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PR26-0049 • 2025

Department of Energy and Environment Definitions Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Department of Energy and Environment Definitions Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Energy
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Allen
Last action
2025-02-14
Official status
Approved
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Clarifying Definitions for Environmental Programs

This resolution clarifies definitions in existing laws to ensure the Department of Energy and Environment can continue its programs without interruption.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the definition of 'subscriber organization' to include government entities like DOEE, allowing them to manage community renewable energy facilities for low- to moderate-income residents.
  • Corrects a typo in the Lead-Hazard Prevention and Elimination Act by changing the unit from micrograms to milligrams when defining lead-based paint levels.
  • Fixes a grammatical error in the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act's definition of 'producer' by correcting the spelling of 'manufactures'.
  • Extends the emergency legislation until the temporary act takes effect, ensuring there is no gap in legal definitions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE)
  • Low- to moderate-income residents participating in community renewable energy facilities through DOEE’s Solar for All program
  • Entities involved in environmental safety and waste management

Terms To Know

subscriber organization
An entity that manages subscriptions for community renewable energy facilities.
lead-based paint
Paint or other surface coating containing a certain level of lead, currently defined as 0.7 milligrams per square centimeter in the District of Columbia.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The resolution only clarifies definitions and does not create new programs or policies.
  • It is unclear how these changes will affect future interpretations of related laws without further guidance.

Bill History

  1. 2025-02-14 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Resolution R26-0019, Effective from Feb 04, 2025 Published in DC Register Vol 72 and Page 001443

  2. 2025-02-04 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Retained by the Council

  3. 2025-02-04 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Legislative Meeting

  4. 2025-02-04 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Approved with Resolution Number R26-0019

  5. 2025-02-03 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    PR26-0049 Introduced by Councilmember Allen at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Department of Energy and Environment Definitions Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

1

A RESOLUTION

26-19

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

February 4, 2025

To amend, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the Retail Electric Competition
and Consumer Protection Act of 1999 to clarify the definition of the term subscriber
organization; to amend the Lead-Hazard Prevention and Elimination Act of 2008 to
clarify the definition of the term lead-based paint; and to amend the Sustainable Solid
Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014 to clarify the definition of the term
producer.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Department of Energy and Environment Definitions Clarification
Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025”.

Sec. 2. (a) The Retail Electric Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999,
effective May 9, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-107; D.C. Official Code § 34-501 et seq.), currently defines
the term “subscriber organization” as “any for-profit or nonprofit entity permitted by District of
Columbia law that owns or operates one or more community renewable energy facilities for the
benefit of the subscribers.” A primary function of subscriber organizations is to assign energy
credits to subscribers who participate in community renewable energy facilities (“CREFs”).
Subscription management is an administratively burdensome activity, and solar developers
generally prefer to assign the responsibility for subscription management to another entity.
(b) In practice, the Department of Energy and Environment (“DOEE”) has been
functioning as a subscriber organization for low- to moderate-income District residents, who are
subscribers to CREFs through DOEE’s Solar for All program.
(c) Uncertainty regarding whether the definition of “subscriber organization” covers a
government entity could adversely impact DOEE’s authority to continue performing these
administrative functions, and may inhibit other government entities, including the federal
government, from performing these functions for future CREFs.
(d) The Residential Housing Environmental Safety Amendment Act of 2020, effective
March 16, 2021 (D.C. Law 23-188; 68 DCR 1227), amended the Lead-Hazard Prevention and
Elimination Act of 2008, effective March 31, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-381; D.C. Official Code § 8-
231.01 et seq.), to lower the amount of lead needed in paint or other surface coatings to qualify
as a “lead-based paint” from one milligram per square centimeter (1.0mg/cm2) to 0.7 milligrams
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

2

per square centimeter (0.7mg/cm2). However, the parenthetical within the amended definition
erroneously uses microgram symbol (“µ”) instead of the correct abbreviation for milligram
(“mg”).
(e) The Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2020, effective March 16, 2021 (D.C.
Law 23-211; 68 DCR 68), amended the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act
of 2014, effective February 26, 2015 (D.C. Law 20-154; 61 DCR 9971), to define “producer.”
Due to a drafting error, the definition uses the phrase “A person who manufacturers [sic] a . . .”
when it should instead read “A person who manufactures a . . .”.
(f) To prevent the misapplication or misinterpretation of several key definitions in the
D.C. Code that DOEE relies on when fulfilling its statutory duties or administrating agency
programs, the Council passed the Department of Energy and Environment Definitions
Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2024, effective November 22, 2024 (D.C. Act 25-
636; 71 DCR 14470) (“emergency act”). The emergency act is set to expire on February 20,
2025. The Council also passed the Department of Energy and Environment Definitions
Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2024, enacted on December 19, 2024 (D.C. Act 25-
665; 71 DCR 16302) (“temporary act”). The projected law date for the temporary act is March 6,
2025.
(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 Definitions Clarification Congressional Review
Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a single reading.

Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.