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On Wednesday, January 16th, at 1pm, the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hold its Council Period 23 organizational meeting in Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building, to consider the following items:

Dear Resident,

Happy New Year!

Thanks to all who started 2019 with me and my staff at my swearing-in and office open house! I’m excited to serve residents and businesses across the District for another four years!

Before I get to details from the D.C. Council’s first full legislative meeting of the year, I want to extend TWO FREE ticket offers so you can make good on resolutions to take advantage of the great arts and entertainment events in our city:

Silverman Night at Studio Theatre: I’m excited to host my third community night with Studio Theatre and invite you to their latest production, Admissions, on Thursday, January 17, at 8:00 pm! Studio Theatre continues to be a wonderful local partner in making sure the arts remain accessible to District residents. I have 50 free tickets available to District residents that can be reserved here. Tickets are first come, first served with a limit of two per person. The form will stay open until all tickets have been distributed! See you at the show!

D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) today introduced a bill that would establish an independent agency to assist District taxpayers with navigating and resolving complex tax problems.

“Taxes can be notoriously complicated to navigate, and problems with taxes even more so,” said Silverman. “This bill helps District taxpayers decipher confusing tax issues and ensures they are resolved quickly and efficiently.”

Today, D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) re-introduced a bill that would strengthen protections and recourse options for homeowners whose property is damaged by negligent construction at a neighboring site. The bill was co-introduced by Chairman Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and eleven councilmembers.

“I've heard horror stories from District homeowners about cracked foundations, flooded basements, and years of battling contractors who refuse to take responsibility for careless work,” said Silverman. “Homeowners must have reliable protections against property damage.”

Dear Resident,

We’re in the  final days of 2018! Thank you for your continued support and engagement throughout this year. Every call, email, and visit to the Wilson Building has helped me better understand what is important to District residents, and I’m honored to continue working on your behalf to achieve a more equitable, accessible, and affordable city.

On to 2019!

Start off the new year by joining me at two events on January 2:

• Swearing-In: You are welcome to come to the swearing-in of the newly re-elected leadership of the city. The ceremony takes place Wednesday, Jan. 2, at the Convention Center beginning at 9:30 a.m. No tickets are needed.
  
  
• Inauguration Open House: Following the swearing-in, join me from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. for an open house in my D.C. Council office (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 408) and help kick off my second term! We’ll have some delicious nibbles from Each Peach in Mount Pleasant!

Keep reading for a few updates from our final legislative meeting of 2018.

Dear Resident,

Christmas trees, menorah lightings, Kwanzaa celebrations, chestnuts roasting on an
open fire (ok, who actually does this?), and a slew of bills on the legislative agenda...sure signs that we’ve reached December and are nearing the end of the year!

Over the next week, the Council will take up a very full legislative agenda as we prepare to end Council Period 22. If you’re wondering what this means, the Council operates on a two-year cycle that coincides with election years. Council Period 22 will end at the close of 2018, and any legislation currently under consideration will either need to be finalized by the end of the year or re-introduced when Council Period 23 begins next year.

Keep reading for big legislative news!

A bill initially introduced in July by D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) that enables D.C. government to clearly identify and hold responsible all partners in real estate limited liability companies (LLCs) passed unanimously today on the first of two final votes. It is part of a package of legislation reforming the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) put forth by Chairman Phil Mendelson (D-At Large).

“It shouldn’t be a battle to find out who is responsible when a home is damaged by a developer or neglected by a bad landlord hiding behind an LLC,” Silverman said. “By lifting the corporate veil, this bill will enhance consumer protections and allow the city to go after bad contractors and slumlords more strategically.”

The Committee on Labor and Workforce Development will hold an additional meeting on Monday, November 26, at 3:30pm in Room 123 on the John A. Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW). The Committee will consider the following measures:

• B22-212, “District Government Employee Residency Amendment Act of 2017”
• PR 22-0982, “Director of the Department of Employment Services Unique Morris-Hughes Confirmation Resolution of 2018”
• PR 22-1049, “Public Employee Relations Board Douglas A. Warshof Confirmation Resolution of 2018”
• PR 22-1053, “Office of Employee Appeals Clarence Labor Confirmation Resolution of 2018”
• PR 22-0978, “Office of Employee Appeals Peter Rosenstein Resolution of 2018”
  • Note: Councilmember Robert White is the designated committee chair for purposes of this resolution.
• Report on the Activities of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development for Council Period 22

An agenda along with draft committee prints and reports are available below:

A bill introduced by D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) to protect D.C.’s lowest wage workers by putting equitable safeguards on debt collectors seeking wage garnishment passed unanimously today on the first of two D.C. Council votes. The legislation is one of several bills Councilmember Silverman has prioritized this year to provide additional tools to help District residents and working families break the cycle of poverty.

“Wage garnishment should not send workers and their families into an economic death spiral or come at the expense of income necessary for adequate housing, food, healthcare, or transportation,” said Silverman. “In a city with extremely high costs of living, we need to address how destabilizing wage garnishment is for working families, and its disproportionate impact on our residents of color.”

On Wednesday, November 14, the Labor and Workforce Development Committee held a public roundtable on PR22-1048, Collective Bargaining Agreement between the District of Columbia Government Metropolitan Police Department and the D.C. Police Union (Fraternal Order of Police/Metropolitan Police Department (FOP/MPD) Labor Committee (Compensation Unit 3) Approval Resolution of 2018.

The roundtable was in Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building (130 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) at 1:00pm. The draft agenda and witness list are available here.