District of Columbia Administrative Code

1504 JOINDER 1504.1 The Director may join several cases against a single respondent or group of respondents in one petition if the Director determines that the various cases to be joined involve the following: (a) The same or similar unlawful trade practices; (b) Tend to show a p…

1505 COMPUTATION OF TIME 1505.1 In computing the periods of time under this chapter, the day of the act or event shall not be counted and the last day of the period shall be counted, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event the time period continues until…

1506 SERVICE 1506.1 Each paper required to be filed with the Office of Adjudication shall be served on all parties by the party filing the papers. 1506.2 If a party has retained an attorney as provided in §§1520.1 and 1520.2, all papers except the petition (§1509) and subpoena (§…

1507 SUBPOENAS 1507.1 With or after the filing of a petition with the Office of Adjudication, any party may serve a subpoena issued by the Office of Adjudication upon any other party, a witness, or a person holding relevant documents. The party served shall have five (5) days (fr…

1508 FILING PAPERS 1508.1 Each paper shall be signed and filed by each party with the Office of Adjudication, DCRA, 614 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001, or at any other place designated by a notice published in the D.C. Register. 1508.2 Papers may be filed Monday through F…

1509 PETITIONS AND SUMMONSES 1509.1 If the Director is unable, after a good faith effort to settle a case or cases, the Director shall initiate a proceeding before the Office of Adjudication by filing a petition. The petition and a summons, issued by the Office of Adjudication, s…

1510 ANSWERS AND MOTIONS 1510.1 Within fifteen (15) days of service of the petition, respondent shall answer the petition. An answer shall admit or deny each allegation in the petition, and set forth any defense. If the respondent fails to answer the petition within the allocated…

1511 DISCOVERY 1511.1 Parties may obtain discovery by the following methods: (a) Written interrogatories; (b) Requests for production of documents or other items, or permission to enter land or other property for inspection and other lawful purposes; (c) Requests for admissions; …

1512 INTERROGATORIES 1512.1 Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories or questions to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation, a partnership, association, or governmental agency, by an officer or agent, who…

1513 REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND THINGS AND ENTRY UPON LAND FOR INSPECTION AND OTHER PURPOSES 1513.1 Any party may serve on any other party a request to produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on his or her behalf, the following: (a) To ins…

1514 REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION 1514.1 A party may serve upon any other party a written request for an admission, for the purposes of the pending action only, of the truth of any matters set forth in the request that relate to statements of fact or opinions, or of the application of …

1515 DEPOSITIONS 1515.1 A party may take a deposition only with permission from the Office of Adjudication. 1515.2 The Office of Adjudication shall grant permission to take a deposition only where the information sought is not otherwise available or the Office of Adjudication det…

1516 SANCTIONS FOR FAILURE TO MAKE DISCOVERY 1516.1 If a party from whom discovery is sought fails to comply with the request, the Office of Adjudication, upon motion from the party seeking discovery, may issue an order compelling discovery. 1516.2 The Office of Adjudication may …

1517 PRE-HEARING SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES AND CONSENT DECREES 1517.1 The Office of Adjudication may, without delaying its hearing or decision, attempt to settle a case, and may permit any stipulation or consent decree the parties agree upon. 1517.2 Approval by the Office of Adjudic…

1518 CONDUCT OF HEARINGS 1518.1 Hearings shall be conducted as adjudicatory proceedings. 1518.2 Parties have the right to present their cases or defenses in person or by counsel, by oral and documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct such cross-examination …

1519 EVIDENCE 1519.1 The Office of Adjudication shall follow the evidentiary rules of § 10 of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act, 82 Stat. 1208, as amended, D.C. Code § 1-1509 (1981). SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 6176, 6186 (October 10, 1986). …

1520 RIGHT TO COUNSEL 1520.1 Each party has the right to retain his or her own counsel. The role at the hearing of counsel retained by the complainant shall be determined by the Office of Adjudication. 1520.2 The Director shall designate a representative to serve as counsel for t…

1521 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1521.1 Hearings shall be recorded by electronic or stenographic means, but transcriptions shall be made only if specifically requested by one (1) of the parties or other persons, or the Office of Adjudication. 1521.2 The testimony and exhibits, together…

1522 DECISION AND ORDER OF THE OFFICE OF ADJUDICATION 1522.1 The Decision and Order of the Office of Adjudication shall be in writing, shall be issued no later than ninety (90) days from the date the hearing is completed of the hearing record is closed, whichever is later, and sh…

1523 PETITIONER'S COSTS FOR INVESTIGATING, NEGOTIATING, ANDHEARING 1523.1 If, as part of the Decision and Order, a respondent is required to pay the Department's costs for investigation, negotiation, and hearing, that cost shall be established as follows: (a) Petitioner shall fil…

1524 EMERGENCY PROCEEDINGS 1524.1 The Director may file with the Office of Adjudication a "motion for emergency relief against a respondent for the purpose of seeking a provisional remedy. 1524.2 The Administrative Law Judge may grant an Emergency Order without written or oral no…

1525 ENLARGEMENT OF TIME 1525.1 Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or by statute, the Office of Adjudication may, for good cause, extend any time limit set forth in this chapter. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 6176, 6189 (October 10, 1986). AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR…

1526 SEAL AND PROCESS 1526.1 The seal of the Office of Adjudication shall be in the custody of the clerk and shall be used to authenticate all process, orders and proceedings in the Office of Adjudication official transcripts thereof, and all other papers or documents requiring a…

1527 BINDING EFFECT OF ORDER 1527.1 A Decision and Order of the Office of Adjudication shall be binding only upon the parties to the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive…

1528 DELEGABLE AND NON-DELEGABLE POWERS OF THE OFFICE OF ADJUDICATION 1528.1 Except as noted in §1528.2, all functions of the Office of Adjudication are to be performed personally by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The following powers shall be nondelegable: (a) Presiding ove…

1599 DEFINITIONS 1599.1 When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed: Act - the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, D.C. Code §28-3901 et seq., (1981). ALJ - the Administrative Law Judge for the D.C. Department of Consumer and R…

1600 REVOCATION OF LICENSE 1600.1 The Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (Director) shall revoke a licensee’s basic business license with a Public Health: Public Accommodations license endorsement, a Housing: Transient license endorsement, or a General …

1601 SEALING OF PREMISES 1601.1 If any premises are primarily used to operate a massage establishment or health spa without a basic business license or engage in activity that violates any provision of D.C. Official Code §§ 22-2701, 22-2705 through 22-2707, or 22-2710 through 22-…

1602 NOTICE AND HEARING 1602.1 Concurrent with an order issued by the Director, pursuant to this chapter, revoking a licensee’s license or sealing any premises, the Director shall post at the premises and serve on the licensed or unlicensed establishment, a written notice and ord…

1603 CIVIL PENALTIES 1603.1 Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as additional sanctions for any infraction of this chapter pursuant to D.C. Official Code §§ 2-1801.01 et seq. 1603.2 Adjudication of any infraction of this chapter shall be pursuant to D.C. Official Code…

1700 MINIMUM OCTANE LEVELS 1700.1 Octane levels where automotive fuel is offered for sale or use shall meet the following minimum standards: (a) Automotive fuel advertised at an octane rating of 87 shall measure at an octane level of 86.5 or higher; (b) Automotive fuel advertised…

1701 SEMI-ANNUAL INSPECTION OF OCTANE LEVELS 1701.1 DCRA shall inspect and test, at least once every six (6) months, the octane level of gasoline at every location where automotive fuel is offered for sale or use in the District of Columbia. 1701.2 DCRA shall test each octane lev…

1702 FUEL SAMPLE TEST 1702.1 The DCRA inspector performing an octane level test shall have the following equipment to obtain a fuel sample: (a) Neoprene gloves; (b) A facial mask; (c) A liter-size cylindrical aluminum container with a self-locking cap; (d) A portable octane analy…

1703 SECOND FUEL-SAMPLE TEST 1703.1 If the octane rating measures within the 0.5 tolerance set forth in § 1700.1, the gasoline shall be deemed to have passed the octane rating test and the DCRA inspector shall continue to inspect the remaining octane ratings at the fueling statio…

ANALYSIS OF FUEL SAMPLE BY A THIRD PARTY 1704.1 Only the second sample from the underground storage tank that measures below the 0.5 tolerance shall be sent to the Motor Fuel Testing Lab of the Comptroller of Maryland or another testing lab authorized by the Director within twent…

1705 CONDEMNATION OF A DISPENSING SYSTEM, STORAGE TANK, OR OTHER DISPENSING DEVICE 1705.1 To condemn a service station dispenser nozzle as required by § 1704.3, the DCRA inspector shall affix a condemnation tag and/or boot to the service station dispenser and place a wire seal ov…

1706 RECORD KEEPING 1706.1 For each condemnation, DCRA shall maintain a record consisting of: A description of the device the DCRA inspector used to retrieve the gasoline sample from the service station dispenser; The fuel sample test from § 1702, second fuel-sample test from § 1…

1707 FUEL COLOR CODE CHARTS 1707.1 Each gasoline station shall have a color-coded chart that clearly identifies which color represents each octane rating. The colors used shall comply with the then-current version of American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice 1637, “…

1708 FUEL LABELING 1708.1 Gasoline labels shall comply with 16 C.F.R. § 306.12, “Automotive Fuel Ratings, Certification and Posting-Labels.” SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 4071 (March 18, 2016). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Consumers, Commercial Practi…

1799 DEFINITIONS Blended service station dispenser- a pump that has a single nozzle that dispenses more than one (1) octane rating. Motor fuel testing lab - a lab that analyzes incoming petroleum products for their quality and to ensure that samples of various grades of motor fue…

1800 GENERAL PROVISIONS 1800.1 The provisions of this chapter are adopted under the authority of D.C. Law 3-107, the "Security Alarm Systems Regulations Act of 1980," D.C. Code § 7-2801 et seq. (2001), effective September 26, 1980, as amended by D.C. Law 7-99, the "Fire Alarm Sys…

1801 LICENSING OF ALARM DEALERS 1801.1 No person shall engage in the business of an alarm dealer within the boundaries of the District of Columbia without first obtaining from the Director an alarm dealer's license, as required by §5 of the Act (D.C. Official Code §7-2804 (2001))…

1802 LICENSING OF ALARM AGENTS 1802.1 No person shall act as an alarm agent within the boundaries of the District of Columbia without first obtaining from the Director an alarm agent's license, as required by §6 of the Act (D.C. Official Code §7-2804 (2001)) and this chapter. 180…

1803 APPLICATION FOR AN ALARM AGENT LICENSE 1803.1 An application for an alarm agent's license shall be made on a form prescribed by the Director and shall contain a notarized statement that the information contained in the application is true and correct. 1803.2 Each application…

1804 TERM AND RENEWAL OF LICENSES 1804.1 An alarm dealer license and an alarm agent license shall expire at 12:00 midnight on July 31st of every other year. 1804.2 A licensee shall submit a renewal application for an alarm dealer or alarm agent license to the Director at least th…

1805 LICENSE FEES AND COLLATERALS 1805.1 License fees for alarm dealers and alarm agents are set forth at Title 17 DCMR §3500.1. The collateral schedule for violations of the Act is set forth at Title 17 DCMR §3501. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 8448, 8449 (Decembe…

1806 IDENTIFICATION 1806.1 Each alarm agent and each alarm dealer whose duties include the installation, inspection, maintenance, servicing, or repair of alarm systems, shall carry on his or her person at all times while engaged in these duties a valid identification card issued …

1807 DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF A LICENSE 1807.1 The Director may deny, suspend, or revoke the license of an alarm dealer or an alarm agent for any of the reasons set forth in §5(c) of the Act (D.C. Official Code §7-2804(e)). 1807.2 In determining whether the issuance o…

1808 PROCEDURES FOR DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF A LICENSE 1808.1 Pursuant to procedures and authority set forth in §§5 and 6 of the Act (D.C. Official Code §§7-2804 and 7-2085), whenever the Director proposes to deny, suspend, or revoke a license, the Director shall give…

1809 COMPUTATION OF TIME 1809.1 In computing any period of time specified in this chapter or §§5 or 6 of the Act (D.C. Official Code §§7-2804 and 7-2805), calendar days shall be counted unless otherwise indicated. 1809.2 In computing any period of time specified in this chapter, …