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Sponsored byAnita Bonds
Last updated Oct 26, 2026 · DC · Source: LegiScan ↗
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COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE ON EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION AND LABOR THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING 1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20004 October 17, 2025 Nyasha Howard, Secretary Council of the District of Columbia 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20004 Dear Secretary Howard, Today, I am introducing the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act of 2025.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation, which amends the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to clarify the procedure by which the Board of Elections accepts a proposed initiative or referendum and prepares the measure for inclusion on the ballot, to be voted on by the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia. The first amendment to the Home Rule Charter established the process by which District of Columbia residents can propose initiatives and referendums directly to the voters.1 The amendment, introduced in 1977 and passed, as required, by a concurrent resolution in the House and the Senate, outlined the basic procedure and empowered the Council to adopts such acts as were necessary to implement it.2 Since 1978, residents of the District have used the initiative and referendum process to voice their policy objectives and compel legislative action. Notable initiatives that gained a majority of the vote include an initiative measure requiring the government to hold hearings on funding for public education and a referendum measure to make the District of Columbia Attorney General an elected position.3 Given the potential impact of proposed measures, many states have imposed procedural limitations designed to ensure that improper measures are not balloted and that language included on the ballot accurately reflects the effect of such legislation. In the District of 1 D.C. Law 2-46 2 H. Con. Res. 464 (1978) 3 Boogs, Roderic V. O. and Iris Toyer. "D.C.'s Schoolchildren Are Important". The Washington Post, 20 September 1987, p. C8; Nickles, Peter. “An elected attorney general for D.C.?” The Washington Post, 23 October 2010. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2010/10/24/an-elected-attorney-general-for-dc/142c52c4-6df2-4d47- 90ab-a3c380acc4f7/ Columbia, for example, the Board must refuse to accept an initiative that authorizes, or has the effect of authorizing, discrimination under the Human Rights Act of 1977.4 The Amendment which established the initiative process in the District also imposed limitations on the types of measures which may be proposed, including that initiatives may not propose laws appropriating funds and referendums may not suspend emergency acts, acts levying taxes, or acts appropriating funds.5 This restriction has been interpreted by the courts to include measures which require the allocation of revenues to new or existing purposes.6 In the District, this limitation is not unique to initiative and referendum measures; in maintaining a balanced budget, permanent and emergency acts considered by the Council are accompanied by a fiscal impact statement prior to final adoption, and acts which reflect unbudgeted costs are subject to appropriations prior to becoming effective.7 Current law requires a fiscal impact statement for a proposed initiative measure to be requested by the Board of Elections from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). This occurs only after the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the Council have issued advisory opinions as to whether a measure is appropriating funds. This legislation will require the OCFO to issue a fiscal impact statement before the Board issues its determination on whether the proposed measure is proper subject matter. Further, the legislation will require publication of the fiscal impact statement and inclusion of the cost on the petition sheet and on the ballot. Just as Councilmembers are informed of the cost of a piece of legislation before they cast a final vote, electors in the District of Columbia should be able to readily ascertain the costs of a policy when they are signing their name to a petition sheet or filling out a ballot. In addition, the legislation will require that each proposed initiative present only one subject at a time and matters properly connected with that subject. Of twenty-four states that allow some type of citizen-proposed initiative, most require initiatives to address a single subject.8 This ensures that the proposal is accurately reflected on the ballot and that voters can opt to vote for one policy rather than being required to vote on two policies presented within one measure. The distinction will provide clarity to the public on the cost for each proposal and will also prevent Council from being forced to carve out separate funds for each policy, a complication which, given the budget requirements for legislation, could unintentionally impact the effective date of a successfully enacted measure. Finally, the legislation amends timelines for the Attorney General and the General Counsel to submit their advisory opinions and timelines for the proposer and members of the public to object to the Board’s determination at different steps of the process. Currently, the advisory opinions must be issued within 15 days for an initiative and within 5 days for a referendum. A proposer has only 10 days to object to the Board’s refusal to accept a measure and a member of the public has only 10 days to object to the legislative form of a measure. This legislation will 4 D.C. Law 3-1 5 D.C. Law 2-46 6 Hessey, 601 A.2d at 19-20 7 D.C. Official Code § 1–301.47a. 8 National Conference on State Legislatures. “Citizen Initiative Subject Rules” Updated 27 March 2025. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/citizen-initiative-subject-rules. require that advisory opinions be issued within 30 days and will allow a 30-day objection period, both for the proposer and a member of the public to object to either the initial determination of the Board or the legislative summary and form of the measure. This is essential to ensuring that the initiative process is not rushed at the expense of inclusion on the ballot of measures which are likely to be subsequently overturned in litigation or which are not sufficiently vetted to ensure the summary statement presented to voters is true and impartial. Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Elspeth Callahan, Legislative Director, at ecallahan@dccouncil.gov. Thank you, Anita Bonds 1 2 3 4 ___________________________ 5 Councilmember Anita Bonds 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A BILL 16 ______ 17 18 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 19 _______________ 20 21 To amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to require the Board of Elections to 22 reject initiatives which address more than one subject matter or which are substantially 23 similar to a measure which appeared on the ballot within the past 6 years; to extend the 24 amount of time for the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the 25 Council to provide an advisory opinion on whether a proposed measure is proper subject 26 for an initiative or referendum to 30 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to 27 require the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to provide a fiscal impact statement for a 28 proposed initiative within 15 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to require the 29 Board of Elections to hold a public meeting to issue a determination accepting or refusing 30 a proposed measure; to allow a registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia to 31 seek review in the Superior Court of the Board’s determination within 30 days after 32 publication in the District of Columbia Register; to extend the time frame for objecting to 33 the summary statement, short title, and legislative form from 10 calendar days to 30 34 calendar days; to require inclusion of a fiscal impact summary on the petition sheet; and 35 to stipulate a minimum of 12 point font for the summary statement, short title, and fiscal 36 impact summary on the petition sheet. 37 38 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 39 act may be cited as the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act 40 of 2025”. 41 Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 42 Stat. 699, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.01 et seq.), is amended as follows: 1 43 (a) Section 16 (D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.16) is amended as follows: 44 (1) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 45 (A) Paragraph (1) is amended as follows: 46 (i) Subparagraph (C) is amended by striking the phrase “; or” 47 and inserting a semicolon in its place. 48 (ii) Subparagraph (D) is amended by striking the period and 49 inserting a semicolon in its place. 50 (iii) A new subparagraph (E) is added to read as follows: 51 “(E) If a proposed initiative measure, the measure addresses more than one 52 subject or includes matters not properly connected with the subject; or”. 53 (iv) A new subparagraph (F) is added to read as follows: 54 “(F) The measure is substantially similar to a measure which has been 55 rejected by a majority of voters within the past six years.”. 56 (B) Paragraph (1A)(B) is amended as follows: 57 (i) Sub-subparagraph (i) is amended by striking the number “15” 58 and inserting the number “30” in its place. 59 (ii) Sub-subparagraph (ii) is amended by striking the number “5” 60 and inserting the number “30” in its place. 61 (C) A new paragraph (1B) is added to read as follows: 62 “(1B) If the measure is a proposed initiative measure, within one business 63 day after the proposed measure is received by the Board, the Board shall request a fiscal impact 64 statement from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who shall issue a fiscal impact 65 statement within 15 business days after receipt of the request from the Board. The fiscal impact 2 66 statement shall include a summary indicating the estimated cost in the first year of 67 implementation and over the four-year financial plan.”. 68 (D) Paragraph (2) is amended to read as follows: 69 “(2) Within 60 days after a measure is received, the Board shall convene a public 70 meeting to vote on a determination accepting or refusing the measure. Notice of the meeting 71 shall be published in the District of Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the 72 meeting. The determination shall indicate the grounds for acceptance or refusal and shall take 73 into consideration the advisory opinions of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the 74 Council. The determination shall be transmitted to the proposer and published in the District of 75 Columbia Register.”. 76 (E) A new paragraph (2A) is added to read as follows: 77 “(2A) If any registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia objects to the 78 acceptance of an initiative or referendum measure, that person may seek review in the Superior 79 Court of the District of Columbia within 30 calendar days after the date the Board publishes the 80 determination in the District of Columbia Register. The Superior Court of the District of 81 Columbia shall expedite consideration of the matter.”. 82 (F) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the number “10” and inserting 83 the number “30” in its place. 84 (3) Subsection (c) is amended as follows: 85 (A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “20 calendar 86 days, of the date on which the Board accepts” and inserting the phrase “30 calendar days after 87 publication in the District of Columbia Register of a determination accepting” in its place. 88 (B) Paragraph (4) is amended to read as follows: 3 89 “(4) Adopt the fiscal impact statement of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer 90 and prepare a fiscal impact summary of not more than 50 words indicating the cost in the first 91 year of implementation and the cost over the four-year plan.”. 92 (4) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 93 (A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form 94 of the measure.” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative 95 measure, the fiscal impact summary. Notice of the meeting shall be published in the District of 96 Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the meeting and the meeting shall be convened 97 not more than 30 calendar days after publication of the determination accepting the measure in 98 the District of Columbia Register.” in its place. 99 (B) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows: 100 (i) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “24 101 hours” and inserting the phrase “3 business days” in its place. 102 (ii) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “and 103 legislative form;” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative 104 measure, the fiscal impact summary;” in its place. 105 (5) Subsection (e) is amended by striking the number “10” both times it appears 106 and inserting the number “30” in its place. 107 (6) Subsection (f) is amended as follows: 108 (A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form” 109 and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its place. 110 (B) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “and full legislative 111 text” and inserting the phrase “full legislative text, and fiscal impact statement” in its place. 4 112 (7) Subsection (g) is amended as follows: 113 (A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “and 114 legislative form” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its 115 place. 116 (B) Paragraph (3) is amended to read as follows: 117 “(3) The text of the official summary, short title, and, if the measure is a 118 proposed initiative, the fiscal impact summary of the measure printed in at least 12-point font on 119 the front of the petition sheet. The circulator shall indicate to each signer where the full 120 legislative text of the measure can be accessed.”. 121 (8) Subsection (k)(1)(D) is amended by striking the phrase “; or” and inserting the 122 phrase “, or the statements are incomplete; or” in its place. 123 (10) Subsection (l) is amended by striking the word “proper” and inserting the 124 phrase “proper and complete” in its place. 125 (11) Subsection (q)(1) is amended to read as follows: 126 “(q)(1) Upon qualification of an initiative measure, the Board shall place on the ballot the 127 serial number of the initiative and its short title, summary statement, and fiscal impact summary 128 in substantially the following form: 129 “INITIATIVE MEASURE No. 130 “(SHORT TITLE) 131 “(SUMMARY STATEMENT) 132 “(FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY) 133 “FOR Initiative Measure No. 134 “AGAINST Initiative Measure No.”. 5 135 (12) Subsection (o)(1) is amended by striking the number “10” wherever it 136 appears and inserting the number “30” in its place. 137 (13) A new subsection (t) is added to read as follows: 138 “(t) The Board shall post all notices required to be published in the Register pursuant to 139 this section on its website contemporaneously with their publication in the Register.”. 140 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 141 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 142 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 143 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 144 Sec. 4. Effective date. 145 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 146 the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of Congressional 147 review as provided in section 602(c)(l) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved 148 December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(l)). 6
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