Act A22-0442, which included the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Amendment Act of 2018, passed congressional review.

The Act expands the scope of procurement lobbying in the District of Columbia to include action by an executive agency or official in the executive branch to contract, grant or procure goods or services.

The lobbyist reporting periods change from semi-annual to quarterly reporting in January 2019.

Additional registration requirements were added including the precise description of the subject matter, including any bill, proposed resolution, contract, or other legislation of all writing or oral communications related to lobbying activities conducted with an executive or legislative member or official’s staff.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser signed the Fair Elections Act creating publicly financed elections.

In this voluntary program, qualified candidates for mayor, attorney general, Council, or the State Board of Education must raise a certain amount of money from small-dollar donors.

The city would then provide start-up support and a 5:1 match on the small dollar-contributions.

Before receiving any public money, candidates would also have to accept lower contribution limits and reject all corporate and political action committee contributions.

The law is expected to take effect in 2020.

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On August 18,  District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser returned an unsigned bill to reform the District’s procurement processes signaling that it can become effective without her signature. On August 24, the legislation was sent to Congress for the 30-day congressional review period needed for enactment. The bill will make procedural changes and establish the Office of the Ombudsman for Contracting and Procurement.

As introduced, the bill had a pay-to-play provision that banned campaign contributors from bidding on contracts over $100,000 for a year after making a donation to a District candidate. The pay-to-play provision was defeated in a council vote and is not part of the final bill.

The D.C. Council has preliminarily approved a bill that will bring more transparency and accountability to the government procurement process. Among other structural and procedural reforms, the measure establishes the Office of the Ombudsman for Contracting and Procurement.

The bill will need approval at a second reading before it is sent to the Mayor. A stricter reform measure that included a one year pay-to-play restriction failed to pass.

Attorney General Karl A. Racine proposed a new bill to close the current loophole allowing unlimited donations to political action committees (PACs) in non-election years. The bill also contains a pay-to-play provision creating a two-year period of ineligibility for “high value” city business for any company that contributes to a candidate or elected official.

The legislation comes after public concern raised last year when Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s PAC received unlimited contributions from businesses seeking contracts from her administration.

On December 1, 2015, the District Council proposed a bill eliminating the Office of Campaign Finance.

The bill creates a new office within the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability to enforce campaign finance law and to administer the publicly financed elections program.

The bill is currently in committee.

The provisions of a campaign finance reform bill passed by the Council of the District of Columbia take effect January 31, 2015. The special election set for April 28, 2015, will be the first test to the new restrictions found in Bill 20-0076.

However, according to the Office of Campaign Finance, all campaigns registering prior to the effective date of the law will not be subject to its provisions. The new law will only affect those campaigns registering on or after February 1, 2015.

Among the changes, Bill 20-0076 imposes a training requirement for committee treasurers and requires all campaign finance reports to be filed electronically. The new law also restricts contributions from affiliated entities, thereby closing the “LLC loophole”.

Councilman Marion Barry passed away on Sunday, November 23, 2014, at the age of 78. Barry served four terms as mayor before becoming a councilman.

With his death leaving a vacancy on the council, the D.C. Board of Elections must schedule a special election between 70 and 174 days after the vacancy has been declared.

A special election to fill the vacancy is expected between early February and mid-May. The winner of the special election would serve the remainder of Barry’s term, which is approximately two years.

Photo of Marion Barry courtesy of dbking on Wikimedia Commons.

On November 25, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled corporations and labor organizations making electioneering communications are required to disclose all donors making contributions over $1,000. Under 11 C.F.R. §104.20(c)(9), the Federal Election Commission’s regulation ruled invalid, disclosure was only required when made explicitly for the purpose of furthering electioneering communications.

In Christopher Van Hollen v. Federal Election Commission, the Court found the commission’s regulation “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law” and “an unreasonable interpretation of the [Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)].” 52 U.S.C. § 30104(f)(d)(E)–(F) of the BCRA does not require any preconditions for when to disclose donors making contributions over $1,000.

The Court ruled the commission’s regulation “serves to frustrate the aim of the statute because the introduction of a subjective test to the reporting regime creates an exception that has the potential to swallow the rule entirely. A donor can avoid reporting altogether by transmitting funds but remaining silent about their intended use.”

The case was brought in 2011 by U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen.

Washington, D.C. voters will elect their attorney general for the first time on November 4, 2014. Up until this year, the attorney general has been appointed by the mayor.

In 2010, voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the first election of the city’s attorney general and setting a primary election for April 2014. In late 2013, the council passed a law delaying the election from 2014 to 2018, fearing the city lacked the necessary preparation.

Paul Zukerberg, a candidate for attorney general, challenged the 2013 law in court. In June 2014, the Court of Appeals ruled an election must be held in 2014 unless it would not be practically possible for the D.C. Board of Elections to do so.

Following a directive by the Court of Appeals to set a date for the election, the D.C. Superior Court decided the election will be held on November 4, 2014, the same day as the mayoral election.

Whether Washington, D.C. voters will have the chance to elect an attorney general this year remains a hot topic on the D.C. Council floor. Currently, the attorney general is appointed by the mayor. In 2010, voters approved a charter amendment authorizing the first election of the city’s attorney general and setting a primary election for April of this year.

In late 2013, the council passed a law delaying the election from 2014 to 2018, fearing the city lacked the necessary preparation. Paul Zukerberg, the only candidate for the city’s first attorney general race, challenged the 2013 law in the District of Columbia Superior Court. Judge Laura Cordero denied Zukerberg’s motion for a preliminary injunction, stating that he would not suffer irreparable harm from the delay and therefore did not meet the standard to grant the injunction.

Upon the judge’s ruling, the council acted quickly to introduce a bill scheduling an election for attorney general in November 2014. The bill has sparked heated debate, both on the floor of the council and with current Attorney General Irvin Nathan. Nathan criticized the bill, stating it does not comport with the city charter. The bill would put the attorney general office on the November ballot without allowing for a primary election, thus circumventing the requirement of an election on a partisan basis as required by the 2010 charter amendment.

If the new bill passes the council, the possibility of a mayoral veto is likely, based on Nathan’s opposition to the measure. However, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson still plans to move the bill to passage, likely bringing it to a final vote in the next month.

Phil Mendelson, the chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, introduced a bill that would bar people who made political contributions from obtaining contracts or doing other business with the city.

Mendelson said the motivation behind his bill was to end the perception of pay-to-play in Washington, D.C.

The living wage bill officially passed through the D.C. City Council today, and is now on its way to Mayor Gray for signature. Mayor Gray has promised to sign the bill this time, a measure he initially rejected earlier this year.

The bill will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 in July 2014, $10.50 the following year, and $11.50 by 2016.

The bill also provides for future increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Photo of the John A. Wilson Building by Andrew Wiseman in Wikimedia Commons.