INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO AMEND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOME RULE ACT TO PERMIT THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO TRANSMIT ACTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO CONGRESS IN...
Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat, DC) \u2014 2022-1-10

. Madam , today, I introduce a bill that would amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (HRA) to permit the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia to transmit legislation to Congress in the form of the Chairman's choosing, including in electronic form. This bill seeks to modernize the method D.C. legislation is transmitted to Congress for the congressional review period. prgtoken The HRA requires that D.C. legislation be transmitted to Congress for a congressional review period before the legislation can take effect. The legislation takes effect after a review period, unless a resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. While the HRA is silent on the method that the Chairman must use to transmit the legislation, House and Senate precedent require that the legislation be physically transmitted to the of the House and the President of the Senate. Physical transmittal imposes costs in terms of time on the Council, the House and Senate Parliamentarians, the , the President of the Senate, the House Clerk, the Senate Secretary, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. When the HRA was enacted in 1973, email did not exist. prgtoken The Council engages in a 12-step process to comply with the physical transmittal requirement: prgtoken Step 1: Write individualized cover letters. prgtoken Step 2: The Chairman physically signs the cover letters. prgtoken Step 3: Arrange a pick-up time of the legislation and cover letters from the Chairman. prgtoken Step 4: Print two copies of the bill and two copies of the committee report to deliver to the and to the President of the Senate. prgtoken Step 5: Arrange a time for delivery to the 's office. prgtoken Step 6: Arrange a time for delivery to the President of the Senate's office. prgtoken Step 7: Arrange for two D.C. employees to drive to the Capitol. (Two staffers are required because parking restrictions require a driver and a delivery person.) prgtoken Step 8: Drive to the Capitol. prgtoken Step 9: Deliver the legislation to the 's office and get a signed receipt. prgtoken Step 10: Deliver the legislation to the President of the Senate's office and get a signed receipt. prgtoken Step 11: Assign the congressional review period based on the receipts. prgtoken Step 12: File the signed receipts. prgtoken The aftermath of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol highlighted the burdens of physical transmittal. After temporary fencing was installed around the Capitol, staff from the D.C. Council could not enter the Capitol, delaying the transmittal of legislation until Council staff and congressional staff developed a workaround. Council staff and congressional staff met outside the fencing so the Council staff could physically transmit the legislation. prgtoken Today, when we live in the era of e-mail, there is no reason to continue to require an increasingly ancient proc