District of Columbia Electronic Transmittal of Legislation Act
The District of Columbia Electronic Transmittal of Legislation Act would authorize the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia to transmit Acts to Congress in electronic form, in addition to any existing paper format. It applies to Acts enacted by the Council under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (both Acts under section 602(c) and charter amendments under section 303) and directs that electronic submissions be treated the same as paper submissions for purposes of acceptance by the House and Senate. The bill also frames these changes as part of Congress’s rulemaking, while recognizing that each chamber maintains the constitutional authority to alter its rules. In short, the bill modernizes the transmittal process by allowing electronic transmission of DC Acts and ensures Congress will accept electronic submissions on equal footing with paper ones.
Key Points
- 1The Chairman of the DC Council may transmit Acts in electronic form for Acts under both section 602(c) and section 303 of the DC Home Rule Act.
- 2Electronic transmissions are to be treated the same as paper transmissions by the House and Senate for purposes of acceptance.
- 3The House and Senate are instructed to regard electronic submissions as valid equivalents to paper submissions under the relevant DC Home Rule Act provisions.
- 4The change is presented as an exercise of the respective houses’ rulemaking authority, with acknowledgment that each house may change its rules.
- 5The bill provides a short title: the District of Columbia Electronic Transmittal of Legislation Act.