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A BILL 1
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26-494 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 6
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To amend the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Act of 1975 to modify the notice 11
requirement for certain business licenses; and to amend Chapter 28 of Title 47 of the 12
District of Columbia Official Code to exempt motor clubs that perform private tow 13
services from towing service storage lot requirements, to authorize 4-year basic business 14
licenses, to extend license renewal permission beyond 9 months after expiration, to 15
authorize the Mayor to issue refunds for erroneously paid business license fees, to revise 16
the eligibility requirements for accountancy licensure by authorizing a holder of a 17
baccalaureate degree with 2 years of experience and who has passed an examination in 18
accounting and auditing to obtain a license, to allow the Mayor to add additional 19
licensure requirements by rulemaking, and to amend mobility requirements for those 20
who are licensed in another jurisdiction and want to practice in the District. 21
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 23
act may be cited as the “Business Licensing Reform and Accountancy Practice Amendment Act 24
of 2026”. 25
Sec. 2. Section 13(q) of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Act of 1975, effective 26
March 26, 1976 (D.C. Law 1-58; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.10(q)), is amended to read as 27
follows: 28
“(q)(1) Before granting or renewing a license for a theater, cinema, skating rink, dance 29
hall, exhibition, lecture, or other entertainment, the Department of Licensing and Consumer 30
Protection shall give 30-days notice by first-class mail or electronic mail to the affected 31
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Commission. The notice shall contain the name of the applicant and a description, by street 32
number, or other plain designation, of the particular location for which the license is requested. 33
“(2) Pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the Department of Licensing 34
and Consumer Protection shall give great weight to the Commission’s recommendations when 35
determining whether to grant or renew the license.”. 36
Sec. 3. Chapter 28 of Title 47 of the D.C. Official Code is amended as follows: 37
(a) Subchapter I-A is amended as follows: 38
(1) The table of contents is amended by adding a new section designation to read 39
as follows: 40
“47-2851.25. Refund of erroneously paid fees.”. 41
(2) D.C. Official Code § 47-2851.04 is amended as follows: 42
(A) Subsection (a) is amended as follows: 43
(i) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the period and inserting 44
the phrase “; and” in its place. 45
(ii) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows: 46
“(3) $198 for a 4-year license.”. 47
(B) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 48
(i) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and 49
inserting a semicolon in its place. 50
(ii) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the period and inserting 51
the phrase “; and” in its place. 52
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(iii) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows: 53
“(3) A 4-year license, a person shall pay a license fee of $198.”. 54
(C) A new subsection (h) is added to read as follows: 55
“(h) This subsection shall apply to a motor club or a business offering private tow 56
services exclusively on behalf of a motor club. 57
“(1) An applicant for a vehicular services license subject to this section shall be 58
exempt from the requirements of section 402.3(f) of Title 16 of the District of Columbia 59
Municipal Regulations (16 DCMR § 402.3(f)), or any successor law or regulation requiring a 60
business that provides private tow services to identify a towing service storage lot. 61
“(2) For the purposes of this section, the term: 62
“(A) “Motor club” means an entity that provides emergency roadside 63
service for members, and at least two of the following services: 64
“(i) The furnishing or procuring of reservations, discounts, 65
monetary exchange and other travel-related services; 66
“(ii) Arranging for a loan or other advance of money to a member 67
in connection with providing any other motor club service; 68
“(iii) Furnishing insurance coverage to members under an 69
approved group or blanket policy, issued to the motor club by an authorized insurer; 70
“(iv) Payment for or reimbursement of a member for fees charged 71
by an attorney for services rendered to the member in defense of a traffic offense; 72
“(v) Assistance in locating, identifying or recovering a stolen or 73
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missing vehicle owned by a member; and 74
“(vi) Any other related service as determined by the Mayor and 75
established by rule. 76
“(B) “Private tow” means the towing of a motor vehicle at the request of 77
the owner or authorized agent of the owner.”. 78
(3) Section 47-2851.07(c) is amended to read as follows: 79
“(c) Licenses issued under this subchapter shall be valid for a period of 6 months, 2 years, 80
or 4 years.”. 81
(4) Section 47-2851.10(b)(3)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “months, but 82
less than 9 months, may” and inserting the phrase “month may” in its place. 83
(5) A new section 47-2851.25 is added to read as follows: 84
Ҥ 47-2851.25. Refund of erroneously paid fees. 85
“The Mayor may refund any license fee or tax, or portion thereof, erroneously paid or 86
collected under this chapter.”. 87
(b) Part A of Subchapter I-B is amended as follows: 88
(1) The table of contents designation for § 47-2853.49 is amended to read as 89
follows: 90
“§ 47-2853.49. Practice privilege.”. 91
(2) D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.42 is amended to read as follows: 92
Ҥ 47-2853.42. Eligibility requirements. 93
“(a) An applicant for licensure as a certified public accountant shall establish to the 94
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satisfaction of the Board that the applicant: 95
“(l) Has passed an examination in accounting and auditing and such related 96
subjects as the Board shall determine to be appropriate; 97
“(2)(A) Holds a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree with a concentration 98
in accounting conferred by a college or university acceptable to the Board or holds a degree the 99
Board determines to be substantially equivalent thereto; or. 100
“(B) Holds a baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university 101
acceptable to the Board supplemented with the equivalent of an accounting concentration, which 102
may include related courses in other areas of business administration; 103
“(3) Has completed the following years of relevant experience: 104
“(A) Two years for an applicant who holds a baccalaureate degree 105
described in paragraph (2)(A) or (B) of this subsection, of which one year may be substituted by 106
having completed an additional 30 semester credit hours above the minimum hours required for a 107
baccalaureate degree; or 108
“(B) One year for an applicant who holds a post-baccalaureate degree 109
described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection; and 110
“(4) Meets any other requirements established by rule. 111
“(b) For the purposes of subsection (a)(3) of this section: 112
“(1) “Relevant experience” means providing service or advice representing the 113
skills needed at the time of licensure to serve the public as a certified public accountant. 114
“(2) Relevant experience includes providing any type of business services or 115
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advice using accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or 116
consulting skills, to the extent such experience has been verified by a person licensed as a 117
certified public accountant. 118
“(3) Whether the experience of an applicant constitutes relevant experience shall 119
be determined by the Board. 120
“(c) The Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure 121
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.), may 122
establish additional licensure requirements by rule to ensure that the applicant has the proper 123
training, experience, and qualifications to practice as a certified public accountant.”. 124
(3) D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.49 is amended as follows: 125
(A) The section heading is amended to read as follows: 126
“47-2853.49. Practice privilege.”. 127
(B) Subsections (a) and (b) are amended to read as follows: 128
“(a) An individual whose principal place of business is not in the District shall have all 129
the privileges of a licensee of the District without the need to obtain a license under § 47-130
2853.42; provided, that the individual: 131
“(1) Holds a valid, unrestricted license as a certified public accountant (“CPA”) in 132
good standing issued by another state or territory of the United States; and 133
“(2) At the time of initial licensure in the other state or territory, the individual 134
was required to show evidence of having: 135
“(A) Passed the Uniform CPA Examination or another CPA examination 136
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approved by the Board; 137
“(B) Satisfied education requirements equivalent to those set forth in § 47-138
2853.42(a)(2); and 139
“(C) Satisfied experience requirements equivalent to those set forth in § 140
47-2853.42(a)(3).”. 141
“(b) An individual whose principal place of business is not in the District, who is licensed 142
as a CPA in good standing in another state or territory of the United States, and who had practice 143
privileges in the District under the version of this section that was in effect immediately prior to 144
the effective date of the Accountancy Practice Amendment Act of 2026, as approved by the 145
Committee on Public Works and Operations on June 22, 2026 (Committee print of B26-494), 146
shall continue to have all privileges of a licensee in the District without the need to obtain a 147
license under § 47-2853.42 regardless of whether the individual meets the requirements of this 148
section on the effective date of such legislation.”. 149
(C) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “shall simultaneously 150
consent, as a condition of the grant of the privilege” and inserting the phrase “shall be deemed to 151
have simultaneously consented, as a condition of the exercise of the privilege” in its place. 152
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 153
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 154
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 155
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 156
Sec. 5. Effective date. 157
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This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 158
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 159
provided in section 602(c)(1) of District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 160
1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 161
Columbia Register. 162