U.S. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in 2009. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is once again trying to end the 30-day congressional review of D.C. laws.

The D.C. representative introduced the District of Columbia Paperwork Reduction Act today, which aims to “eliminate the congressional review period for legislation passed by the D.C. Council.” At the moment, the review period is 30 days for civil bills and 60 for criminal. But not just any type of days! Legislative days, which mean the review process can take quite some time. While there’s now a handy effective date calculator to figure out when the review period is over, this still puts an unfair burden on D.C.

“The congressional review process for D.C. bills provides no benefit to Congress, but imposes substantial costs (in time and money) on the District,” Norton said in a statement. “Indeed, Congress effectively abandoned the congressional review process as a mechanism for overturning D.C. legislation twenty-three years ago, yet it still requires the D.C. Council to use Kafkaesque make-work procedures to comply with the abandoned congressional review process established by the Home Rule Act of 1973.”

Indeed, since home rule went into effect, D.C. has sent more than 4,500 legislative acts to Congress, which in turn has only exercised its right to disapprove just three times. If Norton’s act passed, D.C.’s bills would become law after being signed by the mayor.

Update: Here’s a statement from Council Chair Phil Mendelson: “The congressional review process is a counterproductive procedure that hampers speedy enactment of laws in the District of Columbia. Congresswoman Norton’s bill promotes efficiency and will end costly delays for the District. Further, this bill will eliminate the need for emergency and temporary legislation, and will pave the way for more streamlined government.”