Title 2, Government Administration.

(a) The Mayor and each independent agency shall, prior to the adoption of any rule or the amendment or repeal thereof, publish in the District of Columbia Register (unless all persons subject thereto are named and either personally served or otherwise have actual notice thereof i…

(a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this subchapter, the Mayor shall have compiled, indexed, and published in the District of Columbia Register all regulations adopted by the District of Columbia Council and rules adopted by the Mayor and District of Columbia C…

On petition of any interested person, the Mayor or an agency, within their discretion, may issue a declaratory order with respect to the applicability of any rule, regulation, Council act or resolution, or statute enforceable by them or by it, to terminate a controversy (other th…

(a) In any contested case, all parties thereto shall be given reasonable notice of the afforded hearing by the Mayor or the agency, as the case may be. The notice shall state the time, place, and issues involved, but if, by reason of the nature of the proceeding, the Mayor or the…

(a) Any person suffering a legal wrong, or adversely affected or aggrieved, by an order or decision of the Mayor or an agency in a contested case, is entitled to a judicial review thereof in accordance with this subchapter upon filing in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals …

The public policy of the District of Columbia is that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees. To that end, provisions of this subchapter shal…

(a) Any person has a right to inspect, and at his or her discretion, to copy any public record of a public body, except as otherwise expressly provided by § 2-534, in accordance with reasonable rules that shall be issued by a public body after notice and comment, concerning the t…

(a) Denial by a public body of a request for any public record shall contain at least the following: (1) The specific reasons for the denial, including citations to the particular exemption(s) under § 2-534 relied on as authority for the denial; (2) The name(s) of the public offi…

(a) The following matters may be exempt from disclosure under the provisions of this subchapter: (1) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from outside the government, to the extent that disclosure would result in substantial harm to the competitive posit…

Each agency having more than 1 member shall maintain and make available for public inspection a record of the final votes of each member in each proceeding of that agency.

(a) Without limiting the meaning of other sections of this subchapter, the following categories of information are specifically made public information, and do not require a written request for information: (1) The names, salaries, title, and dates of employment of all employees …

(a) Except as provided in subsections (a-1) and (a-2) of this section, any person denied the right to inspect a public record of a public body may petition the Mayor to review the public record to determine whether it may be withheld from public inspection. Such determination sha…

(a) On or before February 1 of each year, the Mayor shall request from each public body and submit to the Council, a report covering the public-record-disclosure activities of each public body during the preceding fiscal year. The report shall include: (1) The number of requests …

(a) For the purposes of this subchapter, the following terms shall have the same meanings as provided in § 2-502: (1) “Adjudication”; (2) “Agency”; (3) “Council”; (4) “District”; (5) ”Mayor”; (6) “Order”; (7) “Party”; (8) “Person”; (9) “Proceedings”; (10) “Public record”; (11) “R…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Freedom of Information Act of 1976”.

For purposes of this subchapter: (1) The terms “Mayor,” “Council,” “District,” “agency,” “rule,” “rulemaking,” “person,” “licensing”, “publish,” and “regulation” (except when used in the term “District of Columbia Municipal Regulation”) shall have the meaning provided in § 2-502.…

(a) The District of Columbia Office of Documents, established pursuant to § 2-611, shall supervise, manage, and direct the preparation, editing, publishing, and supplementation of an official legal compilation entitled the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The Di…

(a) The District of Columbia Office of Documents shall also supervise, manage, and direct the preparation, editing, and publishing of the District of Columbia Register which shall serve as the only official legal bulletin in the District of Columbia government and the temporary s…

Any document required or authorized to be published in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations or the District of Columbia Register shall be filed with the District of Columbia Office of Documents. If a document has been published pursuant to subchapter I of this chapter a…

(a) The Mayor shall: (1) Make available, by May 1, 2001, a complete and current version of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”), with all sections compiled by subject matter, and an index to the sections; (2) Publish, no later than 60 days after the beginning o…

Except as provided in § 2-554, 2 copies of any document to be published pursuant to this subchapter shall be filed with the Administrator. The Administrator shall immediately review filed documents to determine their conformity to the provisions of this subchapter and to editoria…

(a) The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations and its permanent supplements shall be published pursuant to typographical and contractual arrangements which ensure that the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations can be purchased at a reasonable cost in its entirety or in …

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, any rule, regulation, or document having general applicability and legal effect which has been adopted or enacted by the Commissioner, the Mayor, the District of Columbia Council, an agency, or other instrumentality of t…

The Administrator of the District of Columbia Office of Documents shall correct grammatical or typographical errors in the publication of the text of a document in the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, the District of Columbia Register or the District of Columbia Municipal …

Each part of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, each permanent supplement of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, and the District of Columbia Register shall contain a certificate by the Administrator stating that such part contains all documents required …

The publication of any document in the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, or the District of Columbia Register creates a rebuttable presumption: (1) That it was duly issued, prescribed, adopted, or enacted; and (2) That all req…

Any person who knowingly and willfully causes any document not to be published in the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, the District of Columbia Register, or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations which is required to be so published pursuant to this subchapter shal…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Open Meetings Act”.

The public policy of the District is that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the actions of those who represent them.

This subchapter shall be construed broadly to maximize public access to meetings. Exceptions shall be construed narrowly and shall permit closure of meetings only as authorized by this chapter.

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Meeting” means any gathering of a quorum of the members of a public body, including hearings and roundtables, whether formal or informal, regular, special, or emergency, at which the members consider, conduct, or advise on publi…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a meeting shall be open to the public. A meeting shall be deemed open to the public if: (1) The public is permitted to be physically present; (2) The news media, as defined by § 16-4701, is permitted to be physically prese…

Before meeting in open or closed session, a public body shall provide advance public notice as follows: (1) Notice shall be provided when meetings are scheduled and when the schedule is changed. A public body shall establish an annual schedule of its meetings, if feasible, and sh…

(a) A meeting may be held by video conference, telephone conference, or other electronic means; provided, that: (1) Reasonable arrangements are made to accommodate the public’s right to attend the meeting; (2) The meeting is recorded; and (3) All votes are taken by roll call. (b)…

(a) All meetings of public bodies, whether open or closed, shall be recorded by electronic means; provided, that if a recording is not feasible, detailed minutes of the meeting shall be kept. (b) Copies of records shall be made available for public inspection according to the fol…

(a) The Open Government Office may bring a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for injunctive or declaratory relief for any violation of this subchapter before or after the meeting in question takes place; provided, that the Council shall adopt its own rules…

The Office of Boards and Commissions, established December 19, 2001 (Mayor’s Order 2001-189), in coordination with the Open Government Office, shall: (1) Develop a training manual for members of public bodies; and (2) Annually advise all members of public bodies of their responsi…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Open Government Office Act”.

The District of Columbia Open Government Office (“Open Government Office”) is established as an independent office within the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability to promote open governance in the District of Columbia. All assets, staff, and unexpended appropriations of …

(a) The Open Government Office shall: (1) Report annually, on or before February 1, on its activities, including recommendations for changes in the law; (2) Issue advisory opinions to public bodies on compliance with subchapter IV of this chapter; (3) Provide training to public b…

(a) The Open Government Office shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability to serve a 5-year term. (b) The Director may be reappointed and, if not reappointed, the Director shall serve until his successor has been confirmed. (c) Th…