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COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW Suite 400
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004
Trayon White, Sr.
Ward 8 Councilmember
Ticket Amnesty Act of 2025
Statement of Introduction
October 6, 2025
I am proud to introduce the Ticket Amnesty Act of 2025, a measure that gives District residents a
chance to resolve old ticket debts while helping the city collect revenue that would otherwise go
uncollected.
This bill would authorize the Mayor to establish a six-month ticket amnesty program that would
allow people to pay the original amounts owed from outstanding notices of infractions for
parking, standing, and stopping violations and notices of infractions issued through automated
traffic enforcement systems. As a result of the payment, the penalties that have accrued would
be waived.
Right now, drivers collectively owe nearly $1.3 billion in unpaid parking and traffic tickets.
That backlog has more than doubled since 2021, with hundreds of thousands of vehicles eligible
for booting. Yet the reality is clear: most of this debt is not being collected. While the city
brings in more than $150 million from recent tickets each year, collections on older tickets yield
only a fraction of that and tens of millions of dollars are left outstanding year after year.
We know amnesty works. In 2021, more than 32,000 drivers participated in our amnesty
program, resolving $44 million in tickets, the most successful ticket amnesty in D.C.’s history.
A decade earlier, a similar program cleared over 35,000 old tickets and brought in nearly $2
million in just a few months. These results show that when we waive excessive penalties but
require the original fine, people step up, pay their debts, and get back into compliance.
This bill is also about fairness. From 2016 to 2020, 62% of all traffic fines were issued in
majority-Black neighborhoods, totaling nearly $467 million, while affluent White neighborhoods
saw less than a quarter of that.
Tickets for expired tags or inspections, violations tied to economic hardship, fall
disproportionately on residents in our lowest-income communities, where fines quickly balloon
with late penalties. In 2019 alone, fines in Black neighborhoods jumped by 40% once penalties
were added. These debts trap residents in a cycle where they cannot renew their registration or
license, compounding hardship and pushing people further to the margins.
By giving residents a six-month window to pay their original fines, we are restoring compliance,
boosting revenue, and giving thousands of drivers a fresh start. This bill represents a practical
and equitable solution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in moving it forward.
_______________________________
Councilmember Trayon White, Sr.
A BILL
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To authorize the Mayor to establish an amnesty program to waive monetary penalties upon the 1
payment of fines owed as a result of notices of infractions for parking, standing, and 2
stopping violations and to waive monetary penalties upon the payment of fines owed as a 3
result of notices of infractions issued through automated traffic enforcement systems. 4
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 6
act may be cited as the “Ticket Amnesty Act of 2025”. 7
Sec. 2. Ticket Amnesty Program 8
(a) The Mayor shall establish an amnesty program for any person who is liable for: 9
(1) A delinquent notice of infraction for a parking, standing or stopping infraction 10
issued pursuant to Title III of the District of Columbia Traffic Adjudication Act of 1978, 11
effective September 12, 1978 (D.C. Law 2-104; D.C. Official Code § 50-2303.01 et seq.); or 12
(2) A delinquent notice of infraction for an automated traffic enforcement 13
violation issued pursuant to section 902 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, 14
effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code § 50-2209.02). 15
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(b) The amnesty program shall be administered by the Director of the Department of 16
Motor Vehicles. 17
(c) The amnesty program shall be available for at least six consecutive months and begin 18
no more than sixty days from the date of approval of this Act. 19
(d) While the amnesty program is available, the Director of the Department of Motor 20
Vehicles shall publicize the terms and conditions of the amnesty program. 21
(e) A person who is eligible to participate in the amnesty program pursuant to subsection 22
(a) of this section may participate in the amnesty program by paying the amount of the original 23
notice of infraction online, in person or by mail. 24
(f) Upon successful payment of the original notice of infraction, the penalties for such 25
paid notices will be waived and the infraction closed. 26
(g) Revenue received from the amnesty program shall be credited to the General Fund of 27
the District of Columbia as established by Section 47-131 of the District of Columbia Official 28
Code. 29
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 30
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 31
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 32
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 33
Sec. 4. Effective date. 34
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 35
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review 36
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as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 37
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 38