# District of Columbia B26-0632: Open Meetings Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026

District of Columbia B26-0632, Open Meetings Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026, is a Council Period 26 (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Phil Mendelson (Democratic); status became law, last action 2026-04-24 (Act A26-0297 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006260, Expires on Jul 17, 2026) (as of 2026-11-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0632-26
- 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 B26-0632
- State: District of Columbia
- Session: Council Period 26 (2025-2026)
- Title: Open Meetings Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026
- Status: became law
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-30
- Last action: 2026-04-24, Act A26-0297 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006260, Expires on Jul 17, 2026
- Sponsor: Phil Mendelson (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (9 yes, 3 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- When these open-meeting rules start: benefit, low. The Act applies starting March 29, 2026. A related rule at 3 DCMR 5170.3 does not apply until October 17, 2026.
- Clearer rules for DC public meetings: mixed, low. The law defines a meeting as any time a quorum of a public body considers public business, in person or online. Chance or social events and press conferences are not meetings if they are not used to dodge the law. For the Council, a meeting is a regular or extra legislative meeting, and committee m…
- New rules for access and notice: mixed, low. Public bodies must take steps so people can watch or hear meetings live. If live access is not possible, they must post it as soon as reasonably practicable. The notice rule now says bodies must attempt to give notice, rather than always provide it. For urgent matters, they can use special procedur…
- Private sessions allowed for safety threats: mixed, low. A public body may meet in private to discuss ways to guard against terrorism or big dangers to health and safety. They may get briefings and take action when sharing details could endanger the public or the body. This authority applies beginning March 29, 2026.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Phil Mendelson (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-31 | House | Final Reading | pass | 9 | 3 | 1 |

## Actions (7)

- 2026-04-24: Act A26-0297 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006260, Expires on Jul 17, 2026 (House)
- 2026-04-18: Enacted without Mayor's Signature with Act Number A26-0297, Expires on Jul 17, 2026 (House)
- 2026-04-17: Returned from Mayor (House)
- 2026-04-02: Transmitted to Mayor, Response Due on Apr 17, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Legislative Meeting (House)
- 2026-03-31: Retained by the Council (House)
- 2026-03-30: B26-0632 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary (House)

## Bill text

- Enrollment, 2026-03-31: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/61506/Meeting1/Enrollment/B26-0632-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=235760)
- Introduced, 2026-03-30: [PDF](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/61506/Introduction/B26-0632-Introduction.pdf?Id=235156)

## 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/61506/Meeting1/Enrollment/B26-0632-Enrollment1.pdf?Id=235760)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/61506/Introduction/B26-0632-Introduction.pdf?Id=235156)

## 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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DC-B26-0632-26 (as of 2026-11-04).