Prearrest Diversion Task Force Recommendations Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

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Councilmember Brooke Pinto 3
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 7
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 12
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend, on an emergency 18
basis, section 1507 of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for the District of 19
Columbia Establishment Act of 2001 to change the date by which the Prearrest Diversion 20
Task Force shall issue initial recommendations for prearrest diversion of certain 21
misdemeanor offenses and categories of persons to July 2026; and to amend Title 20 of 22
the District of Columbia Official Code to allow for notice of request for formal probate, 23
notice from a foreign personal representative of a decedent who owned any property 24
located in the District of Columbia, and notice of appointment to interested persons, 25
creditors and unknown heirs in a legal periodical or newspaper of general circulation in 26
the District. 27
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 29
resolution may be cited as the “Prearrest Diversion Task Force Recommendations Emergency 30
Declaration Resolution of 2026”. 31
Sec. 2. (a) Section 1507 of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council for the District of 32
Columbia Establishment Act of 2001, effective June 8, 2024 (D.C. Law 25-175; D.C. Official 33
Code § 22-4237) (“Secure DC”), requires the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (“CJCC”) 34
to establish a Prearrest Diversion Task Force (“Task Force”) to review best practices and make 35
recommendations to implement prearrest diversion of certain misdemeanor offenses and for 36
certain categories of persons identified by the Task Force as being appropriate for diversion. The 37
Task Force was initially required to begin meeting within 3 months after the applicability date of 38
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Secure DC, and issue its initial recommendations within one year after the applicability date of 39
Secure DC. However, due to CJCC staffing constraints, the Task Force was not able to begin 40
meeting until June 2025. 41
(b) On December 17, 2024, the Council passed on final reading the Strengthening 42
Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024, effective March 21, 2025 (D.C. Law 25-302; 43
72 DCR 780) (“Strengthening Probate Act”), which proposed to modernize and update the legal 44
and administrative processes and procedures around probate for District residents and estate 45
lawyers, consistent with the recommendations of the Working Group’s 2022 report. 46
Subsequently, the Council adopted emergency legislation on July 14, 2025, to make technical 47
amendments in order to be implemented as some of the language had proven inadministrable and 48
unclear, leading to delays in appointing personal representatives and precluding access to 49
decedents’ estate assets. Probate proceedings require a publication of a notice. Currently the law 50
says that various notices must be published in a legal periodical, which can limit access to 51
residents and has also interfered with the law’s implementation. 52
(c) Emergency legislation is necessary to update the deadlines in Secure DC to accurately 53
reflect feasible timelines for the Task Force and to amend our probate laws to expand 54
permissible publications to include newspapers in order to ensure access to publications and 55
implementability of the original law. 56
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances in 57
section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Prearrest Diversion 58
Task Force Recommendations Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 be adopted after a single 59
reading. 60
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 61