Title 2, Government Administration.

(a) In accordance with § 1-204.04(b), there is hereby established in the Executive Branch of the government of the District of Columbia an Economic Development Liaison Office, to be headed by an Assistant City Administrator for Economic Development, who shall serve as liaison bet…

The Economic Development Liaison Office shall perform the following functions: (1) Develop and support programs to ensure local business development and the participation of small and disadvantaged businesses in public and private economic development activities; (2) Assist busin…

(a) All authority responsibilities, and functions assigned to the Office of Tourism and Promotions by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1992, effective October 1, 1992, including oversight responsibility for the D.C. Committee to Promote Washington and the Office of Motion Picture and…

(a)(1) There is established as a special fund the Film, Television and Entertainment Rebate Fund (“Fund”). The Fund shall appear as a separate program line within the budget of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment. The Fund shall be funded by annual appr…

(a) To qualify for a payment under § 2-1204.11(b), an eligible production company shall: (1) Spend at least $250,000 in the District for the preproduction, production, or postproduction costs of a qualified production; (2) File an application with the Mayor pursuant to subsection…

(a) To be eligible for a payment under § 2-1204.11(c), an approved applicant shall: (1) Invest and expend at least $250,000 for a qualified film and digital media infrastructure project in the District; (2) File an application with the Mayor pursuant to subsection (b) of this sec…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (a)(1) “Above-the-line crew” means a person employed by an eligible production company for a qualified production, such as a producer, director, writer, or actor, who is not otherwise identified as below-the-line crew, as defined in par…

(a) The Mayor may issue a permit for the occupation of the public space for motion picture, television, and other media productions (“film permit”) pursuant to § 10-1141.03. (b) The Mayor may impose a one-time fee for processing of the film permit application in the amount of $30…

(a) There is established as a lapsing fund the Film DC Special Account Fund (“Fund”), which shall be used exclusively for the purposes set forth in subsection (b)(3) of this section. Any unexpended funds in the Film DC Special Account Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall revert…

The Mayor may promulgate rules necessary to implement this chapter.

All references in statutes, regulations, rules, orders, and other official documents to the “Film DC Economic Incentive Fund,” “Incentive Awardee,” and “incentive agreement” shall be deemed to refer, respectively, to the “Film, Television and Entertainment Rebate Fund,” “Rebate A…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Chief Financial Officer” means the Office of the Chief Financial Officer established by § 1-204.24a. (2) “Economic development incentive” or “incentive” means any expenditure of public funds by a granting body for the purpose of…

(a)(1) On or before March 1, the Chief Financial Officer shall compile and publish an annual Unified Economic Development Budget Report (“Report”) with regard to the fiscal year just concluded. The report shall be produced in both printed and electronic form and shall be freely a…

(a) For purposes of evaluating the success of economic development in the District of Columbia, the Mayor, before the start of each legislative period, shall prepare a strategic plan for economic development that reflects the District’s economic priorities (“strategic plan”). At …

All data collected and maintained as part of the reporting obligations imposed by this subchapter shall be fully subject to, and comply with, subchapter II of Chapter 5 of this title [§ 2-531 et seq.].

In enacting this subchapter, the Council of the District of Columbia supports the following statutory purposes: (1) To facilitate the establishment of 1 or more business incubators in the District of Columbia by offering the use of city-owned property, credit support for financin…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Business incubator” means a building that provides low-cost space and services to eligible tenant businesses. The term “business incubator” does not mean a multi-tenant facility that offers space alone. (2) “Council” means the C…

(a) The Mayor shall define eligibility criteria for business incubators receiving public support. These criteria shall be stated in terms of business and economic development objectives, including, but not limited to, consideration of the following recommendations: (1) The Mayor …

(a)(1) The Mayor shall establish admissions criteria for occupancy in a business incubator. (2) Admissions criteria may include, but not be limited to, factors such as the age, size, and financial status of the business. (b) The Mayor shall establish screening and application pro…

(a) Selected basic services shall be included in the rent for the business incubator; other services shall be paid for on an as-used basis. (b) The only free services shall be those ordinarily available free of charge from participating providers. (c) Services available elsewhere…

The Mayor may contract with a for-profit or a nonprofit corporation or educational institution that can utilize its resources to provide management of the business incubator facility and its services, to provide business development assistance, and to coordinate financial assista…

Priority shall be given to tenant businesses owned by persons who are residents of the District.

Tenant businesses chosen for occupancy in business incubators shall execute a first source employment agreement with the District government pursuant to § 2-219.03.

The Mayor shall devise a policy that encourages tenant businesses to leave the business incubators when a certain level of development is reached, but does not arbitrarily evict a tenant business at a crucial period in its development.

The Mayor shall locate business incubators in areas in the District appropriate to the types of businesses targeted for occupancy, based on District-determined priorities, and shall seek sites which have the least prohibitive zoning in order to allow a range of uses.

The Office of Business and Economic Development shall annually prepare a report for the Committee on Economic Development which shall describe in detail the operations of each business incubator, including, but not limited to, a discussion of: (1) The business operation of each t…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Capital access loan” means a loan that is entitled to be secured by the Fund. (2) “Enrolled loan” means a capital access loan issued in accordance with: (A) The participation agreement; and (B) The program’s objectives. (3) “Fin…

(a) There is established as a nonlapsing fund the Capital Access Fund, which shall be used solely for the uses and purposes set forth in subsections (d) and (e) of this section. The Fund shall be funded by appropriations and from other amounts received by the District for the adm…

(a) There is established the Capital Access Program, to be administered by the Mayor, to assist financial institutions in making loans to businesses and nonprofit organizations that face barriers in accessing capital. (b) The Mayor shall determine the eligibility of a financial i…

(a) To participate in the Capital Access Program, a financial institution shall, at a minimum, enter into a participation agreement with the Mayor that sets out the terms and conditions under which the financial institution will make contributions to the financial institution’s r…

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, the Mayor shall not determine the recipient, amount, or interest rate of a capital access loan or the fees or other requirements related to the loan. (b) A loan shall not be eligible to be enrolled under this subchapter if the …

(a) After entering into a participation agreement with the District of Columbia and upon approval by the Mayor, a financial institution making a capital access loan shall establish a reserve account. The reserve account shall be used by the financial institution only to cover any…

(a) The Mayor shall not deposit more than 10% of the total funds deposited in the Capital Access Fund into reserve accounts for capital access loans requiring a 200% match under § 2-1210.06(d)(3). The 10% limitation under this subsection may be waived at the discretion of the May…

(a) All funds deposited in a reserve account shall be the property of the District of Columbia. (b) The District shall earn interest on the amount of contributions made by the District, the borrower, and the financial institution to a reserve account. The District shall withdraw …

During each fiscal year of participation, financial institutions shall submit quarterly reports and a comprehensive annual report to the Mayor for the year. The reports shall: (1) Provide information regarding outstanding capital access loans, capital access loan losses, and any …

(a) The Mayor shall submit to the Council an annual status report on the program’s activities. (b) The financial transactions of the Fund shall be subject to audit by the District of Columbia Auditor as provided by § 1-204.55.

The District of Columbia shall not be liable to a participating financial institution for payment of the principal, interest, or any late charges on a capital access loan made under this subchapter.

The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of this title [§ 2-501 et seq.], shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this subchapter. The rules may: (1) Provide for criteria under which a line of credit issued by a financial institution to a small business, a medium…

The purpose of this subchapter is to create a commission to examine and evaluate proposals, recommendations, and studies in order to establish an enterprise zone or zones in blighted and underdeveloped areas of the District of Columbia (“District”). The commission shall submit a …

The Council finds that: (1) Unemployment in some areas of the District exceeds 10%. (2) The incidence of business dislocation in the District is alarming. (3) Many areas of the District suffer from the overall pattern of urban blight seen in other northeastern American cities. (4…

(a) There is established the District of Columbia Enterprise Zone Study Commission (“Commission”). (b) The commission shall be composed of 25 members who shall be appointed as follows: (1) One member shall be appointed by each member of the Council; and (2) Twelve members shall b…

The commission shall develop a method for the evaluation of a strategy to establish and implement an enterprise zone or zones in the District. The process shall include: The evaluation and consideration of a method to best select proposed sites for an enterprise zone or zones; ta…

The commission shall complete its work and submit its report with recommendations to the Council no later than 12 months following the first meeting of the commission. Upon filing its report, all authority for the commission shall expire.

(a) No compensation shall be paid to the members of the commission, but commission members may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. (b) The Mayor shall provide office space and an appropriate staff of professional and clerical personnel t…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Corner store” means a retail establishment that: (A) Sells grocery products; (B) Has less than 5,000 square feet of selling area; (C) Does not have an off-premises retailer’s license, Class A, established by § 25-112(d)(1); and …

(a) The Mayor shall establish a Grocery Store Development Program (“Program”) within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to attract grocery stores to, and renovate grocery stores in, eligible areas in the District and to create quality jobs for Di…