District of Columbia Legislative Home Rule Act
This bill would strip away the federal congressional review and disapproval procedure that currently applies to District of Columbia laws. By repealing the Congressional review period (and related provisions) and making a series of conforming changes to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act and related statutes, the act would place the process for enacting DC laws entirely in the hands of the District government (Council and Mayor), without a formal chance for Congress to disapprove those laws after they are enacted. The changes would apply only to acts passed and signed or otherwise enacted after the start of the 119th Congress (i.e., starting in 2025), not to acts already in the pipeline. Initiated acts and referendums in DC would still proceed through the district’s own processes and voter ratification, but would no longer be subject to a congressional review/disapproval step. In short, this bill would expand the District’s autonomy by removing a federal veto/oversight mechanism over DC laws, aligning DC lawmaking with a fully local process, and adjusting several provisions to reflect that change.
Key Points
- 1Elimination of Congressional review and disapproval for DC acts:
- 2- Repeals Section 602(c) (the Congressional review period) and Section 604 (Congressional resolutions of disapproval).
- 3- Removes the formal mechanism by which Congress could disapprove DC laws after Council action.
- 4Conforming amendments across DC law:
- 5- Amends several sections of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act and related provisions to remove references to the review/disapproval process and to reflect that acts pass without Congress’ disapproval step.
- 6- Adjusts various DC Code sections (e.g., 303, 404, 446, 462, 472(d)(1), 475(e)(1)) to remove dependencies on the congressional review.
- 7- Improves alignment of the Charter and related provisions with a no-congress-review regime, including changes to initiative and referendum language.
- 8Prospective effective date:
- 9- The changes apply to acts passed by the DC Council and signed by the Mayor (or otherwise enacted) on or after the first day of the 119th Congress.
- 10- Acts enacted before that date would remain subject to the existing congressional review framework.
- 11Procedural note on rulemaking:
- 12- The bill explicitly treats these changes as an exercise of the rulemaking power of each House of Congress and acknowledges that either House can change its rules, consistent with constitutional rights.
- 13Impact on DC residents and governance:
- 14- DC acts could become effective without waiting for congressional review, potentially speeding enactment and implementation of local laws.
- 15- Initiatives and referenda still retain their normal DC process (including voter ratification where applicable) but would not be delayed by Congress’ review.