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Councilmember Charles Allen 3
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 11
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Personal Delivery 15
Device Act of 2018 to increase the weight limit for personal delivery devices. 16
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , That this 18
resolution may be cited as the “ Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Emergency Declaration 19
Resolution of 2026”. 20
Sec. 2. (a) The Personal Delivery Act of 2018, effective July 17, 2018 (D.C. Law 22-137; 21
D.C. Code § 50-1101 et seq.) created a permitting process for eligible entities to operate personal 22
delivery devices (“PDDs”) that do not exceed 90 pounds in weight. 23
(b) Since the adoption of the Personal Delivery Act of 2018 , several companies have 24
developed new PDD models that exceed the existing weight limit. The weight limit adopted seven 25
years ago now presents a barrier to the introduction and use of newer PPD models, some of which 26
with enhanced hardware features. 27
(c) Many states already allow for the operating of PDDs exceeding 90 pounds in weight. 28
At least 12 states allow PDDs to exceed 500 pounds in weight, and another seven states that allow 29
for PDD operations have not established a weight limit in statute. 30
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(d) On May 6, 2025, Councilmembers Charles Allen, Zachary Parker, and Christina 31
Henderson introduced Bill 26-0245, the “Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Amendment Act 32
of 2025 (“permanent bill”). The permanent bill would allow the operation of PDDs weighing up 33
to 275 pounds. The Committee held a hearing on the bill on October 16, 2025. 34
(f) To allow for the deployment of PDDs that exceed the current weight limit, the Council 35
passed the Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, effective 36
August 12, 2025 (D.C. Act 26-125; 72 DCR 8603) (“emergency act”). The Council also passed 37
the Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Temporary Amendment Act of 2025, effective October 38
1, 2025 (D.C. Law 26 -48; 72 DCR 8945) (“temporary law”) . The emergency act expired on 39
November 10, 2025. The temporary law is set to expire on May 14, 2026. 40
(e) This new round of emergency and temporary legislation is needed to prevent a gap in 41
the law between the expiration of the temporary law and the passage of a permanent bill. 42
Sec. 3. The Council finds the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency 43
circumstances making it necessary that the “Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Emergency 44
Amendment Act of 2026” be adopted after a single reading. 45
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 46