Photo by Eric Gilliland

Yesterday was the D.C. Council’s last legislative session before its usual two-month summer break, and legislators rushed to pass a number of bills.

>> As we reported yesterday, a wide-ranging taxicab modernization bill was approved by the council. What does this mean? You might be able to pay for that taxicab ride with a credit card by this fall. And, after an intense lobbying effort by its loyal customers, Uber defeated an amendment to the taxi bill that would have implemented a price floor on the upscale livery company. Instead, Uber will be permitted to continue operating free of regulation through December 31.

>> The council green-lighted a plan by the owners of the Verizon Center to put big new animated electronic signs on the arena’s facade. Proponents of the plan said they it would allow the arena to sell more ads to help pay down the debt incurred by the arena’s construction, while opponents worried that it would turn Gallery Place into D.C.’s own Times Square. A provision prohibiting alcohol and cigarette ads was scrapped over constitutional concerns, though the arena’s owners have pledged not to have either.

>> If you’re a tattoo artist or body piercer, read up on the new regulations that the council gave final approval to yesterday. With the bill, D.C.’s tattoo and piercing industry leaves behind its largely unregulated past.

>> You’re no longer going to be able to get out of tickets be claiming that it was a friend driving the car. Under the provisions of bill passed by the council, the ticket will be the responsibility of the person who registered the car, whether or not they were driving it at the time. Don’t worry, though—exceptions still exist in case the car was stolen at the time it received a ticket.

>> A bill that would have denied residents of certain new buildings access to residential parking permits was voted down. Come fall, though, the council is expected to debate a broad package of reform’s to the way we park around D.C.

>> Feds, if you want to deport an illegal immigrant accused of a crime, you’ll only have 24 hours to come get him or her from D.C. The council moved a bill that limits how long the city will hold a suspected undocumented immigrant wanted by the feds—only violent criminals will be held for the feds, and only for a period of 24 hours. The move is part of the city’s response to the federal Secure Communities program, which connects federal immigration databases to local law enforcement databases to allow local police officers to more easily identify undocumented immigrants and detain them.

>> CFO Natwar Gandhi’s appointment to a new five-year term was approved, and former D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti was given the go-ahead to chair the D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability. Lobbyist Ron Woodson’s appointment to the board of D.C. Water was postponed, though, effectively killing it.

>> LivingSocial’s $32.5 million tax break won final passage. In exchange for a much lower tax bill, the daily deal company will agree to remain based in the District and ensure that at least half its new employees in its D.C. offices are Washington residents. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute had suggested several modifications to the deal that the nonprofit says would have made the tax break more equitable toward D.C. residents, but the LivingSocial package passed as is.

Additional reporting by Benjamin R. Freed