Safety Cluster Resource Alignment and Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

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Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 5
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Clemency Board 14
Establishment Act of 2018 to authorize the Clemency Board to, for applicants seeking a 15
pardon, grant a waiver of the 5-year waiting period in certain circumstances, and to 16
amend the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 to update the applicability date to 17
October 1, 2027. 18
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
resolution may be cited as the “Safety Cluster Resource Alignment and Clarification Emergency 21
Declaration Resolution of 2025”. 22
Sec. 2. (a) The Clemency Board (the "Board") was established in 2018 to determine 23
whether, upon application, to recommend that the President of the United States grant clemency 24
to applicants convicted of D.C. Code offenses. 25
(b) The Clemency Board Establishment Act of 2018 (the "Act"), the legislation that 26
established both the Board and the process by which applicants may seek a letter of 27
recommendation from the Board, was deliberately structured by the Council to mirror the 28
eligibility requirements and generally the process used by the Department of Justice, Office of 29
the Pardon Attorney ("DOJ-OPA") for accepting and reviewing applications for clemency. 30
Having the language of the Act mirror the federal process helps the Board avoid inadvertently 31
deeming an application ineligible that is in fact eligible under DOJ-OPA’s rules. 32
(c) Currently, under D.C. Official Code § 24-481.05(c)(1), to be eligible for a letter of 33
recommendation from the Board, an applicant must wait 5 years after the date of their release 34
from confinement or, in cases where no prison sentence was imposed, 5 years after the date of 35
the conviction. This statutory language mirrors DOJ-OPA’s eligibility criteria, which also sets a 36
5-year waiting period for pardon applicants. 37
(d) Board staff has recently learned, however, that the DOJ-OPA is authorized to grant 38
waivers of this 5-year waiting period, pursuant to § 9-140.112 of the Department of Justice’s 39
Justice Manual. The Act, as passed by Council in 2018, however, did not provide the Board with 40
similar authority to grant a waiver of this requirement. 41
(e) The Board recently received applications from applicants who have received a waiver 42
of the 5-year waiting period from DOJ-OPA. However, absent legislation amending the Act, the 43
Board lacks the authority to grant its own waiver and these and other applications will be deemed 44
ineligible for a letter of recommendation, despite being actively considered by the DOJ-OPA and 45
the President. 46
(f) Thus, this emergency legislation would amend the Act to authorize the Board to 47
consider an applicant’s request for a waiver of the 5-year waiting period where the DOJ-OPA 48
has already granted a similar waiver. Absent these changes, several applications before the Board 49
that could be considered by the President in the coming months will be ineligible for a letter of 50
recommendation from the Board, potentially negatively impacting those applicants’ applications 51
for clemency. 52
(g) Additionally, certain provisions of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 are 53
set to go into effect on March 1, 2025, with the remaining provisions going into effect on 54
October 1, 2027. Multiple agencies, including the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the 55
United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Office of Attorney General for 56
the District of Columbia, and the Metropolitan Police Department, would require additional time 57
to prepare for implementation as well as additional resources to implement the administrative 58
requirements of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022. Emergency legislation is therefore 59
necessary to delay the applicability date of the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 to 60
October 1, 2027. 61
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances in 62
section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Safety Cluster 63
Resource Alignment and Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a 64
single reading. 65
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 66