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MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
September 16, 2025
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
Enclosed for consideration and adoption by the Council of the District of Columbia are the
Business Licensing Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, the Business Licensing
Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2025, the Business Licensing Reform Amendment Act of
2025, and the Business Licensing Reform Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025. The
legislation would do the following:
1. Amend the notice requirements for the issuance and renewal of licenses for theaters,
cinemas, skating rinks, dance halls, exhibitions, lectures, and other entertainment venues;
2. Re-establish the four-year basic business license;
3. Allow the Mayor to issue refunds for erroneously paid business license fees; and
4. Allow persons whose licenses have expired for more than nine months to renew their
license upon paying a fine.
On October 1, 2025, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (“DLCP”) will
implement the Business and Entrepreneurship Support to Thrive Act of 2022 (“BEST Act”),
which is fully funded beginning in Fiscal Year 2026. As DLCP has prepared to implement the
law, several critical items have come to light that could adversely affect businesses, and thus
ought to be addressed prior to the implementation of the BEST Act.
First, the BEST Act would require DLCP to conduct a hearing if a resident objects to an
application for a new or renewal license for a theater, cinema, skating rink, dance hall,
exhibition, lecture, or other entertainment venue. Unlike its predecessor, DLCP does not have
hearing officers. Its appeals are adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Hearings. DLCP
does not have the infrastructure in place to conduct hearings. Thus, the requirement that DLCP
provide notice to the public and conduct hearings for this one license type should be removed. In
its place, the enclosed legislation will require DLCP to provide notice to the affected advisory
neighborhood commission of the request for issuance or renewal of such a license and will also
require DLCP to provide great weight to the recommendations of the commission.
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Second, the BEST Act will eliminate the four-year business license, which is particularly popular
among residential property owners and apartment complexes starting on October 1, 2025. My
administration has heard from the business community that they are opposed to the elimination
of the four-year licenses, and eliminating this license will have an adverse impact on the
District’s business community. The enclosed legislation would restore the authority to issue four-
year business licenses.
Additionally, the current law indicates that licenses that have been expired for more than nine
months may not be renewed. DLCP has seen an increase in people seeking to renew their license,
but they are unable to do so because they have been expired for too long. We expect this will
continue after the BEST Act is implemented. Rather than having to apply for a new license, these
individuals should be permitted to renew their license contingent upon their paying a monetary
penalty. Allowing businesses whose business licenses have expired for more than nine months to
renew their license will benefit the District’s business economy.
Finally, the enclosed legislation will explicitly restore the Mayor’s authority to refund
erroneously paid business license fees.
I urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on the enclosed legislation.
If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Tiffany Crowe, Director,
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, at tiffany.crowe@dc.gov.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
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a ~ ~ Phil Mendelson
at the request of the Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Legalization of
Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999 to extend the expiration dates of
conditional licenses for medical cannabis cultivation centers, retailers, internet retailers,
manufacturers, couriers, and testing laboratories for an additional year.
RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the "Medical Cannabis Conditional Licensure Extension Emergency
Declaration Resolution of 2025".
Sec. 2. (a) As of September 10, 2025, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis
Administration ("ABCA") and Metropolitan Police Department had summarily closed and
padlocked 71 unlicensed cannabis establishments. These summary closures resulted in record
breaking sales increases for the legal medical cannabis market with over $5.4 million in retail
sales to medical cannabis patients during the month of April 2025.
(b) Since January 1, 2024, the number of operating licensed medical cannabis retailers
has increased from 7 to 64, helping address this increased demand .
(c) As September 10, 2025, there were 8 operating cultivation centers, as well as 10
cultivation centers approved to operate that ABCA anticipates are likely to open in the near
future. Nevertheless, to address the inventory needs of new retailers and to discourage
providing notice of certain business license applications and the need to re-establish a four-year 34
basic business license, authorize the Mayor to issue refunds for erroneously paid business license 35
fees, and allow persons whose business licenses have expired for more than 9 months to renew 36
their licenses upon paying a fine. 37
(d) Failure to address these issues before October 1, 2025, could have significant adverse 38
impacts on businesses and the economic growth of the District of Columbia. 39
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 40
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the 41
Business Licensing Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a single 42
reading. 43
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 44