Volunteer Services Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

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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 Volunteers 13
Services Act of 1977 to clarify that the Attorney General for the District of Columbia has 14
the authority to promulgate regulations governing the Attorney General’s use of 15
volunteers. 16
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 18
resolution may be cited as the “Volunteer Services Clarification Emergency Declaration 19
Resolution of 2026”. 20
Sec. 2. (a) There exists an immediate need to amend the Volunteers Services Act of 1977, 21
effective June 28, 1977 (D.C. Law 2-12; D.C. Official Code § 1-319.01 et seq.) (“VSA”), to 22
clarify that the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (“Attorney General”) has the 23
authority to promulgate regulations governing the Office of the Attorney General’s use of 24
volunteers. 25
(b) Section 2 of the VSA establishes a policy of the District government to utilize 26
volunteer citizens in as many governmental programs as is practicable to serve the interests of 27
the community. 28
(c) Section 4(a) of the VSA requires that regulations governing the use of volunteers by 29
the District government be promulgated before District agencies accept volunteer services. 30
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(d) Section 3 of the VSA, enacted before the Attorney General became an independently 31
elected office, does not explicitly authorize the Attorney General to promulgate regulations 32
governing the Attorney General’s use of volunteers. 33
(e) Rules governing the use volunteers by the District government were published in the 34
D.C. Register on December 10, 1982 (29 DCR 5405). These rules covered the Corporation 35
Counsel and later, the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”). 36
(f) Section 108a of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia Clarification and 37
Elected Term Amendment Act of 2010, effective October 22, 2015 (D.C. Law 21-36; D.C. 38
Official Code § 1-301.88a), generally provided the Attorney General with independent personnel 39
authority for OAG. However, it did not amend the VSA to explicitly authorize the Attorney 40
General to promulgate separate, independent regulations governing OAG’s use of volunteers. 41
(g) Amending the VSA to explicitly authorize OAG to promulgate its own rules would 42
align with the Attorney General’s status as an independently elected official and the Attorney 43
General’s independent personnel authority. 44
(h) Emergency legislation is needed immediately so that OAG can continue to use 45
volunteers to fulfill its mission to enforce the District’s laws and protect and defend District 46
residents. Volunteers, including attorneys and interns, contribute important legal, governmental, 47
policy, investigatory, research, mediation, and constituent services to the agency and to the 48
District. For example, volunteer work constitutes crucial support to the litigative and other work 49
across OAG. The emergency nature of this legislation is justified in order to prevent deleterious 50
impacts on operations and delays to the agency’s various programs, divisions, and cases 51
supported by volunteer work. 52
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Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 53
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the 54
Volunteer Services Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 be adopted after a single 55
reading. 56
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 57