2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 1 - Government Organization › Chapter 2 - District of Columbia Home Rule › Subchapter IV - The District Charter › Part A - The Council › Subpart 1 - Creation of the Council › § 1–204.02. Qualifications for holding office

§ 1–204.02. Qualifications for holding office.
No person shall hold the office of member of the Council, including the Office of Chairman, unless he: (1) Is a qualified elector; (2) is domiciled in the District and if he is nominated for election from a particular ward, resides in the ward from which he is nominated; (3) has resided and been domiciled in the District for 1 year immediately preceding the day on which the general or special election for such office is to be held; (4) has not been convicted of a felony while holding the office; and (5) holds no public office (other than his employment in and position as a member of the Council), for which he is compensated in an amount in excess of his actual expenses in connection therewith, except that nothing in this clause shall prohibit any such person, while a member of the Council, from serving as a delegate or alternate delegate to a convention of a political party nominating candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, or from holding an appointment in a reserve component of an armed force of the United States other than a member serving on active duty under a call for more than 30 days. A member of the Council shall forfeit his office upon failure to maintain the qualifications required by this section, and, in the case of the Chairman, § 1-204.03(c).
(Dec. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 786, Pub. L. 93-198, title IV, § 402; July 31, 2013, D.C. Law 19-124A, § 401(b), 59 DCR 1862.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-225.
1973 Ed., § 1-142.
Effect of Amendments
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-124A added “has not been convicted of a felony while holding the office” and made related changes.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 301(b) 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) addition of section, see § 602(b) 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).
Effective Dates
Section 601(j) of D.C. Law 19-124 provided: “(j) Title IV shall apply on its effective date as provided in section 303 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 784; D.C. Official Code § 1-203.03).”
Section 601(j) of D.C. Law 19-124 contained an applicability clause for title IV of the Act that stated that title IV, containing section 401, would become law upon its ratification by a majority of the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia voting in a referendum and following 35 days of congressional review.
Section 702(b) of D.C. Law 19-124 provided that § 401 of the act would become law upon its ratification by a majority of the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia voting in a referendum and following 35 days of congressional review.
D.C. Law 19-124 became effective on April 27, 2012. Section 401 of that law was ratified by the electors of the District of Columbia in a general and special election held on November 6, 2012, and certified by the District of Columbia Board of Elections on November 29, 2012. Section 401 became effective as law on July 31, 2013, following 35 days of congressional review and assigned Law Number 19-124A. D.C. Law 19-124A, § 401 amended sections 401, 402, and 421 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (D.C. Official Code §§ 1-204.01, 1-204.02, and 1-204.21).
Editor's Notes
Applicability of D.C. Law 19-124, § 401: Section 601(j) of D.C. Law 19-124 provided that Title IV of the act shall apply on its effective date as provided in § 1-203.03; in other words, that D.C. Law 19-124, § 401 shall apply upon its ratification by a majority of the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia voting in a referendum and following 35 days of congressional review.