A bill to subject emergency legislation enacted by the District of Columbia Council to expedited congressional disapproval procedures.
This bill would subject emergency measures enacted by the District of Columbia Council to an expedited congressional disapproval process. It amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to require that any emergency bill approved by the DC Council can be blocked or disapproved by a joint resolution in Congress within a set timeframe. It also changes how emergency acts can take effect, creating an explicit pathway for certain emergency laws to become effective immediately upon enactment, while requiring rapid notification to Congress (the House and Senate) about those acts. In short, the bill increases federal oversight of DC emergency legislation by giving Congress a faster mechanism to block DC emergency laws, and it clarifies (and speeds up) when such emergency laws may take effect and be communicated to Congress.
Key Points
- 1Adds a 90-day window for congressional disapproval: An emergency DC law becomes law after 90 days unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted under the new procedures.
- 2Creates a new fast-track for emergency acts to take effect: For emergency acts that the DC Council determines should take effect immediately, those acts would take effect immediately upon enactment.
- 3Requires rapid transmission to Congress: The Chairman of the DC Council must transmit such emergency acts to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate within 3 session days after enactment.
- 4Recasts the emergency-activation language: The existing language allowing immediate effect for emergencies (under section 602(c)) is replaced and reorganized to accommodate the new 3-day transmission requirement and the updated mechanism for immediate-effect acts.
- 5Renumbers and reorganizes provisions: The bill redesignates and inserts a new paragraph to implement the new emergency-disapproval framework and immediate-effect procedures.