B 26-0436

           COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS, CHAIRPERSON
        COMMITTEE ON EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION AND LABOR
                   THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
                  1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
                        WASHINGTON, DC 20004
October 17, 2025
Nyasha Howard, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Howard,
Today, I am introducing the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident
Amendment Act of 2025.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation, which amends
the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to clarify the procedure by which the Board of
Elections accepts a proposed initiative or referendum and prepares the measure for inclusion on
the ballot, to be voted on by the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia.
The first amendment to the Home Rule Charter established the process by which District of
Columbia residents can propose initiatives and referendums directly to the voters.1 The
amendment, introduced in 1977 and passed, as required, by a concurrent resolution in the House
and the Senate, outlined the basic procedure and empowered the Council to adopts such acts as
were necessary to implement it.2 Since 1978, residents of the District have used the initiative and
referendum process to voice their policy objectives and compel legislative action. Notable
initiatives that gained a majority of the vote include an initiative measure requiring the
government to hold hearings on funding for public education and a referendum measure to make
the District of Columbia Attorney General an elected position.3
Given the potential impact of proposed measures, many states have imposed procedural
limitations designed to ensure that improper measures are not balloted and that language
included on the ballot accurately reflects the effect of such legislation. In the District of
1
  D.C. Law 2-46
2
  H. Con. Res. 464 (1978)
3
  Boogs, Roderic V. O. and Iris Toyer. "D.C.'s Schoolchildren Are Important". The Washington Post, 20 September
1987, p. C8; Nickles, Peter. “An elected attorney general for D.C.?” The Washington Post, 23 October 2010.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2010/10/24/an-elected-attorney-general-for-dc/142c52c4-6df2-4d47-
90ab-a3c380acc4f7/
Columbia, for example, the Board must refuse to accept an initiative that authorizes, or has the
effect of authorizing, discrimination under the Human Rights Act of 1977.4
The Amendment which established the initiative process in the District also imposed limitations
on the types of measures which may be proposed, including that initiatives may not propose laws
appropriating funds and referendums may not suspend emergency acts, acts levying taxes, or acts
appropriating funds.5 This restriction has been interpreted by the courts to include measures
which require the allocation of revenues to new or existing purposes.6 In the District, this
limitation is not unique to initiative and referendum measures; in maintaining a balanced budget,
permanent and emergency acts considered by the Council are accompanied by a fiscal impact
statement prior to final adoption, and acts which reflect unbudgeted costs are subject to
appropriations prior to becoming effective.7
Current law requires a fiscal impact statement for a proposed initiative measure to be requested
by the Board of Elections from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). This occurs
only after the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the Council have issued
advisory opinions as to whether a measure is appropriating funds. This legislation will require
the OCFO to issue a fiscal impact statement before the Board issues its determination on whether
the proposed measure is proper subject matter. Further, the legislation will require publication of
the fiscal impact statement and inclusion of the cost on the petition sheet and on the ballot. Just
as Councilmembers are informed of the cost of a piece of legislation before they cast a final vote,
electors in the District of Columbia should be able to readily ascertain the costs of a policy when
they are signing their name to a petition sheet or filling out a ballot.
In addition, the legislation will require that each proposed initiative present only one subject at a
time and matters properly connected with that subject. Of twenty-four states that allow some
type of citizen-proposed initiative, most require initiatives to address a single subject.8 This
ensures that the proposal is accurately reflected on the ballot and that voters can opt to vote for
one policy rather than being required to vote on two policies presented within one measure. The
distinction will provide clarity to the public on the cost for each proposal and will also prevent
Council from being forced to carve out separate funds for each policy, a complication which,
given the budget requirements for legislation, could unintentionally impact the effective date of a
successfully enacted measure.
Finally, the legislation amends timelines for the Attorney General and the General Counsel to
submit their advisory opinions and timelines for the proposer and members of the public to
object to the Board’s determination at different steps of the process. Currently, the advisory
opinions must be issued within 15 days for an initiative and within 5 days for a referendum. A
proposer has only 10 days to object to the Board’s refusal to accept a measure and a member of
the public has only 10 days to object to the legislative form of a measure. This legislation will
4
  D.C. Law 3-1
5
  D.C. Law 2-46
6
  Hessey, 601 A.2d at 19-20
7
  D.C. Official Code § 1–301.47a.
8
  National Conference on State Legislatures. “Citizen Initiative Subject Rules” Updated 27 March 2025.
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/citizen-initiative-subject-rules.
require that advisory opinions be issued within 30 days and will allow a 30-day objection period,
both for the proposer and a member of the public to object to either the initial determination of
the Board or the legislative summary and form of the measure. This is essential to ensuring that
the initiative process is not rushed at the expense of inclusion on the ballot of measures which
are likely to be subsequently overturned in litigation or which are not sufficiently vetted to
ensure the summary statement presented to voters is true and impartial.
Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Elspeth Callahan,
Legislative Director, at ecallahan@dccouncil.gov.
Thank you,
Anita Bonds
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5Councilmember Anita Bonds
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15A BILL
16______
17
18IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
19_______________
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21 To amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to require the Board of Elections to
22reject initiatives which address more than one subject matter or which are substantially
23similar to a measure which appeared on the ballot within the past 6 years; to extend the
24amount of time for the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the
25Council to provide an advisory opinion on whether a proposed measure is proper subject
26for an initiative or referendum to 30 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to
27require the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to provide a fiscal impact statement for a
28proposed initiative within 15 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to require the
29Board of Elections to hold a public meeting to issue a determination accepting or refusing
30a proposed measure; to allow a registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia to
31seek review in the Superior Court of the Board’s determination within 30 days after
32publication in the District of Columbia Register; to extend the time frame for objecting to
33the summary statement, short title, and legislative form from 10 calendar days to 30
34calendar days; to require inclusion of a fiscal impact summary on the petition sheet; and
35to stipulate a minimum of 12 point font for the summary statement, short title, and fiscal
36impact summary on the petition sheet.
37
38BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
39 act may be cited as the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act
40 of 2025”.
41Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69
42 Stat. 699, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.01 et seq.), is amended as follows:
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43(a) Section 16 (D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.16) is amended as follows:
44(1) Subsection (b) is amended as follows:
45(A) Paragraph (1) is amended as follows:
46(i) Subparagraph (C) is amended by striking the phrase “; or”
47 and inserting a semicolon in its place.
48(ii) Subparagraph (D) is amended by striking the period and
49 inserting a semicolon in its place.
50(iii) A new subparagraph (E) is added to read as follows:
51“(E) If a proposed initiative measure, the measure addresses more than one
52 subject or includes matters not properly connected with the subject; or”.
53(iv) A new subparagraph (F) is added to read as follows:
54“(F) The measure is substantially similar to a measure which has been
55 rejected by a majority of voters within the past six years.”.
56(B) Paragraph (1A)(B) is amended as follows:
57(i) Sub-subparagraph (i) is amended by striking the number “15”
58 and inserting the number “30” in its place.
59(ii) Sub-subparagraph (ii) is amended by striking the number “5”
60 and inserting the number “30” in its place.
61(C) A new paragraph (1B) is added to read as follows:
62“(1B) If the measure is a proposed initiative measure, within one business
63 day after the proposed measure is received by the Board, the Board shall request a fiscal impact
64 statement from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who shall issue a fiscal impact
65 statement within 15 business days after receipt of the request from the Board. The fiscal impact
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66 statement shall include a summary indicating the estimated cost in the first year of
67 implementation and over the four-year financial plan.”.
68(D) Paragraph (2) is amended to read as follows:
69“(2) Within 60 days after a measure is received, the Board shall convene a public
70 meeting to vote on a determination accepting or refusing the measure. Notice of the meeting
71 shall be published in the District of Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the
72 meeting. The determination shall indicate the grounds for acceptance or refusal and shall take
73 into consideration the advisory opinions of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the
74 Council. The determination shall be transmitted to the proposer and published in the District of
75 Columbia Register.”.
76(E) A new paragraph (2A) is added to read as follows:
77“(2A) If any registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia objects to the
78 acceptance of an initiative or referendum measure, that person may seek review in the Superior
79 Court of the District of Columbia within 30 calendar days after the date the Board publishes the
80 determination in the District of Columbia Register. The Superior Court of the District of
81 Columbia shall expedite consideration of the matter.”.
82(F) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the number “10” and inserting
83 the number “30” in its place.
84(3) Subsection (c) is amended as follows:
85(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “20 calendar
86 days, of the date on which the Board accepts” and inserting the phrase “30 calendar days after
87 publication in the District of Columbia Register of a determination accepting” in its place.
88(B) Paragraph (4) is amended to read as follows:
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89“(4) Adopt the fiscal impact statement of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer
90  and prepare a fiscal impact summary of not more than 50 words indicating the cost in the first
91  year of implementation and the cost over the four-year plan.”.
92(4) Subsection (d) is amended as follows:
93(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form
94 of the measure.” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative
95 measure, the fiscal impact summary. Notice of the meeting shall be published in the District of
96 Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the meeting and the meeting shall be convened
97 not more than 30 calendar days after publication of the determination accepting the measure in
98 the District of Columbia Register.” in its place.
99(B) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows:
100(i) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “24
101 hours” and inserting the phrase “3 business days” in its place.
102(ii) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “and
103 legislative form;” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative
104 measure, the fiscal impact summary;” in its place.
105(5) Subsection (e) is amended by striking the number “10” both times it appears
106 and inserting the number “30” in its place.
107(6) Subsection (f) is amended as follows:
108(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form”
109 and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its place.
110(B) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “and full legislative
111 text” and inserting the phrase “full legislative text, and fiscal impact statement” in its place.
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112(7) Subsection (g) is amended as follows:
113(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “and
114 legislative form” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its
115 place.
116(B) Paragraph (3) is amended to read as follows:
117“(3) The text of the official summary, short title, and, if the measure is a
118 proposed initiative, the fiscal impact summary of the measure printed in at least 12-point font on
119 the front of the petition sheet. The circulator shall indicate to each signer where the full
120 legislative text of the measure can be accessed.”.
121(8) Subsection (k)(1)(D) is amended by striking the phrase “; or” and inserting the
122 phrase “, or the statements are incomplete; or” in its place.
123(10) Subsection (l) is amended by striking the word “proper” and inserting the
124 phrase “proper and complete” in its place.
125(11) Subsection (q)(1) is amended to read as follows:
126“(q)(1) Upon qualification of an initiative measure, the Board shall place on the ballot the
127 serial number of the initiative and its short title, summary statement, and fiscal impact summary
128 in substantially the following form:
129“INITIATIVE MEASURE No.
130“(SHORT TITLE)
131“(SUMMARY STATEMENT)
132“(FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY)
133“FOR Initiative Measure No.
134“AGAINST Initiative Measure No.”.
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135(12) Subsection (o)(1) is amended by striking the number “10” wherever it
136 appears and inserting the number “30” in its place.
137(13) A new subsection (t) is added to read as follows:
138“(t) The Board shall post all notices required to be published in the Register pursuant to
139 this section on its website contemporaneously with their publication in the Register.”.
140Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
141The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
142 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
143 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
144Sec. 4. Effective date.
145This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by
146  the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of Congressional
147  review as provided in section 602(c)(l) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved
148  December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(l)).
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