MURIEL BOWSER

MAYOR

BY EMAIL

December 6, 2022

The Honorable Phil Mendelson

Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Chairman Mendelson:

I write to communicate the Administration’s position on pending legislation that will be before the
Council of the District of Columbia for consideration at the December 6, 2022 Legislative Meeting.

District of Columba Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act
of 2022

I urge the Council to approve this measure and the accompanying Amendment in the Nature of
a Substitute, circulated on Monday afternoon by your office and attached hereto. This measure
embodies the result of careful negotiations between my office, Chairman Mendelson and the
Chairperson of the Housing Committee, Councilmember Bonds. It was not drafted haphazardly
but resulted from numerous hours of hard work to determine the best way to accomplish
everyone’s shared goal to stabilize the Housing Authority with representation from every
quadrant from the city. I believe strongly that to achieve the necessary oversight to traverse a
corrective course, the Housing Authority must be restructured. As I continue to advocate for
transparency, I hope the full Council will join my call.

The measure calls for the creation and the appointment of a new Board to ensure the robust
implementation of a work plan to address the issues raised in the recent U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development assessment of governance concerns, including impacts on the operations of
DCHA. In collaboration with DCHA and in consultation with HUD, this will create a sustainable
infrastructure necessary to successfully advance the mission of the Housing Authority, which is to
build and maintain safe, decent, affordable housing for District residents.
Schools First in Budgeting Emergency Amendment Act of 2022

The Schools First in Budgeting Emergency Act changes the method of allocations to the District of
Columbia Public Schools by first budgeting funds for the local schools based on the prior year’s
budget for each school, with the remainder to be allocated between central administration and
system-wide school support. I have a number of concerns with this bill, primarily that this bill
circumvents the normal education budgeting process. Furthermore, this bill moves DCPS away from
student/need based budgeting and will create an additional un-funded mandate. We urge the Council
to pause this emergency bill at this time and use the normal budgeting process for funding District
schools.

Fare-Free Bus Funding Emergency Amendment Act of 2022

I support the intent of this bill in its goals of eliminating cost barriers to transit and supporting
ridership recovery. However, this measure has a high fiscal impact to the District and, as such, must
be approached through our deliberative budget process. The bill is estimated to cost approximately
$28.7 million in fiscal year 2023 and $373.7 million over the four-year financial plan. District
residents and taxpayers will have to pay for this program. Our neighbors, Virginia and Maryland,
should absorb some of these costs as their residents will benefit from this program as well. We must
approach this bill in our budget process, not simply through permanent legislation. I urge Council to
not vote in favor of this bill.

Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022

Thank you for your work to ensure that this bill does not negatively impact our ability to enforce the
District’s laws at a time when we are working hard to prevent gun violence and increase public safety.
I encourage you to address the Metropolitan Police Department’s remaining concerns. In addition,
as you know, it is beyond the scope of the Executive’s authority to require our federal law
enforcement partners to follow local procedures for responses to First Amendment assemblies.

Restoring Trust and Credibility to Forensic Sciences Amendment Act of 2022

I support many of the reforms in this bill, which is largely consistent with the recommendations of
the SNA International report issued in December 2021. I welcome the strengthening of oversight by
the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), creation of a Chief Science Officer position, and increased
transparency. However, I do not support the proposal to make the Department of Forensic Science
(DFS) independent of the Executive branch, consistent with concerns raised by the DC Auditor and
various other stakeholders. Having the agency director not report to the Mayor implies that there
have been past attempts to influence scientific results and there has never been any accusation of
that. It is my view that keeping the agency within the Executive, with meaningful oversight by the
Council and SAB, will provide the most scientific independence. It is also essential to recognize the
challenge in filling the agency’s senior leadership roles. Finally, I also disagree with the proposal to
change leadership of the Stakeholder Council to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which
lacks a clear role in the coordination of DFS stakeholders (including federal partners) and is focused
on managing its own sustained volume of cases. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety
and Justice (the current Chair) is in a better position to facilitate relationships between the relevant
actors in the District’s justice system.
Corrections Oversight Improvement Omnibus Act of 2022

I urge you to revisit this bill and remove the provisions that would constitute significant overreach
by the Legislative Branch and interfere with the Executive’s ability to operate the District’s
correctional system. Specifically, the requirements to submit copies of all new or revised operating
procedures for review and comment by the Committee chair prior to publication; provide regular
updates to the Committee chair following a notification of a death in custody; and share copious
internal reports on a quarterly basis, go beyond oversight and challenge the separation of powers
established in the Home Rule Act.

Omnibus Firearm and Ghost Gun Clarification Amendment Act of 2022

I remain opposed to the change that would allow owners of self-manufactured firearms to concealed
carry those weapons. It is simply not safe for these largely unregulated weapons to be carried in
public.

Thank you for your time and consideration of these requests.

Sincerely,

Muriel Bowser
Mayor

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