfully designated vending location rather than a single fixed spot, a change other cities use to spread vendors and reduce sidewalk congestion.

Committee members pressed DLCP on several operational points. Witnesses and council members said the vendor-zone manager contract was canceled in October 2024, after which outside applicants did not materialize. Gilbert and vendor organizers described the contract’s cancellation as a turning point that left the zone without a daily manager to allocate and coordinate site-sharing among vendors. DLCP has reposted the RFP and held a pre-bid conference, but the department reported zero applicants the most recent round; Director Crowe said the $125,000 currently allocated by the 2023 law is not sufficient for the scope of work required.

Advocates urged concrete administrative fixes. Suggestions included clearer, publicly posted site maps for the vending zone, hiring Spanish-speaking enforcement officers, marking approved vending spaces or kiosks on sidewalks, grants for uniform tables/carts, and stronger coordination with DDOT and Metro on high-traffic corners. Beloved Community Incubator said roughly 15 merchandise vendors have received vending badges after an administrative change earlier this year that stops attaching badges to a single specific site; the group said that change created confusion because site-assignment and crowding issues remain unresolved. Director Crowe said DLCP would post the vending map used in the application online and that the agency could take on intra-agency coordination more readily than an external nonprofit because DLCP already has relationships with OTR, DDOT, DPW and DC Health.

Public safety and police involvement were central tensions. Advocates accused DLCP of inappropriately calling MPD to enforcement actions and of showing up without translators, which they said intimidated vendors and violated the 2023 law’s spirit. Director Crowe responded that MPD has not been used for routine vending enforcement and that staff called MPD when investigators feared for their safety; she said the agency will investigate specific incidents raised in testimony (including a March incident and a recent Saturday enforcement action that drew multiple public complaints).

The committee asked DLCP to return with more detail about the scope of site marking, the status of the vending-zone manager hiring, whether grant funds for carts/tables are included in the FY 26 budget, and whether the mayor’s draft penalties and any proposed criminal sanctions are necessary and proportionate. The hearing record remains open through June 23 for written testimony.

Ending: Council members emphasized they want DLCP to produce an implementation plan and a public site map and asked for follow-up data on MPD calls, contractor applicants for the vending-zone manager, and the proposed budgetary impact of any changes to fines or criminal penalties.

","Chair Brianne Nadeau convened the Committee on Public Works and Operations’ June 9 hearing focused on DLCP’s FY 2026 budget; public testimony centered on implementation of the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act of 2023 in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6639397,"Security industry backs DLCP and MPD Rap Back enrollment to speed background checks for officers",235,783000,1018000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4&start=783&end=1018","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3741329-a6aef6fcbd1511425d28e48e6d76f8f4/thumbnail_783000.jpg","/articles/6639397/Security-industry-backs-DLCP-and-MPD-Rap-Back-enrollment-to-speed-background-checks-for-officers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6639397-b8dd0e241a326af2308bd60dc9ea0674/orig.mp4?Expires=1771156989&Signature=fcGkOAe73J91Y8g9fhDOOjxrEFHfpKXRkKTFN1cilcdhK0gX-tUk02HlXZyhupbnfExIHxlRbAo9w80UqK-TPDgvbNR2wUXNW6SpMHxsV0ml~ubu66MngrT1bIj6mnFqXwyF2lpj7q~4LhVb47MlDg2kogR~1yMZgn6ir5DCsHfJHyBVN7BVGjqDfuoqgb66D4I5gUNGoLVsCgqs~X6YXnNytHd491WRNlZYrluMdbTvHJVVIXYGP-j5gWDb71aYun8JRlNCVJU4H8GFMlPrCvCURkEg3sGV3DhZf6maXn5dEgcAn3VAiBBd6LbgYc3n4jCx4pWzsAxhcna1vdPzpA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Steve Amate, executive director of the National Association of Security Companies (NASSCO), told the June 9 hearing that private security officers constitute a large occupational group in the District and that efficient licensing processes are important both for jobs and public safety. NASSCO said recent DLCP improvements to application, renewal and transfer processes for security licenses have been constructive.

Amate urged council support for a specific FY 2026 provision in Title III of the mayor’s budget that would authorize District enrollment in the FBI Rap Back service for District‑licensed security officers and certain other licensees who require fingerprint‑based background checks. He said Rap Back would allow the Metropolitan Police Department and DLCP to be notified if an enrolled officer is subsequently arrested, removing the need for recurring fingerprint collection at renewal (annual for special police; biennial for security officers) and freeing MPD resources.

In his testimony Amate said Rap Back “really is a game changer” because the FBI would notify MPD immediately if an enrolled officer is arrested and, depending on the charge, the officer’s license could then be suspended or revoked. Director Tiffany Crowe and committee members acknowledged Rap Back as an operational improvement to background‑check processes and public‑safety oversight.

Ending: The committee noted the Rap Back proposal and requested follow-up on statutory language, implementation costs, and coordination steps with MPD and the Mayor’s Office to enable enrollment.

","The National Association of Security Companies told the Committee on Public Works and Operations that a Rap Back enrollment for District security officers would reduce recurring FBI fingerprint checks and allow MPD to receive immediate notifications if an enrolled officer is arrested.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

DLCP says BEST Act changes and new corporate registry will streamline licensing; advocates warn budget cuts risk delays

Council hearing exposes tensions over street vending implementation, proposed recriminalization and enforcement in Columbia Heights

Security industry backs DLCP and MPD Rap Back enrollment to speed background checks for officers