District of Columbia Home Rule Improvement Act
This bill, titled the District of Columbia Home Rule Improvement Act, would dramatically tighten and standardize federal oversight of the District of Columbia’s local laws and regulations. It establishes a uniform 60-day congressional review period for DC laws (replacing the current 30-day window in most cases), expands expedited procedures to all resolutions of disapproval, and authorizes Congress to use joint resolutions of disapproval to strike down provisions of DC laws as well as DC mayoral orders and regulations. It also imposes new procedural rules for how such resolutions are considered in both chambers, adds restrictions on the DC Council (notably prohibiting withdrawing acts after transmission and prohibiting transmission of acts substantially the same as those disapproved), requires annual state-of-the-district hearings, and sets an effective date tied to enactment. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Gosar (joined by Reps. Comer and Hageman) and was introduced in the 119th Congress. In short, if enacted, Congress would gain more structured and faster authority to review and potentially block DC laws and executive actions, with procedural guarantees for expedited consideration and a stronger emphasis on congressional oversight of the District’s governance.
Key Points
- 1Uniform 60-day congressional review for DC laws
- 2- Replaces the current 30-day window for most acts, counting from the later of transmission to the House Speaker or Senate President, and excluding days when either House is adjourned for extended periods.
- 3- Applies during a Congress session and includes a cap on the review period; if the act is emergency-designated, special rules apply (60-day clock still governs, with limitations described in the act).
- 4Expedited procedures extended to all resolutions of disapproval
- 5- Expands the expedited track (previously more limited) so that all resolutions challenging DC Council actions are governed by these procedures.
- 6- Establishes discharge mechanisms, time limits, and debate restrictions for both the House and Senate, including streamlined paths to bring resolutions to floor consideration and limited debate.
- 7Use of resolutions of disapproval to strike provisions of DC laws
- 8- Allows joint resolutions to disapprove not only entire acts but also individual provisions of DC laws, with a rule that such actions may not repeal remaining provisions of the act.
- 9- Clarifies that a resolution disapproving a provision does not wipe out the entire act or prevent later disapproval of other provisions.
- 10Use of resolutions to disapprove DC executive orders and regulations
- 11- Adds a new Section (605) to Title VI granting Congress the authority to disapprove executive orders and regulations issued by the Mayor or DC executive officers.
- 12- Requires timely transmission of orders/regulations to Congress; the 60-day review period governs the effect, with a joint resolution disapproving such actions potentially repealing the order/regulation after enactment.
- 13Rules governing timing and effect of disapproval
- 14- If a joint resolution disapproving an executive order, regulation, or act passes both Houses and becomes law, it can repeal the challenged action after the 60-day window.
- 15- The bill provides a “deemed repeal” mechanism if Congress enacts the disapproving resolution within the 60-day period, with repeal taking effect on the date the resolution becomes law.
- 16Protections for Council actions and timing
- 17- Prohibits the DC Council from withdrawing an act after it has been transmitted to Congress (in effect, preventing last-minute changes to evade congressional review).
- 18- Prohibits transmitting acts that are substantially the same as an act already disapproved by Congress, unless Congress later authorizes such a transmission.
- 19Annual state-of-the-district hearings
- 20- Requires the DC Council Chair and the Mayor to testify at least once per year before relevant House and Senate committees to present a state-of-the-district report and recommendations.
- 21Effective date and applicability
- 22- The act would apply to DC acts transmitted to Congress after enactment, and to mayoral orders/regulations transmitted after enactment, with some provisions applying as described (subject to section 7’s transition rules).