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DC Council approves a package of emergency and temporary measures, votes listed at a glance
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Summary
At its Oct. 7 legislative meeting the council approved a set of emergency and temporary measures on housing, waterways, language access, medical cannabis licensing, bonds and business licensing; several items were postponed or withdrawn for further work.
The Council of the District of Columbia approved multiple emergency and temporary measures on Oct. 7, 2025, taking votes on housing, waterways, language access, medical cannabis licensing, bond issuance and other items. Several items were postponed or withdrawn for further work.
Key measures approved or moved included: a Fiscal Year 2026 bond issuance resolution to allow the District to issue general obligation and income-tax-backed bonds; an emergency measure clarifying that federally and locally subsidized affordable housing receiving Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) remain exempt from local rent stabilization after a recent court ruling; extensions of several technical and implementation emergency measures covering the Clean Rivers impervious area charge (CREAC), establishment details for the Office of District Waterways Management, and technical fixes to policing and crime-victim reporting laws; an emergency extension allowing medical cannabis conditional license terms to be extended retroactively to address inventory and start-up challenges for licensees; and an update to business licensing implementation under the BEST Act.
The council moved many temporary bills en bloc toward final consideration and postponed or withdrew a small number of items. Councilmember Robert White moved to postpone the Green Housing Coordination emergency declaration so staff and colleagues could negotiate language; the measure was postponed. A proposed closing of a cul-de-sac (Square 4350, S.O. 2025-506) was withdrawn and will return at second reading as a permanent bill. The First Responder Retention emergency declaration was postponed to Nov. 4 to allow the CFO to complete an actuarial analysis. Several emergency declarations and their underlying bills were approved unanimously by voice vote.
The council also moved multiple temporary bills together at the end of the meeting. The measures moved in block included LIHTC rent-stabilization-exemption temporary legislation, entertainment-employee-safety-extension temporary, "Let Our Vows Endure" temporary (to allow marriage licenses during a federal shutdown), CREAC clarification temporary, Office of District Waterways Management establishment temporary, comprehensive policing technical temporary amendments, pre-arrest diversion task force recommendations temporary, Language Access Rulemaking temporary, the Mayor-requested medical cannabis conditional licensure extension temporary, and the revised business licensing reform temporary (BEST Act implementation). The council chair announced the en bloc motion carried by voice vote.
Votes at a glance
- PR26-322: Fiscal Year 2026 bond issuance emergency declaration — moved and approved; underlying resolution approved (Bill 20-? 6-322); vote: ayes have it (voice vote).
- PR26-326 / Bill 20-63-76: LIHTC Rent Stabilization Exemption Clarification emergency declaration and underlying Bill 20-63-76 — moved and approved unanimously; sponsor Councilmember Robert White said the measure protects more than 11,000 affordable homes and will be followed by a permanent bill.
- PR26-341 / Bill 20-63-94: Entertainment Establishment Employee Safety Extension emergency declaration and Bill 20-63-94 — moved by Councilmember Henderson and approved; one or more members recorded no on the roll call for the underlying bill (chair noted he would not vote for it earlier and requested to be recorded as no).
- PR26-340 / Bill 20-63-92: "Let Our Vows Endure" emergency declaration and underlying Bill 20-63-92 — moved by Councilmember Henderson and approved unanimously; measure permits the mayor to authorize issuance of marriage licenses during a federal government shutdown.
- PR26-335 / Bill 20-63-84: CREAC (Clean Rivers impervious area charge) Clarification emergency and Bill 20-63-84 — moved by Councilmember Allen and approved unanimously; temporary legislation had been due to expire on Oct. 18, 2025.
- PR26-238 / Bill 20-63-88: Office of District Waterways Management establishment emergency and Bill 20-63-88 — moved/approved unanimously; prior temporary language due to expire Oct. 18, 2025, was extended to allow implementation under revised timelines.
- PR26-333 / Bill 20-63-81: Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform technical emergency and Bill 20-63-81 — moved and approved unanimously to prevent a gap between temporary and permanent applicability dates for certain provisions.
- PR26-239: First Responder Retention Efforts emergency declaration — motion to postpone to Nov. 4 at sponsor's request to allow CFO actuarial analysis; postponed.
- PR26-394 / Bill 20-63-44: Medical Cannabis Conditional Licensure Extension emergency declaration and Bill 20-63-44 — moved and approved unanimously; measure applies retroactively to June 28 and extends conditional license terms to address inventory and start-up challenges for operators.
- PR26-312 / Bill 20-63-62: Revised Business Licensing Reform (BEST Act implementation) emergency declaration and Bill 20-63-62 — moved and approved unanimously; bill aligns DLCP implementation with new licensing categories and provides retroactive authority required for Oct. 1 implementation.
- PR26-324 / Bill 20-63-91: Pre-Arrest Diversion Task Force Recommendations emergency declaration and Bill 20-63-90 (temporary) — moved and approved; task force deadlines updated due to delayed start caused by staffing issues; initial recommendations now due by 07/31/2026.
- PR26-324 / Bill 20-63-73: Language Access Rulemaking emergency declaration and Bill 20-63-72 — moved and approved unanimously; retroactive authority to 06/19/2004 was included so the Office of Human Rights can promulgate and amend language access rules.
Postponed or withdrawn
- Closing of cul-de-sac in Square 4350 (S.O. 2025-506) — withdrawn; sponsor will return at second reading on the permanent bill.
- Green Housing Coordination Emergency Declaration (PR26-325) — postponed to next legislative meeting for additional negotiations at sponsor's request.
- Pre-specified list of consent agenda items were removed and deferred to allow completion of reports or further markup.
What’s next
Several sponsors said they would meet with colleagues and affected stakeholders before bringing permanent versions or revised emergency declarations back to the council. Councilmembers emphasized pairing enforcement or regulatory tools with programmatic investment and oversight where relevant, and several measures include follow-up reporting or implementation steps by agencies.
