The D.C. Council could take Mayor Muriel Bowser to court for not enhancing aid to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, suggests council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

Mendelson circulated a resolution Tuesday that would authorize the council to sue or join a lawsuit to force the mayor to implement a law enacted last year that distributes extra dollars to residents who rely on food assistance through SNAP, which is a mostly federally-funded program administered by states. The council is expected to vote on the resolution Jan. 9. Resolutions become effective after one vote and do not require mayoral or Congressional review.

Mendelson introduced the measure “to protect the Council’s rights,” as members clearly dedicated money to SNAP in the Fiscal Year 2024 Local Budget Act passed last year, he tells DCist/WAMU.

The Bowser administration has not implemented the SNAP boost due to budget and staffing constraints, the mayor’s spokesperson says. The spokesperson declined to comment on the resolution directly, only telling DCist/WAMU that the office’s goal is for the executive and council to work together on a sustainable resolution.

“As our budgets tighten, we have a responsibility to first fund and sustain critical housing, shelter, and the cash and food assistance benefits already in place,” the spokesperson says.

Still, a majority of the Council appears to support Mendelson’s resolution. At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, who first introduced the SNAP bill; Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, who introduced a measure securing excess city revenue for the bill in last year’s budget process; Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, and At-Large Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie and Robert White all support Mendelson’s resolution, their offices tells DCist/WAMU.

Over 136,000 residents on SNAP were expected to get a 10% increase to their monthly benefit, or an average of $47 more per month, this month. During the fiscal year 2024 budget process, lawmakers dedicated any excess city revenue to SNAP recipients, as well as to workers excluded from the social safety net. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee in September indicated there was more than sufficient excess revenue and later transferred the $39.6 million needed to implement the SNAP boost to the Department of Human Services.

But the Bowser administration said at the time that DHS did not have the staff needed to implement the enhanced benefits, plus there were other safety net programs in need of the funds instead. The Bowser administration previously warned the council, specifically Henderson, about fiscal pressures within DHS and alternative ways to support residents’ needs, the spokesperson tells DCist/WAMU.

“With significant fiscal and human resources pressures in our human services cluster, it’s not prudent to increase spending on one program, especially when demand for other programs that support the same people is increasing beyond our current budget,” the spokesperson says.

DHS currently processes $27 million in SNAP benefits and serves approximately 138,000 individuals, the spokesperson says; the average monthly benefit is $194 per individual or $324 per household.

Local advocates have criticized the mayor’s position. On Monday, protesters interrupted Bowser’s 5K race to rally around the subject.

If the council sues the mayor, it would be a rare step — albeit not unprecedented. In 2014, the council filed a lawsuit against then-Mayor Vince Gray and the city’s chief financial officer over budget autonomy. The two branches of government were at odds on the city’s budget process after voters overwhelming passed a pro-budget autonomy referendum the year prior.

The council supported the voter-approved law that allowed the city more control over its locally raised funds, while Gray and then-CFO Jeffrey DeWitt argued that the referendum was an improper means to amend the District’s Home Rule Charter. Bowser sided with councilmembers then, withdrawing Gray’s position when she became mayor in 2015. A D.C. Superior Court Judge ultimately sided with the council and upheld the legality of the 2013 referendum.

This story has been updated to include comment from Chairman Mendelson, Mayor Bowser, and include reference to Councilmember McDuffie’s support.