Since it was enacted by the D.C. Council, ratified by 83 percent of city voters, and signed into law by Mayor Vince Gray last year, the legality of the Budget Autonomy Act—a law that gives the city the power to spend its locally raised funds without Congressional approval—has been questioned. Now a federal judge has ruled that only Congress can grant budget autonomy to D.C., as the Act goes against the legal bounds of the Home Rule Act.
The court ruling, which comes in response to a suit filed by the Council against Gray and D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey DeWitt, settles the matter for now: the Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 is unlawful. After Gray presented the Council with the fiscal year 2015 budget and announced that he and DeWitt—based on a recommendation from D.C. Attorney General Irv Nathan—would refuse to implement any budget adopted pursuant to the Budget Autonomy Act, the Council, led by Chairman Phil Mendelson, decided to take the case to court and let a judge decide if the Act is indeed lawful.
“Despite this long history of seeking budget autonomy through Congress, the Council now argues that since the Home Rule Act was enacted in 1973, it has possessed the authority to grant itself control over its own local spending,” U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote in his ruling. “This argument, which the Council advances for the first time in this litigation, simply cannot withstand judicial scrutiny.” Sullivan writes that, because “the Budget Autonomy Act does not comply with the requirements of the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Council’s attempts to characterize the D.C. General Fund as a permanent appropriation fail,” it is, in fact, unlawful.
“As a native Washingtonian, the Court is deeply moved by the Plaintiff’s argument that the people of the District are entitled to the right to spend their own, local funds,” Sullivan writes. “Nevertheless, the Court is powerless to provide a legal remedy and cannot implement budget autonomy for the District.”
“I am frustrated by the result, but will withhold comment today on whether we will appeal,” Mendelson said in a release. “Obviously, we will want to read the court’s opinion.” During last week’s court hearing, Sullivan said that he sympathized with the Council’s struggle, saying that he “may be in a situation where it is powerless to provide a legal remedy to so many people who are arguably entitled to the right to spend their own money.”
“Despite today’s decision, efforts by several members of Congress and the President’s own budget proposal seek to provide the District with the autonomy to spend our own local revenue,” Mendelson says. “The court’s decision will not deter the Council from continuing to push for budget autonomy through other avenues.”
In a release, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said today’s “decision adds new urgency and necessity to moving our budget autonomy bill, which has bipartisan, bicameral support here in Congress and from the President.”
“With today’s decision, however, we will redouble our efforts to prevent any efforts by Congress to block or overturn the budget autonomy referendum, pending a final court decision,” she said. “Whatever the final outcome of the Council’s friendly litigation, it should help us bring the attention of the nation to the obligation of Congress to allow the District to control its locally raised revenue, like every other jurisdiction in the U.S. – a central feature of democratic self-government in our country.”
Update: The Council’s general counsel has announced they’ll file an appeal.
