[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 411 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 411
To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to eliminate
congressional review of newly passed District laws.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 21, 2021
Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on
Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to eliminate
congressional review of newly passed District laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES IN ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``District of
Columbia Legislative Autonomy Act''.
(b) References in Act.--Except as may otherwise be provided,
whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment
to or repeal of a section or other provision, the reference shall be
considered to be made to that section or other provision of the
District of Columbia Home Rule Act.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NEWLY PASSED DISTRICT
LAWS.
(a) In General.--Section 602 (sec. 1-206.02, D.C. Official Code) is
amended by striking subsection (c).
(b) Congressional Resolutions of Disapproval.--
(1) In general.--The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is
amended by striking section 604 (sec. 1-206.04, D.C. Official
Code).
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents is amended
by striking the item relating to section 604.
(3) Exercise of rulemaking power.--This subsection and the
amendments made by this subsection are enacted by Congress--
(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the
House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively,
and as such they shall be considered as a part of the
rules of each House, respectively, or of that House to
which they specifically apply, and such rules shall
supersede other rules only to the extent that they are
inconsistent therewith; and
(B) with full recognition of the constitutional
right of either House to change such rules (so far as
relating to such House) at any time, in the same
manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any
other rule of such House.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) District of columbia home rule act.--(A) Section 303
(sec. 1-203.03, D.C. Official Code) is amended--
(i) in subsection (a), by striking the second
sentence; and
(ii) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating
subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (b) and (c).
(B) Section 404 (sec. 1-204.04, D.C. Official Code), as
amended by the Local Budget Autonomy Amendment Act of 2012, is
amended by striking ``subject to the provisions of section
602(c)'' each place it appears in subsections (e) and (f).
(C) Section 446 (sec. 1-204.46, D.C. Official Code), as
amended by section 2(e) of the Local Budget Autonomy Amendment
Act of 2012, is amended--
(i) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by
striking ``pursuant to the procedure set forth in
section 602(c)'';
(ii) in subsection (c) in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``section 472(d)(2)'' and
inserting ``section 472(d)'';
(iii) in subsection (c) in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``section 475(e)(2)'' and
inserting ``section 475(e)''; and
(iv) in paragraph (1) of subsection (c), by
striking ``and has completed the review process under
section 602(c)(3)''.
(D) Section 462 (sec. 1-204.62, D.C. Official Code) is
amended--
(i) in subsection (a), by striking ``(a) The
Council'' and inserting ``The Council''; and
(ii) by striking subsections (b) and (c).
(E) Section 472(d) (sec. 1-204.72(d), D.C. Official Code),
as amended by section 2(h) of the Local Budget Autonomy
Amendment Act of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Payments Not Subject to Appropriation.--Section 446(c) shall
not apply to any amount obligated or expended by the District for the
payment of the principal of, interest on, or redemption premium for any
revenue anticipation note issued under subsection (a).''.
(F) Section 475(e) (sec. 1-204.75(e), D.C. Official Code),
as amended by section 2(h) of the Local Budget Autonomy
Amendment Act of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
``(e) Payments Not Subject to Appropriation.--Section 446(c) shall
not apply to any amount obligated or expended by the District for the
payment of the principal of, interest on, or redemption premium for any
revenue anticipation note issued under this section.''.
(2) Other laws.--(A) Section 2(b)(1) of Amendment No. 1
(relating to initiative and referendum) to title IV (the
District Charter) (sec. 1-204.102(b)(1). D.C. Official Code) is
amended by striking ``the appropriate custodian'' and all that
follows through ``portion of such act to''.
(B) Section 5 of Amendment No. 1 (relating to initiative
and referendum) to title IV (the District Charter) (sec. 1-
204.105, D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking ``, and
such act'' and all that follows and inserting a period.
(C) Section 16 of the District of Columbia Election Code of
1955 (sec. 1-1001.16, D.C. Official Code)--
(i) in subsection (j)(2)--
(I) by striking ``sections 404 and 602(c)''
and inserting ``section 404'', and
(II) by striking the second sentence; and
(ii) in subsection (m)--
(I) in the first sentence, by striking
``the appropriate custodian'' and all that
follows through ``parts of such act to'',
(II) by striking ``is held. If, however,
after'' and inserting ``is held unless,
under'', and
(III) by striking ``section, the act
which'' and all that follows and inserting
``section.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to each
act of the District of Columbia--
(1) passed by the Council of the District of Columbia and
signed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia;
(2) vetoed by the Mayor and repassed by the Council;
(3) passed by the Council and allowed to become effective
by the Mayor without the Mayor's signature; or
(4) in the case of initiated acts and acts subject to
referendum, ratified by a majority of the registered qualified
electors voting on the initiative or referendum,
on or after October 1, 2021.
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