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Record of Proceedings

DC Council Votes on Permanent Juvenile Curfew Act, Tables Emergency Extension on April 21, 2026

Council of the District of Columbia — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodyWashington, District Of Columbia
SessionCouncil of the District of Columbia
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:35:08

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

If we could have order in the chamber, I'm going to order this meeting, legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia.

0:15

This is the 28th legislative meeting of Council Period 26.

0:20

And I believe all the members are participating in person.

0:25

I think.

0:26

Well, we'll see.

0:27

We'll determine a quorum in a minute.

0:30

Um this is an additional meeting.

0:32

That is to say it's not a regularly scheduled meeting.

0:35

The next regular meeting of the council legislative meeting will be on May 5th.

0:39

Uh we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence.

0:42

I would ask that uh members on the dais as well as everyone in the chamber, respect a moment of silence, uh, an opportunity for reflection.

1:12

Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll?

1:14

Councilmember Allen.

1:16

Here.

1:16

Councilmember Bonds.

1:17

Here.

1:18

Councilmember Crawford.

1:19

Here.

1:20

Councilmember Falder.

1:22

Present.

1:23

Councilmember Fruman.

1:24

Present.

1:24

Councilmember Henderson.

1:26

Here.

1:26

Councilmember Lewis George.

1:28

Here.

1:28

Chairman Mendelson.

1:30

Present.

1:30

Councilmember Nadeau.

1:32

Here.

1:33

Councilmember Parker.

1:36

Here.

1:36

Councilmember Pinto, present.

1:38

Councilmember Robert White.

1:42

Councilmember Robert White.

1:44

Councilmember Trayon White?

1:46

Present.

1:46

Mr.

1:47

Chairman, you have a quorum.

1:49

Thank you, Madam Secretary.

1:51

The agenda says consent agenda.

1:55

I'm going to assume it's a non-consent agenda, unless there's objection.

2:00

And so we will proceed to first reading and vote on proposed bills.

2:05

We have Bill 26-461 entitled The Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2026, reported out of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, chaired by Councilmember Pinto.

2:17

Councilmember Pinto.

2:19

Thank you, Mr.

2:19

Chairman.

2:20

As discussed in the COW, today we have before us the permanent version of the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act.

2:26

And we must continue ensuring that our kids are engaged in positive activities and keep them safe from dangerous situations.

2:38

Again, over the last eight months, this tool to allow MPD to declare specific juvenile curfew zones and extend the applicability to 17-year-olds has proven to be successful in keeping youth residents, visitors, and others safe and preventing harm.

2:53

We have seen an uprise in so-called teen takeovers, and we need to similarly be responsive with new tools ourselves.

3:03

Curfew violations in DC do not result in arrests.

3:08

And the curfew zones themselves only apply to groups of eight or more unsupervised kids under the age of 18.

3:17

And I want to reiterate that so people know that even when a zone is declared, kids in smaller groups are still free to be in those spaces and enjoy them, as they can with any other space across the city.

3:40

And two, to Councilmember Lewis George's questions of OPC complaints, there has been one that I'm aware of, which is the one instance that happened over this past weekend that we are tracking closely and concerned about.

3:57

So I won't repeat everything that I said about the cow at the cow of the importance of this bill.

4:02

But I do think that as all adults throughout our city, whether you're on the council, whether you work in an agency, whether you're a parent, a teacher, uh anyone who works with young people, we all should be on the same team.

4:16

That it is incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to support and invest in our young people and to set clear standards of um safe behavior to keep them safe.

4:27

And I know that we are all committed to that goal, and so I ask my colleagues to support this bill today.

4:35

Thank you, Councilmember.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Juvenile Justice███████████████████████25%
Public Safety█████████████████18%
Youth Programs██████7%
Budget█1%
Summary of Proceedings

DC Council Legislative Meeting – April 21, 2026

The Council of the District of Columbia held an additional legislative meeting on April 21, 2026, to consider Bill 26-461, the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2026, and related emergency legislation. After extensive debate, the council approved the permanent bill on first reading (8-5) but voted to table the emergency extension to the next legislative meeting (7-6).

Discussion Items

Permanent Bill – Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act (Bill 26-461)

Councilmember Pinto introduced the committee print, noting the curfew tool had been successful in keeping youth safe and preventing teen takeovers, and that violations do not result in arrests. She withdrew her amendment in the nature of a substitute after reaching a compromise with Councilmember Crawford.

Councilmember Crawford then moved her own amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS), which made several changes: streamlined authority, removed the ability for business improvement districts to petition for curfews, eliminated temporary citywide extended curfew hours, replaced the term “juvenile” with “youth,” strengthened notice requirements, established guardrails on enforcement (e.g., youth cannot be stopped or dispersed for being in small groups), and required youth programming when a curfew zone is in effect. She also moved an amendment to the ANS (circulated at 12:30 p.m.) that updated findings, reverted citywide curfew hours to midnight on weekends and summer, defined “extended youth curfew zone,” required online posting of notices instead of physical signs, allowed verbal warnings 30 minutes before curfew, and required the chief of police to consider youth-specific statistics before designating a zone. Both the ANS and the amendment were accepted without objection.

Councilmembers expressed support and opposition:

  • Councilmember Allen supported the amended bill, stating it was what should have come out of committee originally, and praised the requirement for alternative programming.
  • Councilmember Henderson supported the measure as a tool, noting her outreach to DPR and BIDs for teen programming, and called for DCPS to work with student governments on safe spaces.
  • Councilmember Felder supported the bill, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach including parental accountability.
  • Councilmember Robert White opposed the bill, arguing curfews are not working and that the budget cuts to DPR, DBH, and DHS while increasing MPD funding undermine prevention. He said he could not vote for a system that prioritizes consequences over prevention.
  • Councilmember Nadeau opposed, stating the policy is ineffective, harms children disproportionately, and that the mayor’s budget cuts programs that work while adding $90 million for MPD. She noted she introduced out-of-school time legislation in 2016.
  • Councilmember Lewis George opposed, citing dangerous interactions with police and National Guard, concerns about federal occupation, and research showing curfews do not reduce youth crime.
  • Councilmember Trayon White opposed, saying the city is not investing enough in youth and that past amendments for comprehensive plans were unfunded.
  • Councilmember Parker opposed, stating the curfew has not delivered long-term solutions and that government cannot substitute for parents. He urged a youth-centered agenda.
  • Councilmember Fruman supported the bill, arguing the curfew has worked to reduce negative gatherings and that the amendments improved it. He noted other jurisdictions struggle with similar takeovers.

Vote on Permanent Bill (as amended) The bill passed first reading with 8 yes votes (Crawford, Felder, Fruman, Henderson, Mendelson, Pinto, Allen, Bonds) and 5 no votes (Lewis George, Nadeau, Parker, Robert White, Trayon White).

Emergency Legislation – Juvenile Curfew Sunset Emergency Declaration Resolution (PR 26-586)

Councilmember Pinto moved an oral amendment to remove the sunset for the Volunteer Services Act (unrelated but technical). The emergency version was needed to prevent a gap after the previous emergency expired on April 15 and the mayor’s public emergency expires May 1, before the next regular meeting.

Chairman Mendelson moved to table the emergency to the next legislative meeting (May 5, 2026), arguing that further discussion would not produce progress and that the council should avoid self-inflicted wounds given external pressures. Councilmember Bonds moved to recess for 20 minutes to allow further deliberation, but that motion failed (voice vote, noes apparent).

Vote on Motion to Table Emergency The motion to table to the next legislative meeting passed 7-6: yes votes from Fruman, Lewis George, Mendelson, Parker, Robert White, Allen, Crawford; no votes from Felder, Henderson, Nadeau, Pinto, Trayon White, Bonds.

Key Outcomes

  • Bill 26-461 (permanent): Approved on first reading (8-5). It will proceed to a second reading at a future meeting.
  • Emergency extension (PR 26-586): Tabled to the next legislative meeting (May 5, 2026) by a 7-6 vote, leaving a potential gap in curfew authority unless the council acts sooner.
  • The council recessed after the votes; no further business was conducted.

Meeting Transcript

If we could have order in the chamber, I'm going to order this meeting, legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia. This is the 28th legislative meeting of Council Period 26. And I believe all the members are participating in person. I think. Well, we'll see. We'll determine a quorum in a minute. Um this is an additional meeting. That is to say it's not a regularly scheduled meeting. The next regular meeting of the council legislative meeting will be on May 5th. Uh we always begin our legislative meetings with a moment of silence. I would ask that uh members on the dais as well as everyone in the chamber, respect a moment of silence, uh, an opportunity for reflection. Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll? Councilmember Allen. Here. Councilmember Bonds. Here. Councilmember Crawford. Here. Councilmember Falder. Present. Councilmember Fruman. Present. Councilmember Henderson. Here. Councilmember Lewis George. Here. Chairman Mendelson. Present. Councilmember Nadeau. Here. Councilmember Parker. Here. Councilmember Pinto, present. Councilmember Robert White. Councilmember Robert White. Councilmember Trayon White? Present. Mr. Chairman, you have a quorum. Thank you, Madam Secretary. The agenda says consent agenda. I'm going to assume it's a non-consent agenda, unless there's objection. And so we will proceed to first reading and vote on proposed bills. We have Bill 26-461 entitled The Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2026, reported out of the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, chaired by Councilmember Pinto. Councilmember Pinto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As discussed in the COW, today we have before us the permanent version of the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act. And we must continue ensuring that our kids are engaged in positive activities and keep them safe from dangerous situations. Again, over the last eight months, this tool to allow MPD to declare specific juvenile curfew zones and extend the applicability to 17-year-olds has proven to be successful in keeping youth residents, visitors, and others safe and preventing harm.

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