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District of ColumbiaPR26-0001Council Period 26 (2025-2026)HouseWALLET

Rules of Organization and Procedure for the Council of the District of Columbia, Council Period 26, Resolution of 2025

Sponsored By: Phil Mendelson (Democratic)

Adopted

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

17 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 3 costs, 11 mixed.

Council harassment complaints get protected review

Targets can report harassment orally or in writing to a supervisor or Sexual Harassment Officer; employees can submit anonymous or witness reports online. Supervisors must tell the alleged harasser to stop, promptly seek resolution, take appropriate corrective action, and report in writing to an Officer and General Counsel. If resolution fails, supervisors must notify the complainant and encourage an Officer complaint; Officers assess further action on anonymous or witness reports. Target complaints received by an Officer go to General Counsel for outside-counsel investigation, as do all complaints alleging Councilmember harassment. Reports and identities must remain confidential as far as possible; requested privacy can delay supervisor notice unless investigation or interim measures require it. Accused people can respond, obtain counsel and representation, and be presumed innocent, but have no right to government-paid counsel.

Harassment protections and training for Council workers

Effective immediately, the law prohibits sexual harassment of Council employees and retaliation for reporting or opposing it. The policy covers Councilmembers, employees, and third parties at Council worksites or doing Council business, including work trips and events. It bans demands for sexual favors tied to job treatment and unwelcome conduct that disrupts work or creates a hostile environment. Employees and Councilmembers must act to stop unwelcome sexual behavior before it becomes severe or widespread enough to violate law. Retaliation protections cover reporting, helping or encouraging complaints, joining investigations or resolutions, opposing harassment, refusing harassment-causing orders, and protecting others. The Council must take needed steps to protect employees who act in good faith. Employees found to retaliate must be recommended for discipline, up to firing. Every Councilmember and employee must receive and attend sexual-harassment training at least once a year, including training on retaliation.

Public gets notice of Council meetings

Council and committee meetings must be open through in-person access, television, or approved online methods, except for permitted closures. Officials cannot avoid this rule by keeping attendance below the number needed for official business. An attending Councilmember must notify the Secretary at least 48 hours before Council meetings or 24 hours before committee meetings; emergencies can shorten notice. The Secretary posts the date, time, location, planned agenda when applicable, and any intended closure and reasons online and at the Wilson Building. Building posting is waived during declared public emergencies; specified informal gatherings are exempt from notice but cannot take official action.

Council employees face outside work limits

Council employees cannot receive outside pay or other value for performing official duties. Outside work cannot conflict, or appear to conflict, with impartial service or Council operations; employees other than Councilmembers need supervisor approval. Permitted activities must follow other laws and take place outside regular hours, during annual or unpaid leave, or minimally without disrupting duties. Using nonpublic official data or ideas in outside activities requires written supervisor permission. Subject to the stated legal exception, employees cannot represent others, hold a financial interest in, or help pursue claims against the District before District agencies or courts. They also cannot represent others there when the District is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.

Former Council staff face influence limits

Former Council employees face limits on trying to influence District departments, agencies, or courts on another person's behalf. The restriction covers particular matters where the District is a party or has a direct and substantial interest. It does not ban all work after Council service.

Council staff must preserve official messages

Council employees, including the Chairman and Councilmembers, must use government accounts or devices for electronic public business. Other accounts or devices require saving all messages, including disappearing messages, as text-searchable Council records. Current and former employees cannot knowingly or willfully share or use confidential or privileged information without authorization or legal authority. They cannot release information early or let others use information unavailable to the public; disclosures authorized or required by law remain allowed.

Council employees face gift limits

Council employees generally cannot seek or accept gifts from sources with District business, regulated activities, or interests affected by their work. An unsolicited-gift exception allows up to $50 per source per occasion and $100 per source per calendar year, excluding cash, stock, bonds, and certificates of deposit. Other exceptions cover listed personal gifts and public benefits; exceptional advance-approved gifts require disclosure on Sterling and the Council website. Prohibited gifts must be returned or repaid at market value; perishable gifts impractical to return must be donated, shared, or destroyed. Employees cannot accept value in exchange for official acts, fraud assistance, or duty violations; the lobbyist influence-gift restriction is subject to the Code's stated exceptions. Gifts to superiors and gifts from lower-paid staff are generally restricted, with personal-relationship and occasion-based exceptions, including occasional noncash gifts up to $50, shared refreshments, customary hospitality, and suitable major-event or farewell gifts.

Council personnel face financial conflict limits

Beginning January 2, 2025, Councilmembers and staff must act in the public interest and follow conduct laws and the Council Code. They cannot take official action involving personal, family, client, or business conflicts. Employees cannot use their positions or influence matters they know will likely directly and predictably affect their own or closely affiliated people's finances. Councilmembers must disclose conflicts and step aside; other employees can receive advance waivers after full disclosure and written approval from both their supervisor and the Ethics Board. Employees and household members cannot knowingly acquire property that could unduly influence official work, or appear to do so, or business interests tied to duties or matters the employee could influence.

Council staff get limited event benefits

Council employees can accept reasonable food, travel, lodging, and scheduled entertainment for organized events tied to official business. Donors cannot be registered lobbyists or prohibited sources; events must be widely attended by non-District employees, with similar treatment for attendees. A spouse or domestic partner can share lodging but must pay market value for food, travel, and entertainment. Free event entry for an employee and one guest, plus a meal offered to everyone, is allowed for duty-related events expecting at least 25 people outside District government and open to a profession or a range of interested people. Accepted benefits covered by the gift-and-travel rule require donor, date, and estimated-value reports on Sterling by the month's last business day; Councilmembers must also report accepting nothing. Reports appear online on the first Friday in the next month's first full week, or the next business day after a holiday; unused free-entry offers are not reportable.

Council harassment findings require corrective action

Beginning January 2, 2025, Councilmembers and staff must follow the Sexual Harassment Policy; violations also break Council rules. They must complete equal employment opportunity training every year, including harassment and retaliation. When outside counsel finds harassment, the responsible Councilmember or Officer must take at least the recommended corrective action, including termination when appropriate. For complaints involving non-Council employees, the Council can impose no-contact rules, restrict access to personal or committee offices, and ask their employers to act.

Council can accept restricted donations

Council employees can seek or accept donations for authorized Council duties. Donations become Council property and cannot fund unauthorized purposes. Corporate donors can receive a short, discreet credit line, but recognition cannot include product names, logos, or advertising-like content.

Council ethics training includes advice protections

Beginning January 2, 2025, the Council must review District ethics structure, training, enforcement, and culture, and work toward national standards. The Ethics Counselor must periodically train Councilmembers and staff and post training materials and summary guidelines online. Councilmembers and employees must complete General Counsel ethics training within 2 months of starting work and once each Council Period afterward. Employees can request confidential General Counsel advice and avoid a Code violation finding by fully disclosing facts, documenting advice, and following it. This protection applies even if the action later proves contrary to the Code, but not when employees knew or should have known their information was false, misleading, or otherwise incorrect.

Council staff face public office safeguards

Council employees cannot use work time or government resources for private purposes or political campaigns and ballot measures. Government-approved activities and tiny, non-disruptive uses are allowed, but employees cannot direct coworkers to perform personal services during work hours beyond incidental scheduling. Employees cannot use public office for private gain or imply Council backing of private activities without official approval. Usual constituent help without extra pay remains allowed, but not threats, favoritism, or requests to misuse legal authority. Councilmembers can join qualifying nonprofit charity events, but this exception excludes direct requests to individual donors and limits use of names and titles in fundraising materials. Official titles on requested job or character references require personal knowledge; Council letterhead is limited to Council-connected applicants concerning their duties, and letters without work knowledge can address only character or residence.

Councilmembers face public meeting conduct rules

At public Council meetings, Councilmembers must treat each other respectfully and cannot direct profane, indecent, or abusive language at members or the Council. A member who promptly follows a warning avoids a Code violation for discipline under this rule. The rule preserves First Amendment rights. Its removal provision excludes the specified regular, additional, and special Council or Committee of the Whole meetings.

Public records access includes privacy limits

Council and committee meetings must be recorded, or detailed minutes kept when recording is impossible. Open-meeting draft minutes are available within 3 business days and full records within 7 business days; requesters pay for copies. Specified informal gatherings with no expected official action are exempt, and cannot take official action. Closing a meeting requires a public majority vote of members present, good cause, and an allowed reason; the presiding officer states the reason and subjects, which limit the discussion. Closed records stay confidential unless a majority approves release for good cause. Affected witnesses get 10 days' written notice before their testimony or evidence is released and can request withholding before that period ends.

Grant applicants face deadlines and caps

Organizations seeking earmarked District grants must submit required records within 7 days after funding enters first or, when applicable, second reading. Records include incorporation papers, tax-exemption evidence or a pending-application statement, financial reports, tax returns, notarized statements, program details, and a budget. A qualifying nonprofit sponsor can help an organization meet these requirements, but both must submit their required information on time. Noncompliant organizations must be removed from the Budget Support Act at second reading and cannot receive the grant. District instrumentalities and entities named in a Local Budget Act are exempt from these documentation rules. Covered allocations are capped each fiscal year at $250,000 for non-capital projects and $1 million for all capital projects.

Grant recipients face audits and disclosures

District grant recipients must be told that the District Auditor can audit them at random. Any resulting audit report is due by March 1 of the fiscal year following the grant's award year. Councilmembers, staff, and proposed grantees' officers and directors must disclose personal, family, or financial ties between Council personnel and grantee leaders. These rules add grant oversight and disclosure duties.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Phil Mendelson

    Democratic • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 21 • No: 18

House vote • 1/2/2025

Final Reading

Yes: 12 • No: 1

House vote • 1/2/2025

Other

Yes: 3 • No: 10

House vote • 1/2/2025

Other

Yes: 6 • No: 7

Actions Timeline

  1. Resolution R26-0001, Effective from Jan 02, 2025 Published in DC Register Vol 72 and Page 001289

    2/14/2025House

  2. Notice of Intent to Act on PR26-0001 Published in the District of Columbia Register

    1/10/2025House

  3. Retained by the Council

    1/7/2025House

  4. Approved with Resolution Number R26-0001

    1/2/2025House

  5. Legislative Meeting

    1/2/2025House

  6. PR26-0001 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary

    1/2/2025House

Bill Text

  • Amendment

    1/2/2025

    PDFPDF

  • Enrollment

    1/2/2025

    PDF

  • Introduced

    1/2/2025

    PDF

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