Council committee advances PCDC Omnibus bill to extend pretrial presumption, expand MPD credit options and address fare evasion

Councilmember Brooke Pinto, chairwoman of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, moved June 11 to print and report Bill 26‑187, the PCDC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2025, and the committee approved the measure by voice vote with Councilmember Charles Allen recorded as voting “present.”

The omnibus package, described by Pinto as part of a broader Public Safety and Community Development Compact (PCC), contains multiple provisions: expanding tools to address fare evasion on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) system, extending a rebuttable presumption for pretrial detention in certain violent‑crime cases that would otherwise expire July 15, changes to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) academy and college‑credit pathways for recruits, survivor‑benefit clarifications for fire and EMS personnel, and technical fixes to the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 regarding record sealing.

Why it matters: Pinto said the omnibus “builds on the significant progress in crime reduction” and combines legislative, funding and policy…