Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act of 2025

COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS, CHAIRPERSON
COMMITTEE ON EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION AND LABOR
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20004

October 17, 2025

Nyasha Howard, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Secretary Howard,

Today, I am introducing the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident
Amendment Act of 2025.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation, which amends
the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to clarify the procedure by which the Board of
Elections accepts a proposed initiative or referendum and prepares the measure for inclusion on
the ballot, to be voted on by the registered qualified electors of the District of Columbia.

The first amendment to the Home Rule Charter established the process by which District of
Columbia residents can propose initiatives and referendums directly to the voters.1 The
amendment, introduced in 1977 and passed, as required, by a concurrent resolution in the House
and the Senate, outlined the basic procedure and empowered the Council to adopts such acts as
were necessary to implement it.2 Since 1978, residents of the District have used the initiative and
referendum process to voice their policy objectives and compel legislative action. Notable
initiatives that gained a majority of the vote include an initiative measure requiring the
government to hold hearings on funding for public education and a referendum measure to make
the District of Columbia Attorney General an elected position.3

Given the potential impact of proposed measures, many states have imposed procedural
limitations designed to ensure that improper measures are not balloted and that language
included on the ballot accurately reflects the effect of such legislation. In the District of

1 D.C. Law 2-46
2 H. Con. Res. 464 (1978)
3 Boogs, Roderic V. O. and Iris Toyer. "D.C.'s Schoolchildren Are Important". The Washington Post, 20 September
1987, p. C8; Nickles, Peter. “An elected attorney general for D.C.?” The Washington Post, 23 October 2010.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2010/10/24/an-elected-attorney-general-for-dc/142c52c4-6df2-4d47-
90ab-a3c380acc4f7/

Columbia, for example, the Board must refuse to accept an initiative that authorizes, or has the
effect of authorizing, discrimination under the Human Rights Act of 1977.4

The Amendment which established the initiative process in the District also imposed limitations
on the types of measures which may be proposed, including that initiatives may not propose laws
appropriating funds and referendums may not suspend emergency acts, acts levying taxes, or acts
appropriating funds.5 This restriction has been interpreted by the courts to include measures
which require the allocation of revenues to new or existing purposes.6 In the District, this
limitation is not unique to initiative and referendum measures; in maintaining a balanced budget,
permanent and emergency acts considered by the Council are accompanied by a fiscal impact
statement prior to final adoption, and acts which reflect unbudgeted costs are subject to
appropriations prior to becoming effective.7

Current law requires a fiscal impact statement for a proposed initiative measure to be requested
by the Board of Elections from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). This occurs
only after the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the Council have issued
advisory opinions as to whether a measure is appropriating funds. This legislation will require
the OCFO to issue a fiscal impact statement before the Board issues its determination on whether
the proposed measure is proper subject matter. Further, the legislation will require publication of
the fiscal impact statement and inclusion of the cost on the petition sheet and on the ballot. Just
as Councilmembers are informed of the cost of a piece of legislation before they cast a final vote,
electors in the District of Columbia should be able to readily ascertain the costs of a policy when
they are signing their name to a petition sheet or filling out a ballot.

In addition, the legislation will require that each proposed initiative present only one subject at a
time and matters properly connected with that subject. Of twenty-four states that allow some
type of citizen-proposed initiative, most require initiatives to address a single subject.8 This
ensures that the proposal is accurately reflected on the ballot and that voters can opt to vote for
one policy rather than being required to vote on two policies presented within one measure. The
distinction will provide clarity to the public on the cost for each proposal and will also prevent
Council from being forced to carve out separate funds for each policy, a complication which,
given the budget requirements for legislation, could unintentionally impact the effective date of a
successfully enacted measure.

Finally, the legislation amends timelines for the Attorney General and the General Counsel to
submit their advisory opinions and timelines for the proposer and members of the public to
object to the Board’s determination at different steps of the process. Currently, the advisory
opinions must be issued within 15 days for an initiative and within 5 days for a referendum. A
proposer has only 10 days to object to the Board’s refusal to accept a measure and a member of
the public has only 10 days to object to the legislative form of a measure. This legislation will

4 D.C. Law 3-1
5 D.C. Law 2-46
6 Hessey, 601 A.2d at 19-20
7 D.C. Official Code § 1–301.47a.
8 National Conference on State Legislatures. “Citizen Initiative Subject Rules” Updated 27 March 2025.
https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/citizen-initiative-subject-rules.
require that advisory opinions be issued within 30 days and will allow a 30-day objection period,
both for the proposer and a member of the public to object to either the initial determination of
the Board or the legislative summary and form of the measure. This is essential to ensuring that
the initiative process is not rushed at the expense of inclusion on the ballot of measures which
are likely to be subsequently overturned in litigation or which are not sufficiently vetted to
ensure the summary statement presented to voters is true and impartial.

Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact Elspeth Callahan,
Legislative Director, at ecallahan@dccouncil.gov.

Thank you,

Anita Bonds

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Councilmember Anita Bonds 5
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A BILL 15
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 18
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To amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to require the Board of Elections to 21
reject initiatives which address more than one subject matter or which are substantially 22
similar to a measure which appeared on the ballot within the past 6 years; to extend the 23
amount of time for the Office of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the 24
Council to provide an advisory opinion on whether a proposed measure is proper subject 25
for an initiative or referendum to 30 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to 26
require the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to provide a fiscal impact statement for a 27
proposed initiative within 15 days after receipt from the Board of Elections; to require the 28
Board of Elections to hold a public meeting to issue a determination accepting or refusing 29
a proposed measure; to allow a registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia to 30
seek review in the Superior Court of the Board’s determination within 30 days after 31
publication in the District of Columbia Register; to extend the time frame for objecting to 32
the summary statement, short title, and legislative form from 10 calendar days to 30 33
calendar days; to require inclusion of a fiscal impact summary on the petition sheet; and 34
to stipulate a minimum of 12 point font for the summary statement, short title, and fiscal 35
impact summary on the petition sheet. 36
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF TH E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 38
act may be cited as the “Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act 39
of 2025”. 40
Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 41
Stat. 699, D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.01 et seq.), is amended as follows: 42

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(a) Section 16 (D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.16) is amended as follows: 43
(1) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 44
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended as follows: 45
(i) Subparagraph (C) is ame nded by striking the phrase “; or” 46
and inserting a semicolon in its place. 47
(ii) Subparagraph (D) is amended by striking the period and 48
inserting a semicolon in its place. 49
(iii) A new subparagraph (E) is added to read as follows: 50
“(E) If a proposed initiative meas ure, the measure addresses more than one 51
subject or includes matters not properly connected with the subject; or”. 52
(iv) A new subparagraph (F ) is added to read as follows: 53
“(F) The measure is substantiall y similar to a measure which has been 54
rejected by a majority of voters within the past six years.”. 55
(B) Paragraph (1A)(B) is amended as follows: 56
(i) Sub-subparagraph (i) is amended by striking the number “15” 57
and inserting the number “30” in its place. 58
(ii) Sub-subparagraph (ii) is amended by striking the number “5” 59
and inserting the number “30” in its place. 60
(C) A new paragraph (1B) is added to read as follows: 61
“(1B) If the measure is a proposed initiative measure, within one business 62
day after the proposed measure is received by the Board, the Board shall request a fiscal impact 63
statement from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, who shall issue a fiscal impact 64
statement within 15 business days after receipt of the request from the Board. The fiscal impact 65

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statement shall include a summary indicating the estimated cost in the first year of 66
implementation and over the four-year financial plan.”. 67
(D) Paragraph (2) is am ended to read as follows: 68
“(2) Within 60 days afte r a measure is received, the Board shall convene a public 69
meeting to vote on a determination accepting or refusing the measure. Notice of the meeting 70
shall be published in the District of Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the 71
meeting. The determination shall indicate the grounds for acceptance or refusal and shall take 72
into consideration the advisory opinions of the Attorney General and the General Counsel of the 73
Council. The determination shall be transmitted to the proposer and published in the District of 74
Columbia Register.”. 75
(E) A new paragraph (2A) is added to read as follows: 76
“(2A) If any registered qualified elector of the District of Columbia objects to the 77
acceptance of an initiative or referendum measure, that person may seek review in the Superior 78
Court of the District of Columbia within 30 calendar days after the date the Board publishes the 79
determination in the District of Columbia Register. The Superior Court of the District of 80
Columbia shall expedite consideration of the matter.”. 81
(F) Paragraph (3) is amended by st riking the number “10” and inserting 82
the number “30” in its place. 83
(3) Subsection (c) is amended as follows: 84
(A) The lead-in language is ame nded by striking the phrase “20 calendar 85
days, of the date on which the Board accepts” and inserting the phrase “30 calendar days after 86
publication in the District of Columbia Register of a determination accepting” in its place. 87
(B) Paragraph (4) is am ended to read as follows: 88

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“(4) Adopt the fiscal impact statement of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer 89
and prepare a fiscal impact summary of not more than 50 words indicating the cost in the first 90
year of implementation and the cost over the four-year plan.”. 91
(4) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 92
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form 93
of the measure.” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative 94
measure, the fiscal impact summary. Notice of the meeting shall be published in the District of 95
Columbia Register at least 15 days in advance of the meeting and the meeting shall be convened 96
not more than 30 calendar days after publication of the determination accepting the measure in 97
the District of Columbia Register.” in its place. 98
(B) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows: 99
(i) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “24 100
hours” and inserting the phrase “3 business days” in its place. 101
(ii) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “and 102
legislative form;” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and, if the measure is an initiative 103
measure, the fiscal impact summary;” in its place. 104
(5) Subsection (e) is amended by striki ng the number “10” both times it appears 105
and inserting the number “30” in its place. 106
(6) Subsection (f) is amended as follows: 107
(A) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “and legislative form” 108
and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its place. 109
(B) Paragraph (3) is amended by st riking the phrase “and full legislative 110
text” and inserting the phrase “full legislative text, and fiscal impact statement” in its place. 111

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(7) Subsection (g) is amended as follows: 112
(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “and 113
legislative form” and inserting the phrase “legislative form, and fiscal impact summary” in its 114
place. 115
(B) Paragraph (3) is am ended to read as follows: 116
“(3) The text of the official summa ry, short title, and, if the measure is a 117
proposed initiative, the fiscal impact summary of the measure printed in at least 12-point font on 118
the front of the petition sheet. The circulator shall indicate to each signer where the full 119
legislative text of the measure can be accessed.”. 120
(8) Subsection (k)(1)(D) is amended by striking the phrase “; or” and inserting the 121
phrase “, or the statements are incomplete; or” in its place. 122
(10) Subsection (l) is amended by stri king the word “proper” and inserting the 123
phrase “proper and complete” in its place. 124
(11) Subsection (q)(1) is amended to read as follows: 125
“(q)(1) Upon qualification of an initiative measure, the Board shall place on the ballot the 126
serial number of the initiative and its short title, summary statement, and fiscal impact summary 127
in substantially the following form: 128
“INITIATIVE MEASURE No. 129
“(SHORT TITLE) 130
“(SUMMARY STATEMENT) 131
“(FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY) 132
“FOR Initiative Measure No. 133
“AGAINST Initiative Measure No.”. 134

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(12) Subsection (o)(1) is amended by striking the number “10” wherever it 135
appears and inserting the number “30” in its place. 136
(13) A new subsection (t) is added to read as follows: 137
“(t) The Board shall post all notices required to be published in the Register pursuant to 138
this section on its website contemporaneously with their publication in the Register.”. 139
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 140
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 141
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 142
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 143
Sec. 4. Effective date. 144
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by 145
the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of Congressional 146
review as provided in section 602(c)(l) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved 147
December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(l)). 148