Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Amendment Act of 2025

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AN ACT
D.C. ACT 26-145
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
To
amend, on an emergency basis, the District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999 to
revise the structure of the board of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, provide
flexibility for board and executive director training, and update the public housing
resident bill of rights; to amend the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive
Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to adjust District of Columbia Housing Authority board
stipends; to amend the Confirmation Act of 1978 to conform terminology regarding the
District of Columbia Housing Authority board; and to repeal superseded emergency and
temporary legislation.
B
E IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Amendment Act
of 2025”.
S
ec. 2. The District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999, effective May 9, 2000
(D.C. Law 13-105; D.C. Official Code § 6-201 et seq.), is amended as follows:
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 6-201) is amended as follows:
(1) Paragraph (6) is amended to read as follows:
“(6) “Board” means the Board of Commissioners established by section 4a;
provided, that for the purposes of sections 10(h), 12(r), and 21(b), the term “Board” shall include
any prior form in which the Board existed since the establishment of the Authority pursuant to
this act.”.
(2) Paragraphs (8), (22), and (33) are repealed.
(3) Paragraph (10) is amended by striking the phrase “Resident Council Advisory
Board” and inserting the phrase “Resident Advisory Board” in its place.
(4) Paragraph (15) is amended by striking the phrase “District of Columbia
Housing Authority” and inserting the word “Authority” in its place.
(5) A new paragraph (17A) is added to read as follows:
“(17A) “Dwelling unit” means any room or group of rooms located within a
residential or mixed-use building and forming a single unit that is used or intended to be used for
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living, sleeping, and the preparation and eating of meals.”.
(b) Section 3(b-1)(1)(A) (D.C. Official Code § 6-202(b-1)(1)(A)) is amended as follows:
(1) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “Beginning on
December 1, 2022, and monthly thereafter, the Authority shall submit a report” and inserting the
phrase “The Authority shall submit a quarterly report” in its place.
(2) Sub-subparagraph (iii) is amended by striking the phrase “units have been
vacant in the prior year,” and inserting the phrase “units have been vacant,” in its place.
(c) A new section 4a is added to read as follows:
“Sec. 4a. Board of Commissioners.
“(a) The Authority shall be governed by a Board of Commissioners (“Board”), which
shall consist of 9 members and shall govern in accordance with this section and section 12.
“(b) Residents of Housing Properties shall elect 2 Commissioners in accordance with
section 12(k). The Authority shall conduct elections for one such Commissioner to take office no
later than December 31, 2025, and every 3 years thereafter, and for the second elected
Commissioner to take office no later than December 31, 2026, and every 3 years thereafter.
“(c) The Mayor shall appoint 7 Commissioners with the advice and consent of the
Council, in accordance with section 2(e) of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3,
1979 (D.C. Law 2-142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01(e)), as follows:
“(1) No later than October 1, 2025, and every 3 years thereafter, the Mayor shall
nominate:
“(A) One member who has professional experience in federal housing
laws and regulations; and
“(B) One member who has professional experience in homeless services
system planning and coordination.
“(2) No later than October 1, 2026, and every 3 years thereafter, the Mayor shall
nominate:
“(A) One member who has professional experience in affordable housing
development, operations, or finance; and
“(B) One member who has professional experience providing legal
assistance in housing matters to low-income District residents.
“(3) No later than October 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, the Mayor shall
nominate:
“(A) One member who has experience as the holder of a housing voucher;
“(B) One member who has professional experience in capital project
financing; and
“(C) One member who has professional experience in accounting and
enterprise financial management.
“(d) No person shall be elected, appointed, or reappointed to the Board if the person has
served 9 years or longer, either in consecutive or non-consecutive terms, as a member of the
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Board of the Authority, in any form in which the Board existed, since the establishment of the
Authority pursuant to this act.”.
(d) Section 8a(a)(1) (D.C. Official Code § 6-207.01(a)(1)) is amended by striking the
word “February” and inserting the word “June” in its place.
(e) New sections 11a and 11b are added to read as follows:
“Sec. 11a. Transition from temporary Stabilization and Reform Board.
“(a) Each individual who serves as a voting or non-voting member of the temporary
Stabilization and Reform Board of the Authority as of the effective date of the Housing
Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, passed on emergency
basis on July 28, 2025 (Enrolled version of Bill 26-333), shall serve as a voting interim
Commissioner of the Board established by section 4a without need for confirmation or
appointment, until he or she is replaced or reappointed in accordance with this section. Section
12(d) shall not apply to individuals named in this section for purposes of the special initial terms
prescribed in this section.
“(b) No later than October 1, 2025, the Mayor shall nominate an interim Commissioner
with the qualifications listed in section 4a(c)(3)(C) for a 2-year term; provided, that
notwithstanding section 12(c)(2), the Mayor may nominate the Chief Financial Officer or their
designee, who shall be an employee of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, for such initial
2-year term; provided, further that Leroy Clay III shall serve as an interim Commissioner until
reconfirmed or replaced in this manner. The 2-year term of the interim Commissioner appointed
pursuant to this subsection shall expire when the Commissioner identified in section 4a(c)(3)(C)
is appointed.
“(c) The President of the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board shall serve as an interim
Commissioner until the first Commissioner identified in section 4a(b) is elected and takes office.
“(d) No later than October 1, 2025, the Mayor shall nominate 2 interim Commissioners
with the qualifications listed in section 4a(c)(2)(A) for one-year terms; provided, that Raymond
A. Skinner and James M. Dickerson shall serve as interim Commissioners until they are
reappointed or replaced in this manner; provided, further that Raymond A. Skinner shall be the
Chairperson of the Board until the Board selects a Chairperson pursuant to section 12(m). The 2
interim Commissioners appointed pursuant to this subsection shall serve as interim
Commissioners until the second Commissioner identified in section 4a(b) is elected and takes
office and the Commissioner identified in section 4a(c)(2)(A) is appointed.
“(e) Christopher Murphy shall serve as an interim Commissioner until he is reappointed
as, or replaced by the appointment of, the Commissioner identified in section 4a(c)(1)(A).
“(f) No later than October 1, 2025, the Mayor shall nominate one interim Commissioner
with the qualifications listed in section 4a(c)(3)(B) for a 2-year term.
“(g) No later than October 1, 2025, the Mayor shall nominate one interim Commissioner
with the qualifications listed in section 4a(c)(3)(A) for a 2-year term; provided, that Denise
Blackson shall serve as a Commissioner until she is reappointed to such 2-year term or replaced
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by the appointee to such 2-year term.
“(h) No later than October 1, 2025, the Mayor shall nominate one interim Commissioner
who has attained homeownership with the assistance of the Authority for a one-year term;
provided, that Ronnie Harris shall serve as an interim Commissioner until she is reappointed to
such one-year term or replaced by the appointee to such one-year term.
“(i) Notwithstanding section 12(c)(2), the Mayor may nominate the Executive Director of
the Interagency Council on Homelessness for the initial 3-year term specified in section
4a(c)(1)(B). Theresa Silla shall serve as an interim Commissioner until she is reappointed or
replaced in this manner.
“(j) Jennifer Reed shall serve as a Commissioner until a quorum of Commissioners
confirmed, reconfirmed, or elected pursuant to this section and section 4a take office.
“(k) Notwithstanding section 1108(c-2)(1) of the District of Columbia Government
Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C.
Official Code § 1-611.08(c-2)(1)):
“(1) Commissioners who are District government employees shall not be entitled
to stipends for their service on the Board; and
“(2) Prior to January 1, 2026, stipends for Board service shall be limited to $4,000
per year for each Commissioner and an additional stipend of $2,000 per year for the Chairperson.
“(l) This section shall sunset upon all Commissioners of the Board established pursuant
to section 4a taking office.
“Sec. 11b. City-Wide Resident Advisory Board training and consultation.
“(a) The Authority shall establish and implement a comprehensive training program for
members of the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board with the goal of enabling tenant members to
participate fully in the oversight of the Authority’s operation and capital planning. The Authority
shall develop the training program in consultation with public housing residents and public
housing industry professional organizations.
“(b) The Authority shall provide to the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board training on
relevant federal and District laws, leadership development, communication, and negotiations.
“(c) The Authority shall provide a copy of resolutions on the agenda for consideration by
the Board to the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board at least 24 hours before the scheduled date
and time of the Board meeting at which the resolution will be considered.
“(d) The Authority shall seek and consider the input of the City-Wide Resident Advisory
Board when a policy or program change affects residents.
“(e) At least once a quarter, the Board shall invite the City-Wide Resident Advisory
Board to report to the Board on any topics of interest or concerns and respond to the concerns of
the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board in writing no later than 45 days following the quarterly
meeting.”.
(f) Section 12 (D.C. Official Code § 6-211) is amended as follows:
(1) The section heading is amended to read as follows:
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“Sec. 12. Additional Board provisions.”.
(2) Subsections (a), (e), (f), (g), (j), (o), and (p) are repealed.
(3) Subsections (b) and (c) are amended to read as follows:
“(b)(1) At least 60 days prior to submitting any nominating resolution to the Council after
December 31, 2025, the Mayor shall publish a notice in the Register that states the Board
position in section 4a the Mayor is seeking to fill and invites members of the public to identify
and submit to the Mayor potential nominees for the Mayor to consider; provided, that the Mayor
shall not be required to select a nominee from among the list of individuals identified by the
public. The notice shall provide instructions as to how members of the public can submit to the
Mayor the name, contact information, relevant experience, and such other relevant details as the
Mayor deems necessary, of a potential nominee.
“(2) The Mayor shall submit the list of potential nominees submitted in response
to the Mayor’s solicitation described in paragraph (1) of this subsection as an attachment to each
nomination resolution submitted to the Council.
“(c)(1) An individual seeking to serve as a Commissioner identified under section
4a(c)(1), (2), and (3)(B) and (C) shall have 5 or more years of professional experience in a
relevant leadership role out of the last 10 years.
“(2) No officer or employee of the federal or District government may serve as a
Commissioner.”.
(4) Subsection (h) is amended as follows:
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows:
“(h)(1) Within 90 days after a Commissioner’s appointment or election, the
Commissioner shall complete training covering the following topics:
“(A) The role of a public housing agency board;
“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies and board members or
commissioners;
“(C) Background on major housing authority programs, including public
housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration;
“(D) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations;
“(E) Public housing authority budgets, financial oversight, and financial
reporting; and
“(F) Federal procurement requirements.”.
(B) Paragraph (2) is repealed.
(C) Paragraph (3) is amended to read as follows:
“(3) In addition to the training required in paragraph (1) of this subsection, each
Commissioner shall spend at least 4 hours per quarter in training or educational seminars on
corporate governance, public housing and Housing Choice Voucher Program law and
regulations, the Moving to Work program, resident opportunity, such as HUD’s Section 3
requirements for economic and employment opportunities, HUD reporting requirements, public
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housing performance monitoring and risk management, federal or local language access
guidelines, labor and personnel, real estate and construction, or other subjects related to housing
authority operations and management. The maximum reimbursable cost, if any, of this training
shall be established by the Board and paid by the Authority.”.
(D) Paragraph (6) is repealed.
(5) Subsection (i) is amended to read as follows:
“(i) The elected Commissioners shall be public housing residents at the time of election;
provided, that an elected Commissioner who ceases to reside in public housing following their
election may complete their term, unless they are otherwise removed pursuant to subsection (t)
of this section.”.
(6) Subsection (k) is amended as follows:
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows:
“(k)(1) Elections of Commissioners by residents of Housing Properties shall be
conducted in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Board and shall be held no
sooner than 5 months and no later than 2 months prior to the expiration of the then current 3-year
term. All elections shall be held under the supervision of an independent expert in election
monitoring to be selected by the Board.”.
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows:
(i) The lead-in language is amended to read as follows:
“(2) The results of each election shall be retained until the elected Commissioner
begins their term pursuant to the next scheduled election. If the elected Commissioner becomes
unable to serve or is removed from the Board as hereinafter provided, that Commissioner’s seat
for the remaining term shall be filled as follows:”.
(ii) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “City-
Wide Resident Council Advisory Board;” and inserting the phrase “City-Wide Resident
Advisory Board;” in its place.
(7) Subsection (m) is amended by striking the phrase “The Mayor shall designate
one of his or her 4 nominees nominated pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section as
Chairperson. The ex officio Commissioner shall not be appointed as Chairperson.” and inserting
the phrase “The Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members.” in its place.
(8) Subsection (q) is amended by striking the phrase “Other than the ex officio
Commissioner and the labor representative who is a Commissioner, no person” and inserting the
phrase “No person” in its place. (9) Subsection (u) is amended to read as follows:
“(u) The Board may, by majority vote, require that any Commissioner or Executive
Director resolve actual or potential conflicts of interest by reporting the actual or potential
conflict of interest to the general counsel and ethics officer of the Authority for consideration and
determination of required steps, which may include public disclosure of the conflict of interest
and recusal from the decision-making process involving the conflict, divestiture, or any other
manner which complies with federal and District law.”.
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(10) Subsection (w) is amended to read as follows:
“(w) The Board shall meet regularly at least 10 times each calendar year. Each meeting
shall provide for a period for public comments, which shall not be limited in time, except that the
time allowed each individual speaker may be reasonably limited. To allow the Board to meet and
entertain any proposed action, there must be a quorum present, which shall consist of at least 5
Commissioners. Meetings of the Board shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act, effective
March 31, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-350; D.C. Official Code § 2-571 et seq.).”.
(g) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6-213) is amended as follows:
(1) Subsection (c) is amended by striking the phrase “direction and supervision”
and inserting the word “oversight” in its place.
(2) The lead-in language of subsection (d)(1) is amended to read as follows:
“(d)(1) Within 90 days after the Executive Director’s appointment, to the extent directed
by the Board, the Executive Director shall complete training covering the following topics:”.
(3) A new subsection (e) is added to read as follows:
“(e) As part of the process of selecting an Executive Director, the Board shall seek and
consider the input of public housing residents, voucher holders, and the City-Wide Resident
Advisory Board.”.
(h) Section 26g(b)(2) (D.C. Official Code § 6-232(b)(2)) is amended as follows:
(1) Subparagraph (E) is amended to read as follows:
“(E) To file a complaint that requests an administrative determination of
the resident’s rights when the resident believes that the resident has been aggrieved or adversely
affected by an act or a failure to act by an Authority official, as provided in Authority policy and
regulations;”.
(2) Subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I) are amended to read as follows:
“(G) To have a lease terminated only for serious or repeated violations of
the material terms of the lease, as provided in the relevant provisions of the Authority’s public
housing regulations, which shall be identified in the Bill of Rights;
“(H) To 30 days’ notice of any action to correct, cure, or vacate for
violation of a lease, except where the Authority has determined that the head of household
responsible for the dwelling unit under the lease is deceased and there are no remaining
household members, as provided in the relevant provisions of the Authority’s public housing
regulations, which shall be identified in the Bill of Rights;
“(I) To be relocated away from living conditions that represent an
emergency or a threat to life, health, or safety as determined by the Authority, another
governmental entity, or as a result of a judicial proceeding, to alleviate the threat of attack by
criminal elements as verified and documented by the Authority Police Department or any other
police department or law enforcement agency authorized to operate in the District, and in certain
other circumstances, as provided in the relevant provisions of the Authority’s public housing
regulations, which shall be identified in the Bill of Rights;”.
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Sec. 3. Section 1108(c-2)(1) of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive
Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C. Official Code § 1-
611.08(c-2)(1)), is amended to read as follows:
“(1) Each Commissioner of the Board of the District of Columbia Housing
Authority (“Board”) shall be entitled to a stipend of $8,000 per year for their service, and the
chairperson shall be entitled to an additional stipend of $4,000 per year; provided, that subsection
(c-3) of this section shall not apply to the chairperson. Each Commissioner shall also be entitled
to reimbursement of actual travel and other expenses reasonably related to attendance at Board
meetings and fulfillment of official duties. Stipends and reimbursements shall be made at least
quarterly and prorated, if necessary, to reflect the dates of actual membership on the Board or
dates of service as chairperson;”.

Sec. 4. Section 2(e)(27) of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C.
Law 2-142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01(e)(27)), is amended to read as follows:
“(27) The Board of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, as established by
section 4a of the District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999, passed on emergency
basis on July 28, 2025 (Enrolled version of Bill 26-333);”.

Sec. 5. Repealers.
(a) The District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency
Amendment Act of 2025, effective June 25, 2025 (D.C. Act 26-89; 72 DCR 7544), is repealed.
(b) The District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary
Amendment Act of 2025, enacted on July 7, 2025 (D.C. Act 26-100; 72 DCR 7676), is repealed.

Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).

Sec. 7. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section

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412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788;
D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)).

___________________________________
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia

_________________________________
Mayor
District of Columbia