I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 214

To restore the management and personnel authority of the Mayor of the

District of Columbia and to expedite the suspension of activities of

the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 6, 1999

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Government Reform

A BILL

To restore the management and personnel authority of the

Mayor of the District of Columbia and to expedite the

suspension of activities of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia

5 Democracy 2000 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds as follows:
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1 (1) Among the major problems of the District

2 of Columbia government has been the failure to

3 clearly delineate accountability.

4 (2) The statute establishing the District of Co5 lumbia Financial Responsibility and Management

6 Assistance Authority proved necessary to enable the

7 District to regain financial stability and manage8 ment control.

9 (3) The District has performed significantly

10 better than the Congress had anticipated at the time

11 of the passage of the Authority statute.

12 (4) The necessity for a financial authority has

13 resulted in a diffusion of responsibility between the

14 Mayor, the Council, and the Authority pending the

15 time when the District government would assume

16 the home rule status quo ante.

17 (5) This lack of clear lines of reporting author18 ity, in turn, has led to some redundancy and confu19 sion about accountability and authority.

20 (6) The Authority statute requires the Author21 ity to ‘‘ensure the most efficient and effective deliv22 ery of services, including public safety services, by

23 the District government’’ and to ‘‘assist the District

24 government in * * * ensuring the appropriate and

25 efficient delivery of services’’.
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1 (7) With the coming of a new administration

2 led by Mayor Anthony Williams, the Authority has

3 taken the first step to ensure the accountability that

4 will be necessary at the expiration of the control pe5 riod by delegating day-to-day operations over city

6 agencies previously under control of the Authority to

7 the Mayor.

8 (8) The Congress agrees that the best way to

9 ensure clear and unambiguous authority and full ac10 countability is for the Mayor to have full authority

11 over city agencies so that citizens, the Authority,

12 and the Congress can ascertain responsibility.

13 (9) The transition of authority to the new ad14 ministration will take nothing from the Authority’s

15 power to intervene during a control period.

16 (10) The congressional intent embodied in the

17 Authority statute contemplates full home rule by the

18 District government when it attains the necessary

19 stability.

20 (11) Congress assumed that it would take 4

21 years of balanced budgets to achieve the requisite

22 stability.

23 (12) The District has exceeded congressional

24 expectations by submitting 3 years of balanced

25 budgets plus surpluses.
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1 (13) The Authority is an emergency body that

2 should not be held past the existence of the emer3 gency at a cost to democratic self-government.

4 (14) To take account of conditions that im5 proved beyond expectations, full self-government

6 should return to the District one year ahead of time,

7 in the year 2000.

8 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF MANAGEMENT AND PERSONNEL

9 AUTHORITY OF MAYOR OF THE DISTRICT OF

10 COLUMBIA.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title XI of the Bal12 anced Budget Act of 1997 (DC Code, sec. 47–395.1 et

13 seq.) is repealed.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

15 1604(f)(2)(B) of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Public

16 Law 105–34; 111 Stat. 1099) is repealed.

17 SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF ACTIVITIES OF DISTRICT OF CO18 LUMBIA FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND

19 MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 209(b)(1)(B) of the Dis21 trict of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Manage22 ment Assistance Act of 1995 (DC Code, sec. 47–

23 392.9(b)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘4’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘3’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 107 of

2 such Act (DC Code, sec. 47–391.7) is amended—

3 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘or any

4 other Act’’ after ‘‘this Act’’; and

5 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘this Act,’’

6 and inserting ‘‘this Act or any other Act,’’.

7 (2) Section 456 of the District of Columbia Home

8 Rule Act is amended—

9 (A) in subsection (a)(1) (DC Code, sec. 47–

10 231(a)), by striking ‘‘the District of Columbia Fi11 nancial Responsibility and Management Assistance

12 Authority’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘the Mayor

13 (or, in the case of a fiscal year which is a control

14 year under the District of Columbia Financial Re15 sponsibility and Management Assistance Act of

16 1995, the District of Columbia Financial Respon17 sibility and Management Assistance Authority)’’;

18 and

19 (B) in subsection (b)(1) (DC Code, sec. 47–

20 232(a)), by striking ‘‘the Authority’’ and inserting

21 the following: ‘‘the Mayor or the District of Colum22 bia Financial Responsibility and Management As23 sistance Authority (as the case may be)’’.

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

25 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact-
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1 ment of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility

2 and Management Assistance Act of 1995.

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