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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau 2
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A BILL 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To amend, on an emergency basis, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Act of 1975 to 14
modify the notice requirement for certain business licenses; and to amend Chapter 28 of 15
Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code to exempt motor clubs that perform 16
private tow services from towing service storage lot requirements, to authorize 4-year 17
basic business licenses, to extend license renewal permission beyond 9 months after 18
expiration, to authorize the Mayor to issue refunds for erroneously paid business license 19
fees, to revise the eligibility requirements for accountancy licensure by authorizing a 20
holder of a baccalaureate degree with 2 years of experience and who has passed an 21
examination in accounting and auditing to obtain a license, to allow the Mayor to add 22
additional licensure requirements by rulemaking, and to amend mobility requirements 23
for those who are licensed in another jurisdiction and want to practice in the District. 24
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 26
act may be cited as the “Business Licensing Reform and Accountancy Practice Emergency 27
Amendment Act of 2026”. 28
Sec. 2. Section 13(q) of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Act of 1975, effective 29
March 26, 1976 (D.C. Law 1-58; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.10(q)), is amended to read as 30
follows: 31
“(q)(1) Before granting or renewing a license for a theater, cinema, skating rink, dance 32
hall, exhibition, lecture, or other entertainment, the Department of Licensing and Consumer 33
Protection shall give 30-days notice by first-class mail or electronic mail to the affected 34
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Commission. The notice shall contain the name of the applicant and a description, by street 35
number, or other plain designation, of the particular location for which the license is requested. 36
“(2) Pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the Department of Licensing 37
and Consumer Protection shall give great weight to the Commission’s recommendations when 38
determining whether to grant or renew the license.”. 39
Sec. 3. Chapter 28 of Title 47 of the D.C. Official Code is amended as follows: 40
(a) Subchapter I-A is amended as follows: 41
(1) The table of contents is amended by adding a new section designation to read 42
as follows: 43
“47-2851.25. Refund of erroneously paid fees.”. 44
(2) D.C. Official Code § 47-2851.04 is amended as follows: 45
(A) Subsection (a) is amended as follows: 46
(i) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the period and inserting 47
the phrase “; and” in its place. 48
(ii) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows: 49
“(3) $198 for a 4-year license.”. 50
(B) Subsection (b) is amended as follows: 51
(i) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and 52
inserting a semicolon in its place. 53
(ii) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the period and inserting 54
the phrase “; and” in its place. 55
(iii) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows: 56
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“(3) A 4-year license, a person shall pay a license fee of $198.”. 57
(C) A new subsection (h) is added to read as follows: 58
“(h) This subsection shall apply to a motor club or a business offering private tow 59
services exclusively on behalf of a motor club. 60
“(1) An applicant for a vehicular services license subject to this section shall be 61
exempt from the requirements of section 402.3(f) of Title 16 of the District of Columbia 62
Municipal Regulations (16 DCMR § 402.3(f)), or any successor law or regulation requiring a 63
business that provides private tow services to identify a towing service storage lot. 64
“(2) For the purposes of this section, the term: 65
“(A) “Motor club” means an entity that provides emergency roadside 66
service for members, and at least two of the following services: 67
“(i) The furnishing or procuring of reservations, discounts, 68
monetary exchange and other travel-related services; 69
“(ii) Arranging for a loan or other advance of money to a member 70
in connection with providing any other motor club service; 71
“(iii) Furnishing insurance coverage to members under an 72
approved group or blanket policy, issued to the motor club by an authorized insurer; 73
“(iv) Payment for or reimbursement of a member for fees charged 74
by an attorney for services rendered to the member in defense of a traffic offense; 75
“(v) Assistance in locating, identifying or recovering a stolen or 76
missing vehicle owned by a member; and 77
“(vi) Any other related service as determined by the Mayor and 78
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established by rule. 79
“(B) “Private tow” means the towing of a motor vehicle at the request of 80
the owner or authorized agent of the owner.”. 81
(3) Section 47-2851.07(c) is amended to read as follows: 82
“(c) Licenses issued under this subchapter shall be valid for a period of 6 months, 2 years, 83
or 4 years.”. 84
(4) Section 47-2851.10(b)(3)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “months, but 85
less than 9 months, may” and inserting the phrase “month may” in its place. 86
(5) A new section 47-2851.25 is added to read as follows: 87
Ҥ 47-2851.25. Refund of erroneously paid fees. 88
“The Mayor may refund any license fee or tax, or portion thereof, erroneously paid or 89
collected under this chapter.”. 90
(b) Part A of Subchapter I-B is amended as follows: 91
(1) The table of contents designation for § 47-2853.49 is amended to read as 92
follows: 93
“§ 47-2853.49. Practice privilege.”. 94
(2) D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.42 is amended to read as follows: 95
Ҥ 47-2853.42. Eligibility requirements. 96
“(a) An applicant for licensure as a certified public accountant shall establish to the 97
satisfaction of the Board that the applicant: 98
“(l) Has passed an examination in accounting and auditing and such related 99
subjects as the Board shall determine to be appropriate; 100
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“(2)(A) Holds a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree with a concentration 101
in accounting conferred by a college or university acceptable to the Board or holds a degree the 102
Board determines to be substantially equivalent thereto; or. 103
“(B) Holds a baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university 104
acceptable to the Board supplemented with the equivalent of an accounting concentration, which 105
may include related courses in other areas of business administration; 106
“(3) Has completed the following years of relevant experience: 107
“(A) Two years for an applicant who holds a baccalaureate degree 108
described in paragraph (2)(A) or (B) of this subsection, of which one year may be substituted by 109
having completed an additional 30 semester credit hours above the minimum hours required for a 110
baccalaureate degree; or 111
“(B) One year for an applicant who holds a post-baccalaureate degree 112
described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection; and 113
“(4) Meets any other requirements established by rule. 114
“(b) For the purposes of subsection (a)(3) of this section: 115
“(1) “Relevant experience” means providing service or advice representing the 116
skills needed at the time of licensure to serve the public as a certified public accountant. 117
“(2) Relevant experience includes providing any type of business services or 118
advice using accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or 119
consulting skills, to the extent such experience has been verified by a person licensed as a 120
certified public accountant. 121
“(3) Whether the experience of an applicant constitutes relevant experience shall 122
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be determined by the Board. 123
“(c) The Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure 124
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.), may 125
establish additional licensure requirements by rule to ensure that the applicant has the proper 126
training, experience, and qualifications to practice as a certified public accountant.”. 127
(3) D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.49 is amended as follows: 128
(A) The section heading is amended to read as follows: 129
“47-2853.49. Practice privilege.”. 130
(B) Subsections (a) and (b) are amended to read as follows: 131
“(a) An individual whose principal place of business is not in the District shall have all 132
the privileges of a licensee of the District without the need to obtain a license under § 47-133
2853.42; provided, that the individual: 134
“(1) Holds a valid, unrestricted license as a certified public accountant (“CPA”) in 135
good standing issued by another state or territory of the United States; and 136
“(2) At the time of initial licensure in the other state or territory, the individual 137
was required to show evidence of having: 138
“(A) Passed the Uniform CPA Examination or another CPA examination 139
approved by the Board; 140
“(B) Satisfied education requirements equivalent to those set forth in § 47-141
2853.42(a)(2); and 142
“(C) Satisfied experience requirements equivalent to those set forth in § 143
47-2853.42(a)(3).”. 144
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“(b) An individual whose principal place of business is not in the District, who is licensed 145
as a CPA in good standing in another state or territory of the United States, and who had practice 146
privileges in the District under the version of this section that was in effect immediately prior to 147
the effective date of the Accountancy Practice Amendment Act of 2026, as approved by the 148
Committee on Public Works and Operations on June 22, 2026 (Committee print of B26-494), 149
shall continue to have all privileges of a licensee in the District without the need to obtain a 150
license under § 47-2853.42 regardless of whether the individual meets the requirements of this 151
section on the effective date of such legislation.”. 152
(C) Subsection (d) is amended by striking the phrase “shall simultaneously 153
consent, as a condition of the grant of the privilege” and inserting the phrase “shall be deemed to 154
have simultaneously consented, as a condition of the exercise of the privilege” in its place. 155
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 156
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report for the Business 157
Licensing Reform and Accountancy Practice Amendment Act of 2026, passed on first reading on 158
June 30, 2026 (Engrossed version of Bill 26-494), as the fiscal impact statement required by 159
section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 (120 160
Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 161
Sec. 5. Effective date. 162
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 163
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than 164
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 165
412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; 166
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D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)). 167