Alex Wong/Getty.

Alex Wong/Getty.

As Mayor Vince Gray’s tenure comes to a close—mayor-elect Muriel Bowser’s administration will take over on January 2—one of his last orders of business included signing two bills into law.

Earlier today, Gray signed the “Promoting Economic Growth and Job Creation through Technology Act of 2014” and the “Conversion Therapy for Minors Prohibition Amendment Act of 2014” into law, marking what will probably be the last two bills he signs into law.

Gray introduced his tech sector-incentive bill, which will establish a capital gains tax rate at three percent for longterm investments for qualified tech companies, in September of this year. As he said in September when he introduced it, this bill will help to “diversify the District’s economy and create more jobs” in the tech sector. The bill was previously introduced in 2012 as part of a larger tech sector omnibus bill, but it was removed before it was approved by the D.C. Council.

The other bill Gray signed today, which was approved by the Council earlier this month, will ban LGBT conversion therapy for minors in the District. The bill prohibits any licensed mental health care provider in the District from doing anything that is designed to “change a person’s sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors, gender identity or expression, or to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward a person of the same sex or gender.”

Now that Gray has signed the bill, D.C. joins California and New Jersey in banning conversion therapy for minors.

Filed Under: conversion therapy bill, mayor vince gray, tech incentive bill,