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PR26-0284 • 2025

Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Housing
Enacted

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

Sponsor
R. White
Last action
2025-09-17
Official status
Approved
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the removal of old emergency laws or adjustments to pay for board members, so these statements were removed or narrowed.

Emergency Housing Authority Changes

This resolution declares an emergency to make changes to the District of Columbia Housing Authority Act, focusing on updating the board structure and providing flexibility for training.

What This Bill Does

  • Declares that there is an emergency situation with the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) that needs immediate attention.
  • Changes how DCHA's board works by making it more flexible for training and updating rules about resident rights.
  • Adjusts the pay for members of DCHA’s board to make sure they are fairly compensated.
  • Updates some terms in a law called the Confirmation Act to match changes made to DCHA’s board structure.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Residents who receive housing support from DCHA, such as vouchers or public housing.
  • The District of Columbia Housing Authority and its board members.

Terms To Know

DCHA
District of Columbia Housing Authority, an organization that helps low-income residents find affordable housing.
STAR Board
Stabilization and Reform Board, a temporary board set up to help DCHA improve its operations.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The resolution does not specify how long the changes will last.
  • It is unclear what specific new rules about resident rights are being updated.
  • This emergency declaration allows for immediate action but may need further permanent legislation later.

Bill History

  1. 2025-09-17 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Retained by the Council

  2. 2025-08-08 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Resolution R26-0180, Effective from Jul 28, 2025 Published in DC Register Vol 72 and Page 008613

  3. 2025-07-28 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Legislative Meeting

  4. 2025-07-28 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Approved with Resolution Number R26-0180

  5. 2025-07-23 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    PR26-0284 Introduced by Councilmember R. White at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

1

A RESOLUTION

26-180

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

July 28, 2025

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the District of
Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999 to revise the structure of the board of the
District of Columbia Housing Authority, provide flexibility for board and executive
director training, and update the public housing resident bill of rights; to amend the
District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to adjust
District of Columbia Housing Authority board stipends; to amend the Confirmation Act
of 1978 to conform terminology regarding the District of Columbia Housing Authority
board; and to repeal superseded emergency and temporary legislation.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency
Declaration Resolution of 2025”.

Sec. 2. (a) The District of Columbia Housing Authority (“DCHA”) helps tens of
thousands of low-income District residents afford housing through supports such as Local Rent
Supplement Program vouchers, federal Housing Choice Vouchers, and public housing.
(b) In December 2022, in response to a crisis of operational and organizational
deficiencies, the Council and Mayor collaborated on legislation to establish a temporary
Stabilization and Reform Board (“STAR Board”) of professional subject matter experts and
housing benefit recipient lived experience experts to guide DCHA in the initial stages of its
recovery.
(c) The STAR Board held its first meeting on January 25, 2023. It has since overseen
major DCHA policy overhauls, the hiring of an experienced new Executive Director and
executive leadership team, the development of a formal recovery plan, and other initiatives.
(d) The initial District of Columba Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform
Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, effective December 22, 2022 (D.C. Act 24-702; 70 DCR
164), contemplated that the STAR Board’s members would “serve for one term of 2 years or
until the Board sunsets; provided, that each such member may continue to serve until a successor
board assumes the responsibilities of” the STAR Board.
(e) The 2022 legislation also instructed the STAR Board to “[p]rovide recommendations
to the Mayor and the Council … for the structure of a successor Board of Directors[.]”
ENROLLED ORIGINAL

2

Accordingly, the STAR Board filed a report, the “District of Columbia Housing Authority
(DCHA) Stabilization and Reform (S.T.A.R.) Board of Commissioners Recommendation for the
DCHA successor Board,” available in the Council’s Legislative Information Management
System as RC25-207 (the “STAR Board Report”). Among other recommendations, the STAR
Board Report requested that the Council “[e]xtend the existing STAR Board through December
2025” to allow it to continue its reform and oversight work. Accordingly, the Council has
continued to maintain the STAR Board legislation in effect through a series of substantially
similar emergency and temporary legislation, including most recently the District of Columbia
Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2025, enacted on
July 7, 2025 (D.C. Act 26-100; 72 DCR 7676).
(f) Meanwhile, on March 3, 2025, Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced on behalf of
Mayor Muriel Bowser the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords
(RENTAL) Act of 2025, as introduced on March 3, 2025 (Bill 26-164) (“RENTAL Act”). Title
XI of the RENTAL Act included a new permanent board structure and other reforms for DCHA.
(g) On July 9, 2025, the Committee on Housing voted in favor of an updated version of
the RENTAL Act. The committee print reflects a carefully considered compromise based on
extensive input from the executive, DCHA leadership, residents, and legal experts. However, the
Committee of the Whole postponed first reading of the RENTAL Act such that the Council will
not have an opportunity to finalize the permanent legislation before the 2025 summer recess.
(h) Emergency legislation is necessary to ensure that DCHA and the executive have a
clear mandate to begin preparations for formal nominations and elections to the newly
constituted Board of Commissioners beginning this autumn.

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
Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted
after a single reading.

Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.