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ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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A RESOLUTION
26-20
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
February 4, 2025
To declare the existence of an emergency, due to congressional review, with respect to the need
to amend the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005 to
clarify that the Mayor may promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions
of the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, and to
eliminate the requirement that all rules and regulations be submitted to the Council for a
45-day active review period.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Department of Energy and Environment Rulemaking
Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025”.
Sec. 2. (a) The District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005,
effective February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code § 8-151.01 et seq.) (“Act”),
established the District Department of the Environment as an agency within the executive branch
of the District of Columbia government to consolidate the administration and oversight of
environmental laws, regulations, and programs into a single agency. The Department of the
Environment was later renamed the Department of Energy and Environment (“DOEE”).
(b) The original language of the Act required that the Mayor promulgate rules and
regulations to implement provisions of the Act within 180 days of its effective date. The Act
further specified that proposed rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to that provision must
be submitted to the Council for a 45-day period of review, and that the proposed rules were to be
deemed disapproved if the Council did not approve or disapprove the proposed rules by
resolution – that is, active approval. The rationale for requiring active approval of the rules was
to ensure that the Council could review the initial rules and regulations promulgated by the
newly established agency.
(c) In 2021, the Council passed the Green Food Purchasing Amendment Act of 2021,
effective July 29, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-16; 68 DCR 6015) (“GFPAA”). The GFPAA amended
section 110 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 8-151.10) to provide rulemaking authority for
purposes of implementing provisions of the GFPAA.
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(d) Due to a drafting error, the GFPAA unintentionally subjects all new rules and
regulations promulgated by DOEE to the 45-day active approval period that had been reserved
for rules and regulations promulgated during DOEE’s establishment.
(e) The resulting uncertainty regarding the Executive’s rulemaking authority pursuant to
the Act continues to impair the ability of the District of Columbia to promulgate rules and
regulations necessary for implementing the District’s environmental laws in a timely manner.
(f) To clarify DOEE’s ability to promulgate rules and regulations without those rules and
regulations being subjected to a 45-day active approval process, the Council passed the
Department of Energy and Environment Rulemaking Clarification Emergency Amendment Act
of 2024, effective November 22, 2024 (D.C. Act 25-629; 71 DCR 14456) (“emergency act”).
The Council also passed the Department of Energy and Environment Rulemaking Clarification
Temporary Amendment Act of 2024, enacted on November 22, 2024 (D.C. Act 25-639; 71 DCR
14478) (“temporary act”).
(g) This congressional review emergency legislation is necessary to prevent a gap in the
law between the expiration of the emergency act and the effective date of the temporary act.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the
Department of Energy and Environment Rulemaking Clarification Congressional Review
Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.