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B26-0555 • 2025

Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025

Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Nadeau
Last action
2026-01-06
Official status
Under Council Review
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill is currently under Council review and has not yet taken effect; it requires approval by the Mayor, a 30-day congressional review period, and publication in the D.C. Register before becoming law.

Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025

This bill stops government agencies from hiding overdue reports by claiming they are still being discussed, while also setting rules for asking to extend deadlines.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the ability to use deliberative process privilege to hide draft documents if a legal deadline has passed without submitting a final version.
  • Allows the Mayor to send a resolution requesting a 30-day extension on report deadlines.
  • Requires any request for an extension to include reasons and explain what happens if the extension is denied.
  • States that an extension request is automatically rejected if the Council does not act within 30 days.

Who It Names or Affects

  • District government agencies required to submit reports or documents by a specific date
  • The Mayor of the District of Columbia
  • Members of the D.C. Council who review extension requests

Terms To Know

Deliberative process privilege
A rule that lets government agencies keep draft documents private to allow for honest discussion before making a final decision.
FOIA request
A formal ask from the public or media under the Freedom of Information Act to see government records.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies if a document was legally required by a specific date and that date has passed without a final version being submitted.
  • It does not create new penalties for missing deadlines other than requiring public disclosure of the draft documents.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-06 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Referred to Committee of the Whole

  2. 2025-12-26 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0555 Published in the District of Columbia Register

  3. 2025-12-22 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    B26-0555 Introduced by Councilmember Nadeau at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Statement of Introduction
Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025
December 19, 2025

Today, along with Councilmembers Christina Henderson, Janeese Lewis George, and Robert C.
White, Jr., I am introducing the Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025. This legislation seeks
to address a persistent problem of missed deadlines in District government – an issue that cuts across
agencies, issue areas, and Mayoral administrations.
The bill creates a simple accountability mechanism: if a deadline has passed for any report or
other document that Council has required by a date certain, deliberative process privilege can no longer
be used to withhold the draft document from a response to a FOIA request.
Deliberative process privilege is a long-established common-law principle that is important to
protect the candid discussions needed for governments to reach a formal decision. This bill's exemption
would narrowly apply to any document already required to be produced by law.
Council often passes legislation that requires the Mayor to submit a report, study, or other
records by a date certain, but if that date is missed, there are few if any consequences. While committees
can address missing or overdue reports in the course of agency oversight, this can be time-consuming
and distracts from other critical oversight priorities.
Establishing an accountability mechanism – making a deadline mean more than just words – will
also create an incentive for closer communication and collaboration between the Council and Executive
to ensure that government is responsive to residents of the District.

_____________________________
Councilmember Christina Henderson
_____________________________
Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
_____________________________
Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
_____________________________
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George

1

A BILL

_________________________

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
_________________________

To amend the Freedom of Information Act of 1976 to clarify that deliberative process privilege 1
may not be claimed as an exemption from disclosure of any document required by law to 2
be published or transmitted to the Council by a date certain. 3
4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 5
act may be cited as the “Deadline Accountability Amendment Act of 2025”. 6
Sec. 2. Section 204 of the Freedom of Information Act of 1976, effective March 29, 7
1977 (D.C. 1-96; D.C. Official Code § 2-534) is amended by adding a new subsection (f) to read 8
as follows: 9
“(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, deliberative process privilege may 10
not be claimed as an exemption from disclosure of any document required by law to be published 11
or transmitted to the Council by a date certain, if said date has passed without publication or 12
transmittal to the Council of a final version. 13
“(2) For a document required to be produced by a date certain, the Mayor may 14
transmit a resolution requesting a deadline extension to the Council for a 30-day period of 15
review. The transmitted resolution shall include the reason for the extension and the 16
consequences if the extension is not approved. If the Council has not approved or disapproved 17
2
the resolution within the 30-day review period, the resolution shall be deemed disapproved.”. 18
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 19
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 20
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 21
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 22
Sec. 4. Effective date. 23
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 24
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 25
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 26
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 27
Columbia Register. 28