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Henderson agreed that the bill would have to be tweaked, and likely leave the drawing of new boundaries to DDOT after an extensive community engagement process. “Anytime we talk about parking, or cars, it’s always controversial. It could be [speed cameras], it could be towing, it could be bike lanes. Parking will always bring an emotional response because changing that is the thing that changes people’s lifestyles the most,” she said.

Tuesday, for example, Washington council member Christina Henderson is expected to put forward emergency and temporary legislation to delay a law that requires students over 12 to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Speaking to the Washington Post Tuesday, Henderson said the change of course since the initial vote a year ago is due to a shift in how health officials understand the coronavirus, including taking a more relaxed approach to guidance protocols and masking. Henderson cited universities and school districts that have adopted a new approach in not requiring their students to vaccinate, and the overall decline in COVID-related deaths as well.

Lawmakers also approved an emergency bill from Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large) that further delays enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for kids 12 and up until the start of the 2023 school year, a year later than was initially planned when the council passed the mandate into law in late 2021. The mandate had already been delayed by five months in late August amidst a city push to get school kids caught up on routine immunizations. Afterwards, an October council hearing exposed problems some schools were having in tracking student immunizations, and also disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates that left some lawmakers concerned that Black and Latino students could disproportionately be removed from school in Jan. 2023 when delayed enforcement was set to begin.

In the meantime, lawmakers will review the requirement, which was passed in December. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) indicated last month she would put forth emergency and temporary legislation to delay the plan, saying much has changed about the way health officials understand the virus since she introduced the legislation last year.

Council members reacted favorably to the concept, but some questioned whether the assessment might have unintended consequences. Councilmember Christina Henderson, D-At large, said she feared higher hotel taxes in D.C. could put the District at a competitive disadvantage to its neighboring jurisdictions in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. "I have to say I’m a little skeptical, only because, for years, the hotel association has said that the price of our hotel rooms is out of bounds with the rest of the region. And so, I know you’re calling it an assessment, but you’re asking us to add 1% to the hotel tax," Henderson said. "How will that impact visitors in terms of costs in comparison to the rest of the region?"

D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (D-At Large), the transportation planning board’s vice chair, called transit riders’ unhappiness “a flashing red light” for the region’s attempts to encourage transit usage. “Even though someone may be spending 45 minutes in a car by themselves, they’re still more satisfied than someone on a bus or train,” Henderson said. “That, to me, is a problem that needs to be addressed.”

FOX 5's Melanie Alnwick spoke with D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson's office who confirmed she plans to introduce emergency legislation to push back the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to next school year. Alnwick says – at that time – it could be possible that the mandate would be removed altogether.

At-Large D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson says she will propose emergency, temporary legislation to delay D.C.’s COVID vaccine mandate for students over 12 to the 2023-2024 school year. The mandate was introduced a year ago, and was supposed to be enforced during this school year. This extension would be the second time that the deadline for COVID vaccination had been pushed — right now, students must show proof of vaccination by January 3.

A year after introducing a law that requires D.C. students over 12 to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, D.C. Council member Christina Henderson will put forward emergency and temporary legislation to delay the plan by another school year.

Council member Christina Henderson, however, said the city’s vaccination requirements, which include vaccines for diseases such as measles and polio, are essential to keeping schools safe. “I hope that people are understanding these efforts are not in vain,” Henderson said. “It literally is to protect the school community so that our kids can stay in school.”

Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) understands the importance of Bonds’ bill because of concern about senior hunger in the city. “It is incredibly important that our seniors are taken care of,” Henderson said. “Seniors are affected by the high inflation and high prices. This is why I have legislation raising the benefits for SNAP recipients in the city. We must do everything we can to help our seniors and that includes supporting aging in place.”

D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) serves as the chief sponsor of the bill, the College Student Athlete Compensation Amendment Act of 2021. “My bill would allow student athletes in the District to be compensated for NIL activity, set boundaries on the types of products or activities that athletes may endorse, enables universities to set reasonable rules around NIL activity and protect intellectual property, updates the athletes’ agent statute requirements, and maintains prohibitions on pay-for play or performance as well as payments to induce attendance at a particular school,” Henderson said in her Sept. 29 e-newsletter to District residents.