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__________________________ 2
Councilmember Wendell Felder 3
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A BILL 9
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 13
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To amend, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the Small and Certified Business 17
Enterprise Development and Assistance Act of 2005 to require a business applying for 18
certification as a local business enterprise to be independently owned and operated, to 19
amend minimum certified business enterprise performance requirements in a certified 20
joint venture, and to establish uniform hearing procedures for enforcement actions. 21
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act 23
may be cited as the “Certified Business Enterprise Program Compliance and Enforcement Support 24
Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2026”. 25
Sec. 2. The Small and Certified Business En terprise Development and Assistance Act of 26
2005, effective October 20, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-33; D.C. Official Code § 2-218.01 et seq.), is 27
amended as follows: 28
(a) Section 2302 (D.C. Official Code § 2-218.02) is amended as follows: 29
(1) Paragraph (7) is amended to read as follows: 30
“(7) “Economically disadvantaged indivi dual” means an individual who owns at 31
least a 51% interest in a business enterprise and whose personal net worth does not exceed the 32
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limits set by the federal Department of Transportation, pursuant to 49 CFR § 26.68.” 33
(2) Paragraph (8A) is amended to read as follows: 34
“(8A) Equity impact enterprise” means a business enterprise that is a resident- 35
owned business, small business enterprise, and disadvantaged business enterprise.” 36
(3) Paragraph (9) is rede signated as paragraph (8B). 37
(4) A new paragraph (9) is added to read as follows: 38
“(9) “Formal complaint” means a complain t that is submitted to the Department in 39
writing, sworn to by the complainant, and notarized.”. 40
(5) A new paragraph (10A) is added to read as follows: 41
“(10A) “Informal complaint” means a comp laint other than a formal complaint and 42
includes complaints submitted in person, by email, by telephone, or through the Department’s 43
complaint hotline.”. 44
(6) A new paragraph (10B) is added to read as follows: 45
“(10B) “Independently owned and operate d” means that the business enterprise 46
manages and controls its day-to-day operations without being subject to control, restriction, 47
modification, or limitation by another business enterprise or not-for-profit business that has an 48
ownership or other financial interest in the business enterprise.”. 49
(7) Paragraph (13B) is rede signated as paragraph (13C). 50
(8) A new paragraph (13B) is added to read as follows: 51
“(13B) “Person” means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, general 52
partner of a partnership, limited liability company, registered limited liability partnership, foreign 53
limited liability partnership, association, corporation, unincorporated business, company, syndicate, 54
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estate, trust, business trust, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, executor, administrator, 55
assignee, fiduciary, or entity of any kind.”. 56
(b) Section 2331 (D.C. Official Code § 2- 218.31) is amended by adding a new paragraph 57
(1A) to read as follows: 58
“(1A)(A) Is: 59
“(i) Independently owned and operated; 60
“(ii) More than 50% owned, ope rated, and controlled by a District-61
based enterprise or not-for-profit business; or 62
“(iii) Owned by a non-District-bas ed business enterprise that is more 63
than 50% owned by District residents;”. 64
(c) Section 2346(b)(2)(A) (D.C . Official Code § 2-218.46(b)(2)(A)) is amended to read as 65
follows: 66
“(2)(A) Each government-assisted cons truction and non-construction contract for 67
which a certified joint venture is selected as a beneficiary and is granted points or a price reduction 68
pursuant to section 2343 or is selected through a set-aside program under this subpart shall include 69
a requirement that each certified business enterprise holding a majority or minority interest in the 70
certified joint venture shall, with its own organization and resources, perform a percentage of the 71
work equal to or greater than its percentage interest in the joint venture, and, if the certified joint 72
venture subcontracts, at least 35% of the subcontracted effort shall be with certified business 73
enterprises.”. 74
(d) Section 2363 (D.C. Official Code § 2-218.63) is amended as follows: 75
(1) Subsection (c) is amended by stri king the phrase “, in accordance with 76
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procedures set forth in subsection (e) of this section,”. 77
(2) Subsection (e) is amended as follows: 78
(A) Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) are amended to read as follows: 79
“(e)(1)(A) Any person may file with the De partment a formal or informal complaint 80
alleging a violation of this act. 81
“(B) The Department shall maintain a hotline for the filing of informal 82
complaints. 83
“(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3 ) of this subsection, the Department shall 84
investigate each formal or informal complaint filed with it. 85
“(3) The Department may dismiss a complaint without conducting an investigation 86
if the Department determines the complaint is frivolous or otherwise without merit. If the 87
Department dismisses a formal complaint as frivolous or otherwise without merit, the Department 88
shall prepare a report that includes: 89
“(A) A statement detailing the formal complaint, including the name, 90
address, and telephone number of the person filing the complaint; 91
“(B) The name of the person or ce rtified joint venture alleged to be in 92
violation of this act; 93
“(C) The facts and law considered in rendering the determination; and 94
“(D) Any other information consid ered in rendering the determination.”. 95
(B) Paragraph (4) is repealed. 96
(C) New paragraphs (5) and (6 ) are added to read as follows: 97
“(5) After the completion of an inves tigation conducted pursuant to this subsection, 98
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the Department shall take such enforcement action, if any, it deems appropriate. 99
“(6) The Department shall maintain a r ecord listing all formal complaints, which 100
shall contain: 101
“(A) The name of the person alle ged to be in violation of this act; 102
“(B) The date the formal complaint was made to the Department; and 103
“(C) A description of the formal complaint.”. 104
(3) Subsection (g) is ame nded to read as follows: 105
“(g)(1) Except as prov ided in paragraph (8) of this subsection, before issuing a civil penalty 106
to, or denying, suspending, changing, or revoking a certification, a person or a certified joint 107
venture, the Department shall issue a notice of determination to the person or certified joint 108
venture. The notice of determination shall describe the: 109
“(A) Basis for the Department’s determination; 110
“(B) Proposed penalty, if any; and 111
“(C) Process and timeline by which the person or certified joint venture may 112
request a hearing. 113
“(2) Pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a person, or a designated 114
representative on behalf of a certified joint venture, may request a hearing before the Office of 115
Administrative Hearings within 10 days after receiving the notice. If the person or certified joint 116
venture does not request a hearing within that time, the civil penalty, denial, suspension, change, or 117
revocation shall become final, and the person or certified joint venture shall be deemed to have 118
waived the opportunity for judicial review. 119
“(3) If a hearing is requested, the Office of Administrative Hearings shall consider such 120
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hearing pursuant to the Office of Administrative Hearings Establishment Act of 2001, effective 121
March 6, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-76; D.C. Official Code§ 2-1831.01 et seq.), and the rules issued 122
pursuant to it. The Department shall bear the burden of establishing the violation by a 123
preponderance of the evidence. 124
“(4) The Office of Administrative Heari ngs shall conduct such hearing based on the 125
record developed by the Department. The decision of the Office of Administrative Hearings shall 126
be the final administrative decision for the purpose of judicial review. 127
“(5) Notice of a final suspension or revoc ation of a certification shall be published 128
on the Department’s website. 129
“(6) A business enterprise or joint vent ure whose certification has been revoked shall 130
not be eligible to apply for a new certification from the Department until 36 months after the date 131
that the revocation became final. 132
“(7)(A) The Department may at any t ime, upon motion by a business enterprise or 133
joint venture whose certification has been suspended or revoked, remove the suspension or reissue 134
a certification if the Department determines that it is in the District government’s interest to remove 135
the suspension or reissue the certification before the end of the 36-month period and the removal or 136
reissuance will not endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the general public. 137
“(B) In determining whether to remo ve a suspension or reissue a certification, 138
the Department shall consider whether the business enterprise or joint venture submitted satisfactory 139
proof that conditions within, or ac tions by, the business enterprise or joint venture that led to the 140
suspension or revocation have been corrected. 141
“(C) A business enterprise or joint venture whose certification is reissued 142
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shall cease to be subject to the 36-month waiting period established in paragraph (6) of this 143
subsection. 144
“(8)(A) If, after an i nvestigation, the Department determines that a business 145
enterprise or joint venture certified under this act has violated any provision of this act in such a 146
manner as to present an imminent danger to the health, safety, or welfare of any person or the 147
general public, the Department may summarily suspend the certification of the business enterprise 148
or joint venture upon issuing the notice of determination described in paragraph (1) of this 149
subsection. 150
“(B)(i) The notice of determination shall inform the business enterprise or 151
joint venture of the reason for the summary suspension and the right to request a hearing before the 152
Office of Administrative Hearings pursuant to this subsection. 153
“(ii) If a business enterprise or joint venture timely requests a hearing 154
on a summary suspension, the Office of Administrative Hearings shall conduct the hearing within 155
14 days after receiving the request, unless a longer period of time is agreed to by the business 156
enterprise or joint venture, and shall issue a decision within 14 days after the record of the hearing 157
closes.”. 158
Sec. 3. Applicability. 159
This act shall apply as of March 29, 2026. 160
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 161
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 162
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 163
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 164
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Sec. 5. Effective date. 165
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 166
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than 90 167
days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 412(a) of 168
the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; D.C. Official 169
Code § 1-204.12(a)). 170