Press Releases

This legislation would establish a pilot program with free fares for the X2 and 80 Metrobus lines. Metrobus provides a lifeline to for people who live along bus routes for communities with few alternative public transit options, providing critical transportation. Based on WMATA data, Metrobus riders overall are more likely than residents in the WMATA Compact Area to live in households without a car, live in households earning less than $30,000 annually, have limited English proficiency, and are more likely to be Black or Brown residents. Nearly 70% of Metrobus customers are frequent riders, riding busses 12 or more days per month.

“With the passage of these two bills, we can strengthen our resolve that housing is a right, not a privilege."

District government employees will get more paid family and medical leave thanks to a bill passed today in the DC Council. The legislation puts benefits in line with the District’s highly successful and expanding private sector program and with new federal government paid family leave benefits. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I), chair of the Council’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, and Councilmember Christina Henderson (I), introduced the bill, which was co-introduced by the entire Council. “Workers should be able to take care of a parent or spouse, care for and bond with a new baby, or take care of their own medical needs, without having to risk financial devastation,” Henderson said. “Taking care of workers is the right thing to do and good for the District.”

Currently, DPR operates and manages 14 indoor aquatic centers, 19 outdoor pools, 4 children’s pools, and 27 splash parks. It also has over 100 playgrounds and over 200 small parks that vary in size. Some of these community assets are woefully underutilized, and some are need of repair and refresh. Unfortunately, it is hard for the public to know which recreational facility will receive capital investments and when the funding will be appropriated. The PARKSNREC Act seeks to change that.

"The District’s traffic safety enforcement regime is unique. Unlike most other jurisdictions in the United States, the District has largely withdrawn from its reliance on police officers to enforce traffic laws. Police generally intervene in situations in which drivers are egregiously violating traffic safety laws and pose a clear and immediate danger to themselves and others. Currently, fines and points on a driving record are assigned for moving violations when the violation is recorded by a police officer. Only fines are assessed for moving violations captured by automated traffic enforcement (“ATE”) systems. This legislation will require assessing one point against the driving record of an individual for each violation detected by an ATE system and one additional point for a moving violation in a school zone. The first moving violation detected by an ATE system in a two-year period will be waived."

“Over the past year, the Council has heard from teachers, prospective volunteers, community-based organizations, parents, and school leaders about the detrimental impacts arising from backlogs in the District’s processing of prospective teachers’ and volunteers’ applications. The intent of this legislation is to increase the efficiency of the educator and volunteer hiring process while ensuring the safety of our students. While a typical background check should take about 3 weeks, our current turnaround time is upwards of 3 months. This has affected our schools’ ability to recruit and hire critical staff such as substitute teachers, tutors, and programmatic staff,” said Councilmember Henderson.