Co-Introduced Legislation
Driver's License Revocation Fairness Amendment Act of 2017
From: Councilmember Elissa Silverman
Currently, anyone with a District driver’s license at any income level can have their license suspended for any unpaid tickets over $100, or even as a result of some civil judgments. These suspensions last until after the debt is paid. However, suspending licenses for nonpayment of debt only serves to further the cycle of poverty. Revoking an individual’s driver’s license, especially for low-income residents, significantly limits their employment opportunities, reduces their ability pay their debts, and threatens their access to basic necessities like food and healthcare.
A study by researchers at Rutgers University found that 42% of survey respondents whose licenses were suspended lost their jobs as a result. Of those, 45% could not find another job, and of those who did find another job 88% had a lower income. Residents who need a car for critical life tasks, including seniors and parents, are often forced to choose between driving without a license (which is a felony) and being unable to provide or care for their families. As a result, the original debt can often lead to criminal charges with penalties of up to a year in prison for a first offense. The movement to end the suspension of driver’s licenses for the nonpayment of debt is supported by a broad and growing group of faith, anti-poverty, civil rights, and community groups and has been a topic of recent national and local media coverage.
This bill would end the District’s current practice of automatically suspending low-income residents’ driver’s licenses for failure to pay debt from parking tickets, traffic tickets, or from certain civil judgments, as well as making a number of smaller changes.
The Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program Enhancement Amendment Act of 2017
From: Councilmember Elissa Silverman
The purpose of this bill is to strengthen this already important program. The main components are: required life skills/soft skills training for all participants; an assignment structure that ensures age-appropriate placements; comprehensive data collection; and streamlining the certification process.
The Housing Code Enforcement Integrity Amendment Act of 2017
From: Councilmember Anita Bonds
Requires that, when a housing provider timely requests an appeal of a housing code infraction to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), OAH will hold a hearing on that appeal within 10 business days of receiving the request.
Codifies DCRA’s internal criteria for approving a request to extend the deadline to correct a housing code violation, and requires that DCRA create a written public record of the basis on which the property owner has met those criteria when any such extension is approved. Those criteria are (1) the owner must have been proceeding in good faith to correct the violation, and (2) the owner must show good cause for the delay.
Requires the Mayor to correct any Class 1, 2, or 3 housing code violation that goes unabated for 6 months after the owner is notified. The Mayor would then assess the cost of correcting the violation to the property owner as real property tax