# District of Columbia B26-0174: Enhancing Consumer Protection Procedures Amendment Act of 2025 District of Columbia B26-0174, Enhancing Consumer Protection Procedures Amendment Act of 2025, is a Council Period 26 (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Brianne K. Nadeau (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-10-09 (Law L26-0187, Effective from Sep 26, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012972); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0174-26 - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: District of Columbia B26-0174 - State: District of Columbia - Session: Council Period 26 (2025-2026) - Title: Enhancing Consumer Protection Procedures Amendment Act of 2025 - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-03-11 - Last action: 2026-10-09, Law L26-0187, Effective from Sep 26, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012972 - Sponsor: Brianne K. Nadeau (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (26 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 16 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Winning consumers can recover larger damages: benefit, high. For covered claims, consumers can recover three times actual damages or $3,000 per violation, whichever is greater. The $3,000 amount rises annually by the greater of 3% or the specified Washington-area inflation increase. Claims under section 28-3904(b)(14) are limited to actual damages and exclud… - Consumer complaints gain time and protection: benefit, medium. Businesses cannot retaliate over complaints to agencies or companies, consumer lawsuits, or participation in related investigations and hearings. Filing with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection pauses the applicable lawsuit deadline. The pause ends with a final administrative hearin… - Consumers gain protection against abusive practices: benefit, medium. Merchants cannot seriously interfere with your ability to review or understand a consumer contract term. They cannot take unreasonable advantage of consumers’ lack of understanding or inability to protect their financial-product interests. They also cannot exploit reasonable reliance on a merchant… - Consumers gain stronger order enforcement: benefit, medium. The Department can sign settlements, and its Director can file complaints for consumers using evidence gathered under the consumer law. Intended beneficiaries of Director-filed cases can enforce orders, consent decrees, or settlements even without joining the case. The Department, complainants, and… - Infant formula prices face a cap: benefit, medium. District sellers cannot sell or offer infant formula above 120% of the applicable historical average price. The benchmark uses that seller’s District prices for substantially similar formula during the 90 days ending February 17, 2022. Sellers that did not sell or offer formula then must use compar… - More paths to consumer lawsuits: benefit, medium. Consumers can sue over trade practices that violate District law, including landlord-tenant practices. Covered testers, nonprofits, and qualifying public-interest groups can also bring cases. Public-interest groups need a sufficient connection to the interests they represent, and represented consum… - Shoppers see required fees upfront: benefit, medium. Merchants must include mandatory fees and charges in advertised, displayed, or offered prices. Government-imposed transaction taxes and fees can still appear separately. Shipping charges for physical goods can also appear separately. This lets shoppers see more of the total price before buying. - Consumer protections reach donors and suppliers: benefit, low. District consumer protections now cover people who donate or plan to donate money or goods to charity. Covered activities include charitable donation requests. A business can qualify as a merchant without a direct consumer contract, including qualifying indirect suppliers, successors, and assigns.… - Consumer penalties fund public education: benefit, low. The law creates a Consumer Protection Education Fund. All fines, fees, and penalties under the chapter go into the fund. It supports consumer-protection work, including education. The law sets no funding amount or direct household payment. - Public-interest lawsuits face related-case delays: cost, low. Public-interest organizations and plaintiffs acting for the general public must notify the Attorney General within 10 business days after filing. Their civil action pauses when a covered public-interest or general-public claim overlaps an Attorney General action under section 28-3909. The pause las… - Consumer-law violators face higher penalties: cost, low. Covered civil penalties become mandatory, with minimums of $500 or $1,000 under the two listed penalty rules. The specified consumer-law infraction moves from Class 2 to Class 1. Chapter violations are also classified as Class I infractions. Beginning January 1, 2027, chapter fines receive annual a… - Stronger tools protect vulnerable adults: mixed, low. The Attorney General can compel witnesses, sworn answers, and records to seek relief under vulnerable-adult law sections 207 and 208. This authority is unavailable once the target is formally charged under section 203a. Testimony cannot further a related section 203a criminal investigation or be us… - Attorney General gains stronger consumer remedies: mixed, low. The Attorney General can seek court orders when there is reason to believe a listed consumer-law violation occurred or is intended. The action must serve the public interest. Courts can stop practices, require restitution or corrective action, freeze assets, appoint a receiver, or dissolve an entit… - Consumer investigations require sworn answers: mixed, low. The Attorney General gains tools to investigate consumer violations, including sworn testimony, written answers, and records verified as complete. Investigation demands can arrive by first-class mail, email, or another method likely to give actual notice. Superior Court can compel responses through… - Dangerous businesses face emergency closure: mixed, low. After investigating, the Department can order a violation stopped when it causes or threatens imminent danger to District residents. Disobeying a lawful stop order can lead to license suspension without a hearing. An investigated merchant violation posing immediate danger can also lead to business… - Investigation evidence gets limits and sharing: mixed, low. Information obtained under the covered Attorney General investigation law cannot be used against its provider in a later criminal case. A sworn statement can still support a perjury prosecution based on that statement. Confidentiality agreements and protective orders in covered consumer cases and i… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Brianne K. Nadeau (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-02 | House | Final Reading, CC | pass | 13 | 0 | | | 2026-05-05 | House | First Reading, CC | pass | 13 | 0 | | ## Actions (16) - 2026-10-09: Law L26-0187, Effective from Sep 26, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 012972 (House) - 2026-07-03: Act A26-0344 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 009162 (House) - 2026-07-02: Transmitted to Congress (House) - 2026-06-25: Returned from Mayor (House) - 2026-06-25: Signed by the Mayor and Enacted with Act Number A26-0344 (House) - 2026-06-16: Transmitted to Mayor, Response Due on Jul 01, 2026 (House) - 2026-06-02: Legislative Meeting (House) - 2026-05-05: Legislative Meeting (House) - 2026-04-28: Committee Mark-up of B26-0174 by the Public Works and Operations Committee (House) - 2025-10-22: Public Hearing on B26-0174 (House) - 2025-10-15: Revised Notice of Public Hearing filed in the Office of Secretary by Public Works and Operations (House) - 2025-10-03: Notice of Public Hearing Published in the District of Columbia Register (House) - 2025-09-30: Notice of Public Hearing filed in the Office of Secretary by Public Works and Operations (House) - 2025-03-18: Referred to Committee on Public Works and Operations (House) - 2025-03-14: Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0174 Published in the District of Columbia Register (House) - 2025-03-11: B26-0174 Introduced by Councilmember Nadeau at Office of the Secretary (House) ## Bill text - Enrollment, 2026-06-02: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0174-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=240068) - Engrossment, 2026-05-05: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0174-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=238233) - Introduced, 2025-03-11: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Introduction/B26-0174-Introduction.pdf?Id=207931) ## Related bills - B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025 (signed) - B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act of 2025 (signed) - B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Corrections Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) - B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2026 (signed) ## Sources - [Enrollment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Meeting2/Enrollment/B26-0174-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=240068) - [Engrossment (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Meeting1/Engrossment/B26-0174-Engrossment1.pdf?Id=238233) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/57339/Introduction/B26-0174-Introduction.pdf?Id=207931) ## Related - [B26-0047: Funeral Directors Licensing Reform Amendment Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0047-26) - [B26-0785: Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Rental Vehicle Sales Tax Clarification Emergency Amend…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0785-26) - [B26-0663: Fiscal Year 2026 Revised Local Budget Temporary Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0663-26) - [B26-0181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0181-26) - [B26-0735: Special Education for Young Adults in the Custody of the Department of Correcti…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0735-26) - [B26-0760: Medical Cannabis Licensing and Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarificati…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0760-26) - [District of Columbia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/district-of-columbia/bills) - [District of Columbia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/district-of-columbia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0174-26 (as of 2026-11-04).