Photo by Eric Gilliland

Photo by Eric Gilliland

The D.C. Council convened today for a Committee of the Whole meeting and a legislative session, where some bills were introduced, others debated and yet others voted on. And as one reporter noted below, that process certainly wasn’t pretty.

  • Regulate Those Money Orders: Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) introduced a bill that would cap money order contributions at $25 a pop, the current standard for cash contributions. The bill had six co-introducers, indicating that the recent scandals involving large money orders being used for campaign contributions has convinced a large part of the council that some sort of action is necessary.
  • Unfurlough Those D.C. Employees: Councilmembers Vincent Orange (D-At Large) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) teamed up to introduce a bill that would pay all D.C. government employees for four furlough days they took last year. The furlough days were imposed as part of a 2011 cost-savings measure, but with a new surplus recently announced, Orange and Barry want the $19 million saved to go straight back to the city employees that had to give it up.
  • No Outside Employment with City Contractors: Orange also introduced a bill that would ban outside employment by councilmembers with city contractors. Last year, he tried to ban secondary jobs altogether, but it failed to gain the necessary support. This time, he’s tailored the ban a little more carefully so it only affected councilmembers working with firms who do business with the city. (In short, it’s a bill targeting At-Large Councilmember David Catania, who works with M.C. Dean, a large D.C. contractor.) The bill would also prohibit campaign contributions from businesses that have contracts with the city.
  • More Transparency, Please: Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) introduced legislation that would streamline rules and processes for Freedom of Information Act request across all D.C. agencies. Those agencies would also be required to submit transparency plans every two years and make more important information available on their websites.
  • Food Truck Sales Taxes: Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) introduced a bill that would require food trucks to pay the standard sales tax if their quarterly sales reach a certain threshold. The bill recently passed his committee, and will be taken up by the full council in April.
  • Co-Condos: Evans also introduced a measure that would make it easier for the owner of adjoining condominium units to knock down a few walls and make the new, larger unit a single parcel.
  • Preventing Another South Capitol Street Shooting: Legislation introduced by Catania two years ago in the wake of the deadly South Capitol Street shooting received final approval today. The legislation extends behavioral health services to public school students and focuses more efforts on tamping down on truancy.
  • School Boundaries and Feeder Zones: Cheh also introduced a bill that would create a commission charged with studying public school boundaries and feeder patterns.
  • And then there was this insight from Post reporter Tim Craig:

Filed Under: d.c. council, legislative roundup,