Source: https://development.code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/titles/2/chapters/5/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 02:44:07+00:00

Document:
D.C. Law Library - Chapter 5. Administrative Procedure.
Chapter 4. Claims Against District.
Chapter 6. Codification and Publication of Acts, Resolutions, Rules, and Orders.
(1)(A) The term “Mayor” means the Mayor of the District of Columbia, or his or her designated agent.
(B) The term “Council” means the Council of the District of Columbia established by § 1-204.01(a) unless the term “District of Columbia Council” is used in which event it shall mean the District of Columbia Council established by subsection (a) of § 201 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (81 Stat. 948).
(3) The term “agency” includes both subordinate agency and independent agency.
(4) The term “subordinate agency” means any officer, employee, office, department, division, board, commission, or other agency of the government of the District, other than an independent agency or the Mayor or the Council, required by law or by the Mayor or the Council to administer any law or any rule adopted under the authority of a law.
(5) The term “independent agency” means any agency of the government of the District with respect to which the Mayor and the Council are not authorized by law, other than this subchapter, to establish administrative procedures, but does not include the several courts of the District and the Tax Division of the Superior Court.
(6)(A) The term “rule” means the whole or any part of any Mayor’s or agency’s statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of the Mayor or of any agency.
(iv) The Council and the affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (“ANC”) are provided with 30-days written notice via electronic delivery, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, of an agency’s intent to install, modify or remove any of these statements, and any ANC recommendation, if provided, is given great weight pursuant to § 1-309.10.
(7) The term “rulemaking” means Mayor’s or agency’s process for the formulation, amendment, or repeal of a rule.
(E) Requests for relief from the requirements of Chapter 10 of Title 11-C of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, as permitted under that chapter; provided, that such requests shall be approved under such procedures as may be adopted by the Zoning Commission, which procedures need not include a hearing.
(9) The term “person” includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, associations, and public or private organizations of any character other than the Mayor, the Council, or an agency.
(10) The term “party” includes the Mayor and any person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party, in any proceeding before the Mayor or an agency, but nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Mayor or an agency from admitting the Mayor or any person or agency as a party for limited purposes.
(11) The term “order” means the whole or any part of the final disposition (whether affirmative, negative, injunctive, or declaratory in form) of the Mayor or of any agency in any matter other than rulemaking, but including licensing.
(12) The term “license” includes the whole or part of any permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, membership, statutory exemption, or other form of permission granted by the Mayor or any agency.
(13) The term “licensing” includes process respecting the grant, renewal, denial, revocation, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, limitation, amendment, modification, or conditioning of a license by the Mayor or an agency.
(15) The term “proceeding” means any process of the Mayor or an agency as defined in paragraphs (6), (11), and (12) of this section.
(17) The term “regulation” means the whole or any part of any District of Columbia Council statement of general or particular applicability and future effect designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or to describe the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of the Mayor, District of Columbia Council, or any agency.
(18) The term “public record” includes all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, vote data (including ballot-definition material, raw data, and ballot images), or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body. Public records include information stored in an electronic format.
(18A) The term “public body” means the Mayor, an agency, or the Council of the District of Columbia.
(19) The term “adjudication” means the agency process, other than rulemaking, for the formulation, issuance, and enforcement of an order.
(20) The term “publish” means, for the official publications described in § 2-504, to issue, in print or electronic format, textual or graphic material for sale or distribution to the public.
This section is referenced in § 2-539, § 2-551, § 2-631, § 2-1831.01, § 4-1303.31, § 6-209, § 8-171.02, § 11-1525, and § 31-633.
D.C. Law 13-249, in par. (6), designated subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B).
D.C. Law 16-275, in par. (8), added subpar. (E).
D.C. Law 17-353, in par. (8)(E), substituted “Requests” for “Request”.
D.C. Law 18-103, in par. (18), substituted “tapes, recordings, vote data (including ballot-definition material, raw data, and ballot images),” for “tapes, recordings,”.
D.C. Law 18-223 added par. (20).
The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-168 added “and are posted on the website of the District Department of Transportation” in (6)(B)(i); and added “via electronic delivery” in (6)(B)(iv).
The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 added a comma following “used” in (18).
“Agency” defined to mean and include executive departments, other establishments in executive branch, and any independent regulatory agency, see § 8-171.02.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3 of Inclusionary Zoning Consistency Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-148, Oct. 10, 2017, 64 DCR 10447).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3 of Inclusionary Zoning Consistency Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-76, June 13, 2017, 64 DCR 6082).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3 of Omnibus Election Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-236, November 30, 2009, 56 DCR 9154).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1082 of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
Short title: Section 1081 of D.C. Law 18-223 provided that subtitle I of title I of the act may be cited as the “Legal Publications Modernization Amendment Act of 2010”.
Uniform Law: This section is based upon § 1 of the Uniform Law Commissioners’ Model State Administrative Procedure Act (1961 Act).
“District of Columbia Council statement,” referred to in (17), should probably appear as “statement of the Council of the District of Columbia” or “Council statement,” in view of (1)(B) and the fact that this section refers to current and ongoing Council activity.
District of Columbia Tax Court abolished: The District of Columbia Tax Court, formerly referred to in paragraph (5), was abolished by § 161(a) of Pub. L. 91-358, 84 Stat. 579, and the functions thereof are now vested in the Tax Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
§ 2–503. Establishment of procedures.
(a) The Mayor shall cause to be published the official publications known as the District of Columbia Register and the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations pursuant to subchapter III of this chapter.
(b) All courts within the District shall take judicial notice of rules, regulations, and Council acts and resolutions published or of which notice is given in the District of Columbia Register or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations pursuant to subchapter III of this chapter.
(c) Publication in the District of Columbia Register of Council acts and resolutions, regulations adopted, amended, or repealed by the District of Columbia Council and rules adopted, amended, or repealed by the Mayor or by any agency shall not be considered as a substitute for publication in 1 or more newspapers of general circulation when such publication is required by statute.
This section is referenced in § 1-309.14, § 1-606.10, § 2-502, § 2-601, and § 11-1525.
“District of Columbia Register” defined, see § 2-601.
§ 2–505. Public notice and participation in rulemaking; emergency rules.
This section is referenced in § 1-309.01, § 1-309.10, § 1-604.05, § 2-1831.05, § 2-1831.09, § 2-1831.11, § 4-301, § 6-1409, § 8-1021, § 8-1305, § 8-1805, § 11-1525, § 25-354, § 28:9-102, § 28:9-109, § 28:9-110, § 28:9-309, § 31-1375.01, § 31-2231.25, § 31-2307, § 31-2502.01, § 32-1109, § 38-303, § 38-1002, § 38-1202.06, § 38-2608, § 47-383, § 47-384, § 47-2501, § 47-3919, § 50-307, and § 50-2301.05.
D.C. Law 13-91, in subsec. (a), inserted the second sentence.
Adoption of children, publication of rules and regulations, see § 4-301.
Advisory neighborhood commissions, proposed actions of District government policy, prior notice required, see § 1-309.10.
Animals at large or dangerous animals, disposal after impoundment, governing rules to be adopted after prior notice and public participation, see § 8-1805.
District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, application of Administrative Procedure Act to commission, see § 11-1525.
Fees for select adult, continuing, and community education courses and certification programs, to be set by board of education after publication of prior notice, see § 38-1002.
Gas, electric lighting, telephone, and telecommunications companies, gross receipts tax, rulemaking authority as to, see § 47-2501.
Hazardous waste management, adoption of rules and regulations, prior notice and public participation required, see § 8-1305.
Merit system, adoption of rules and regulations, prior notice required, see § 1-604.05.
Motor vehicles and traffic, regulation of taxicabs, panel on rates and rules, required notice of intended action and opportunity to be heard, see § 50-308.
Occupational safety and health, emergency temporary rules, basis for adoption, procedure, see § 32-1109.
Publication of notice of application for grant funds, see § 47-384.
Solid waste management, paper and paper products, minimum recycled content exemption, publication of notice of intended action as to exemption, see § 8-1021.
Taxation and fiscal affairs, budget and financial management, grant application procedure, governing rules and regulations to be adopted after notice and hearing, see § 47-383.
Toll telecommunication service tax, rulemaking authority, publication of prior notice and opportunity to be heard, see § 47-3919.
University of the District of Columbia, tuition and fees, to be set by board of trustees after publication of notice, see § 38-1202.06.
Uniform Law: This section is based upon §§ 3 and 6 of the Uniform Law Commissioners’ Model State Administrative Procedure Act (1961 Act).
§ 2–506. Filing and publishing of rules.
§ 2–507. Compilation of rules and regulations.
This section is referenced in § 11-1525.
“District of Columbia Council”, appearing twice in (a) and once in (c), should probably be “Council of the District of Columbia” or “Council”, in view of § 1-1502(1)(B) and the fact that this section refers to current and ongoing Council activity.
Uniform Law: This section is based upon § 5 of the Uniform Law Commissioners’ Model State Administrative Procedure Act (1961 Act).
On petition of any interested person, the Mayor or an agency, within their discretion, may issue a declaratory order with respect to the applicability of any rule, regulation, Council act or resolution, or statute enforceable by them or by it, to terminate a controversy (other than a contested case) or to remove uncertainty. A declaratory order, as provided in this section, shall be binding between the Mayor or the agency, as the case may be, and the petitioner on the state of facts alleged and established, unless such order is altered or set aside by a court. A declaratory order is subject to review in the manner provided in this subchapter for the review of orders and decisions in contested cases, except that the refusal of the Mayor or of an agency to issue a declaratory order shall not be subject to review. The Mayor and each agency shall prescribe by rule the form for such petitions and the procedure for their submission, consideration, and disposition.
Uniform Law: This section is based upon § 8 of the Uniform Law Commissioners’ Model State Administrative Procedure Act (1961 Act).
Educational institutions, licensing, internal accreditation evaluation reports, public availability, see § 38-1310.
Insurance fraud, prevention and detection plans, public availability, see § 22-3225.09.
Police and fire departments, office of police complaints, conciliation and mediation, see § 5-1110.
Police officers, fire fighters, and teachers retirement benefit replacement plan, disclosure to the public, see § 1-909.05.
Procurement, administrative and civil remedies, civil investigative demands, see § 2-381.07.
Reinsurance intermediaries, rejections of license applications, public availability, see § 31-1802.
(a) The District of Columbia Office of Documents, established pursuant to § 2-611, shall supervise, manage, and direct the preparation, editing, publishing, and supplementation of an official legal compilation entitled the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations shall be published in a manner to promote efficient public access to all current District of Columbia rules and regulations.
(4) Any document which the Council by resolution finds to be a document having general applicability and legal effect and which the Council by resolution orders to be printed.
(4) The incorporation by reference includes a specific indication of how and where a copy of such document may be inspected and obtained.
(5) A comprehensive index relating sections of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations to subject-matter topics and to the organizational units of government.
(e) The Administrator may prepare (or procure by contract in accordance with applicable law) and include in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations annotations of judicial decisions, and other explanatory material relating to any document published in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(f) Each complete edition of the entire District of Columbia Municipal Regulations may be published in segments if it is deemed to be expeditious in the judgment of the Administrator.
(g) All documents compiled in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations shall be formulated in accordance with the requirements of § 2-632.
This section is referenced in § 6-1451.11 and § 8-231.18.
D.C. Law 16-169 adds subsec. (g).
§ 2–553. District of Columbia Register.
(a) The District of Columbia Office of Documents shall also supervise, manage, and direct the preparation, editing, and publishing of the District of Columbia Register which shall serve as the only official legal bulletin in the District of Columbia government and the temporary supplement of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(4) Every act, resolution, and notice of the Council and any other document requested to be published by the Chairman of the Council or his or her designee.
(4) Such other matters as the Mayor may from time to time determine to be of general public interest.
(2) If, in lieu of such publication, there is included in the District of Columbia Register a notice stating the general subject matter of any document so omitted and the specific manner in which a copy of such document may be obtained.
(e) If the text of an adopted act or rule is the same as the text of the previously published proposed act or rule, the Administrator may insert in the District of Columbia Register a notation to this effect, giving the publication date of and citation to the District of Columbia Register issue containing the proposed act or rule.
(f) If, after a proposed rule has been published initially in the District of Columbia Register, an agency decides to alter the initial text so that the proposed rule is substantially different from the initial text, the agency shall submit the altered text as though for initial publication. The alterations shall be indicated by the use of symbols determined by the Administrator.
(g) The District of Columbia Register shall be published on at least each Friday, or, if Friday is a legal holiday, on the next working day. Each year the Administrator shall publish a cumulative index of all matters published in the District of Columbia Register during the year.
(h) Each issue of the District of Columbia Register shall be published on the issue date, which shall appear on the 1st page of the issue. If for any reason the issue is published after the issue date that appears on the District of Columbia Register, a notice stating the actual date of publication shall be separately published and attached to each issue. All time computations based upon publication in the District of Columbia Register shall commence from the later of the issue date and the actual date of publication.
(i) All documents published in the District of Columbia Register shall be formulated in accordance with the requirements of § 2-632.
D.C. Law 16-169 adds subsec. (i).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1083(b) of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
§ 2–554. Documents to be filed in the District of Columbia Office of Documents.
Any document required or authorized to be published in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations or the District of Columbia Register shall be filed with the District of Columbia Office of Documents. If a document has been published pursuant to subchapter I of this chapter and forwarded to the Office of the Secretariat prior to March 6, 1979, such document need not be filed with the District of Columbia Office of Documents, unless the Administrator otherwise notifies the person responsible for filing the document.
This section is referenced in § 2-556.
§ 2–555. Permanent supplements to the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(5) Update the electronic version of the official text of the DCMR prior to the effective date of any newly promulgated DCMR provisions, integrating the newly promulgated DCMR provisions since the last version.
(b) The Mayor may enter into an agreement with private contractors of database services to offer the DCMR in an electronic version.
§ 2–556. Documents to be filed with Administrator.
Except as provided in § 2-554, 2 copies of any document to be published pursuant to this subchapter shall be filed with the Administrator. The Administrator shall immediately review filed documents to determine their conformity to the provisions of this subchapter and to editorial standards promulgated by the Administrator. Upon the Administrator’s determination of a document’s conformity with this section, 1 copy of each document shall be prepared for publication and 1 copy kept for permanent historic preservation.
(a) The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations and its permanent supplements shall be published pursuant to typographical and contractual arrangements which ensure that the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations can be purchased at a reasonable cost in its entirety or in portions of related rules, regulations, or documents having general applicability and legal effect.
(b) Paper copies of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations shall be printed by each regular branch of the District of Columbia Public Library system and each regular branch shall make a paper copy of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations available to the public.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1083(c) of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
The Administrator of the District of Columbia Office of Documents shall correct grammatical or typographical errors in the publication of the text of a document in the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, the District of Columbia Register or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations by the publication of an errata list or by publication of the entire document or the affected part of the document in its corrected form so as to indicate the actual corrections which were made.
D.C. Law 18-223 substituted “publication” for “printing”.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1083(d) of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
Each part of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, each permanent supplement of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, and the District of Columbia Register shall contain a certificate by the Administrator stating that such part contains all documents required to be published pursuant to this subchapter as of the date of such certificate.
§ 2–561. Presumption created by publication.
(2) That all requirements of this subchapter have been complied with.
Any person who knowingly and willfully causes any document not to be published in the District of Columbia Statutes-at-Large, the District of Columbia Register, or the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations which is required to be so published pursuant to this subchapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $100, or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both.
The public policy of the District is that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the actions of those who represent them.
This subchapter shall be construed broadly to maximize public access to meetings. Exceptions shall be construed narrowly and shall permit closure of meetings only as authorized by this chapter.
(4)(A) To consult with an attorney to obtain legal advice and to preserve the attorney-client privilege between an attorney and a public body, or to approve settlement agreements; provided, that, upon request, the public body may decide to waive the privilege.
(c)(1) Before a meeting or portion of a meeting may be closed, the public body shall meet in public session at which a majority of the members of the public body present vote in favor of closure.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, the Council may adopt its own rules to ensure the District’s open meetings policy, as established in § 2-572, is met with respect to Council meetings; provided, that the rules of the Council shall comply with this section and the definition of meeting in § 2-574(1); provided further, that until the Council adopts rules pursuant to this subsection, this subchapter shall apply to the Council.
(g) Within 60 days after March 31, 2011, the relevant committee of the Council with jurisdiction on this issue shall submit a report to the Council that presents recommendations on whether the sections of this subchapter should apply to Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
This section is referenced in § 2-576 and § 2-578.
The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 substituted “with this section” for “with § 2-575” in (f).
§ 2–576. Notice of meetings.
(5) Each meeting notice shall include the date, time, location, and planned agenda to be covered at the meeting. If the meeting or any portion of the meeting is to be closed, the notice shall include, if feasible, a statement of intent to close the meeting or any portion of the meeting, including citations to the reason for closure under § 2-575(b), and a description of the matters to be discussed.
§ 2–578. Record of meetings.
(e) If the court finds that a member of a public body engages in a pattern or practice of willfully participating in one or more closed meetings in violation of the provisions of this subchapter, the court may impose a civil fine of not more than $250 for each violation.
(g) A public body may seek an advisory opinion from the Office of Open Government regarding compliance with this subchapter.
This section is referenced in § 2-593.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1084(c) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1084(c) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
(2) Annually advise all members of public bodies of their responsibilities under this subchapter.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1084(d) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1084(d) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
For temporary (90 days) repeal of this subchapter, see § 1084(e) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) repeal of this subchapter, see § 1084(e) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
This section is referenced in § 1-1161.01 and § 2-574.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 401(a)(1) of Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298, January 29, 2012, 59 DCR 683).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 401(a)(2) of Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-298, January 29, 2012, 59 DCR 683).

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