Fiscal Accountability and Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2026

March 30, 2026

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

Dear Secretary Howard,

Today, I am introducing the Fiscal Accountability and Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2026,
along with Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Zachary Parker, Brianne K. Nadeau, and Wendell
Felder.

At a time when the District faces real fiscal constraints, it is more important than ever that we
ensure our public investments are working as intended. Tax abatements and incentives can be
powerful tools to support economic development, but when they are not delivering results, they
represent missed opportunities to invest in residents and strengthen our local economy.

This legislation takes a more disciplined and accountable approach to economic development by
ensuring that tax incentives are tied to compliance. It establishes clear clawback provisions for
the District’s Downtown conversion programs so that developers only receive public benefits if
they meet their commitments.

It also requires the cancellation of eligibility and reservation letters for Office-to-Anything
projects that fail to begin repositioning in a timely manner, mirroring the accountability
standards already in place for Housing in Downtown and ensuring that public resources are not
tied up in projects that do not move forward. In addition, the bill ensures that Office-to-
Anything’s uncommitted tax abatement authority does not sit idle, but is instead redirected
toward more impactful uses, particularly considering that the program has yet to execute any
abatement reservations as of December 2025.

This approach reflects growing consensus among business and policy leaders, including the DC
Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 State of Business report, that fiscal responsibility requires
reassessing tax expenditures that are not demonstrating strong returns on public investment.

Critically, the bill reinvests recaptured resources into the Home Purchase Assistance Fund, the
District’s primary tool for expanding access to homeownership. Affordability remains one of the
greatest barriers to economic mobility, and this bill prioritizes helping residents build wealth and
remain rooted in the communities they call home.

In addition to strengthening accountability, this legislation improves the Council’s oversight of
tax expenditures. It requires more frequent Tax Expenditure Reviews to provide policymakers
with up-to-date information on whether tax incentives are delivering meaningful economic
returns and representing the most effective use of limited District resources. Currently, these
reviews don’t get published as regularly as they are supposed to, and strengthening oversight,
even if it adds costs, can help the Council make more informed tax expenditure decisions.

Finally, the bill equips the District with better tools to understand and respond to regional
economic dynamics. By requiring a regional economic competitiveness dashboard and
comparative fiscal analysis for major legislation, it helps ensure that our policies and spending
are informed by how the District compares to neighboring jurisdictions and how our decisions
impact long-term growth.

The Fiscal Accountability and Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2026 is about making smarter
choices with public dollars, strengthening accountability, and investing in the long-term
prosperity of District residents.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Doni Crawford
Councilmember, At-Large
Council of the District of Columbia

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Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Doni Crawford 2
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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Zachary Parker 6
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Councilmember Wendell Felder 10
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A BILL 13
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17
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To amend the Home Purchase Assistance Fund Act of 1978 to authorize deposits of certain 22
recaptured downtown conversion tax abatements into the Home Purchase Assistance 23
Fund; to amend Chapter 8 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code to 24
establish clawback provisions for certain downtown conversion tax abatements and 25
redirect recaptured amounts to the Home Purchase Assistance Fund; to amend the Tax 26
Transparency and Effectiveness Act of 2014 to require the publication of biennial tax 27
expenditure reviews; to require the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to publish a 28
regional economic competitiveness dashboard; to amend the General Legislative 29
Procedures Act of 1975 to require comparative regional fiscal analysis; and for other 30
purposes. 31
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 33
act may be cited as the “Fiscal Accountability and Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2026”. 34
TITLE I. HOMEOWNERSHIP SUPPORT THROUGH DOWNTOWN 35
CONVERSION TAX INCENTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY. 36
Sec. 101. Section 2(b) of the Home Purchase Assistance Fund Act of 1978, effective 37
September 12, 1978 (D.C. Law 2-103; D.C. Official Code § 42-2601(b)) is amended as follows: 38

(a) Paragraph (6) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting a semicolon in 39
its place. 40
(b) Paragraph (7) is amended by striking the period and inserting the phrase “; and” in its 41
place. 42
(c) A new paragraph (8) is added to read as follows: 43
“(8) All recaptured tax abatements under D.C. Official Code §§ 47-860.03 and 47-44
870.01.”. 45
Sec. 102. Chapter 8 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as 46
follows: 47
(a) Section 47-860.03(a)(2)(A) is amended by striking the phrase “effect. A property” and 48
inserting the phrase “effect. Upon transmission of the letter of termination to the Office of Tax 49
and Revenue, the Office of Tax and Revenue shall assess and collect any tax benefits improperly 50
received during any period of ineligibility determined by the Mayor prior to the issuance of the 51
letter of termination, plus interest as provided by law. Amounts recaptured pursuant to this 52
subparagraph, including interest, shall be deposited into the Home Purchase Assistance Fund 53
established by § 42-2601. A property” in its place. 54
(b) Section 47-870.01 is amended as follows: 55
(1) Subsection (a)(2)(F) is amended by striking the phrase “The Mayor may 56
cancel” and inserting the phrase “The Mayor shall cancel” in its place. 57
(2) Subsection (d) is amended by adding a new paragraph (6) to read as follows: 58
“(6)(A) Any portion of the temporary tax abatement authority authorized under 59
this subsection that remains uncommitted as of September 30, 2030, and at the end of each fiscal 60
year thereafter, including any amounts not certified by the Mayor pursuant to subsection (e) of 61

this section, shall no longer be available for certification under this section. 62
“(B) The Office of Tax and Revenue shall calculate the aggregate dollar 63
amount of unused temporary tax abatement authority as of September 30, 2030. 64
“(C) An amount equal to the unused temporary tax abatement authority 65
identified pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall be deposited into the Home 66
Purchase Assistance Fund established by § 42-2601.”. 67
(3) Subsection (e) is amended by adding a new paragraph (3) to read as follows: 68
“(3)(A) If the Mayor determines that a property previously certified under 69
paragraph (1) of this subsection is no longer eligible to receive the temporary tax abatement 70
because the property no longer meets the eligibility requirements of this section, any rules issued 71
by the Mayor pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section, or any criteria set forth in the 72
applicable selection process, the Mayor shall transmit written notice of decertification to the 73
property owner and to the Office of Tax and Revenue, setting forth the reason for the 74
decertification and the effective date. 75
“(B) Upon receipt of the notice of decertification, the Office of Tax and 76
Revenue shall assess and collect any tax benefits improperly received during any period of 77
ineligibility, plus interest. 78
“(C) Amounts recaptured pursuant to this paragraph, including interest, 79
shall be deposited into the Home Purchase Assistance Fund established by § 42-2601.”. 80
TITLE II. BIENNIAL TAX EXPENDITURE REVIEWS. 81
Sec. 201. Section 7133(a) of the Tax Transparency and Effectiveness Act of 2014, 82
effective February 26, 2015 (D.C. Law 20-155; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.157(a)), is amended 83
by striking the phrase “5-year” and inserting the word “biennial” in its place. 84

TITLE III. REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND FISCAL COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 85
SUBTITLE A. REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS DASHBOARD 86
Sec. 301. Regional economic dashboard requirement. 87
(a) The Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall publish and maintain a publicly 88
accessible regional economic dashboard. 89
(b) The dashboard shall compare key economic and fiscal indicators for the District of 90
Columbia and jurisdictions within the surrounding metropolitan region. 91
(c) The dashboard shall include, at a minimum, quantitative indicators within the 92
following categories to assess the District’s regional economic competitiveness: 93
(1) Housing production and development; 94
(2) Industry and employment; 95
(3) Income and wage growth; 96
(4) Business formation and commercial real estate; 97
(5) Tax competitiveness; 98
(6) Talent attraction and retention; and 99
(7) Any additional categories the Chief Financial Officer determines are necessary 100
to assess the District’s regional economic competitiveness. 101
(d) The Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall select, define, and periodically update 102
the specific indicators included within each category listed in subsection (c) of this section and 103
shall publish a description of the methodology and data sources used for each indicator. 104
(e) The dashboard shall: 105
(1) Be updated at least annually, to the extent data is available; 106
(2) Identify data sources; and 107

(3) Present data in a format that is searchable and downloadable. 108
(f) The first publication of the dashboard shall occur no later than 360 days after the 109
effective date of this subtitle. 110
SUBTITLE B. COMPARATIVE REGIONAL FISCAL ANALYSIS 111
Sec. 311. The General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 112
(120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a), is amended by adding a new subsection (d) to 113
read as follows: 114
“(d) Comparative regional analysis for measures with significant fiscal impact. 115
“(1) For any bill or resolution for which the Chief Financial Officer prepares a 116
fiscal impact statement estimating a fiscal impact that exceeds $20 million over the 4-year 117
financial plan period, the fiscal impact statement shall include a comparative regional analysis. 118
“(2) The comparative regional analysis shall identify: 119
“(A) Whether jurisdictions within the surrounding metropolitan region 120
have enacted a similar measure; 121
“(B) If so, a summary of the fiscal impact or estimated cost of the similar 122
measure, to the extent publicly available; and 123
“(C) Any material differences in population, tax structure, funding 124
mechanisms, or implementation that affect comparability. 125
“(3) If comparable data is not publicly available, the fiscal impact statement shall 126
note that fact.”. 127
TITLE IV. STANDARD PROVISIONS 128
Sec. 401. Fiscal impact statement. 129
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 130

impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 131
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 132
Sec. 402. Effective date. 133
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 134
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 135
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 136
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 137
Columbia Register. 138