Good afternoon, everyone.

I'm Charles Allen, Ward Six Council Member and Chair of the Council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment.

Today is Friday, May 22nd, 2026, and we are meeting in room 500 of the historic John A.

Wilson building as well as over the Zoom virtual platform.

The time is now 112 p.m.

and I'm calling to order this additional meeting of the committee.

For the record, I'd like to note that we have a quorum consisting of Council Members Henderson, Parker, Lewis George, Crawford, and myself.

Today the committee is going to consider and vote on the report and recommendations of the Committee on Transportation and the Environment on the FY2 2027 budget for agencies under its purview.

The formulation of FY27 budget took place amid an incredibly challenging financial environment for the district.

The FY 26 approved budget was about 12 billion dollars.

Due to inflation, even maintaining that spending level without any programmatic expansions would require about 400 million dollars in additional resources.

But without budget adjustments, the district was projected to have a $700 million less in available revenue, excuse me, resources due to slower growth, a reduced federal workforce, and fewer budget surpluses to carry forward into the next fiscal year.

So with $11.3 billion in available resources and $12.4 billion required to maintain FY26 spending levels, the district needed to overcome an initial funding gap of $1.1 billion.

To address that gap, the mayor's FY27 proposed budget makes nearly $469 million in reductions to programmatic spending.

Notable, spending cuts include a $95 million reduction to the Universal Paid Leave Program, a $60 million cut to early childhood educator pay equity fund, two critical supports for families and childcare workers.

Other significant reductions include $127 million set aside for future pay increases for district employees, an $11 million reduction to the TANF employment program.

And is and as discussed in more detail below, there were devastating cuts to the district's environmental and sustainability programs for the second year in a row.

This grim financial picture sharply contrasts with the relatively complete funding that has been made available to the RFK campus redevelopment project.

In total, FY27 proposed budget includes $320 million for transportation improvements around the RFK campus for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.

The mayor's proposed budget adds over 200 million across the CIP to improve and reconfigure the roadways and bridges connecting to the site.

There's also an additional $2 million in capital funding for FY27 for the bus priority project meant to explore a crosstown connection between Union Station and RFK.

Just recently, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority teased its own ambitious plan for the Gold Line, a crosstown bus rapid transit project that could serve as a model for DDOT and create a much-needed east-west transit link fully across the district.

Another $27 million has been identified for the construction of a new fire station to serve the campus and the surrounding neighborhoods.

All told the district is just a few years away from opening a world-class sports stadium that will serve as the home venue for the Washington commanders and spur development in the surrounding neighborhoods.

This deal cost the district well over a billion dollars in public funds and foregone tax revenue.

But with the right planning envision, it can prove to be a sound investment if the promised neighborhood and year-round economic activity is as advertised.

Critical to the RFK campus's success will come from the huge increase in demand being met by transportation options on event days and throughout the year that will allow tens of thousands of people to come and go without feeling the need to drive there.

The committee is encouraged to see the mayor allocate the resources the project needs to be successful.

It's just a shame this investment stands in such juxtaposition to the concurrent divestment from core services that help support working families and children.

So let's turn to the agencies under this committee's purview.

The mayor's proposed FY27 budget continues to backslide on the very policies that have enabled the district to become more resilient, healthy, and sustainable as a city.

This is best represented by the proposed cuts to the Department of Energy and Environment, or DOEE.

The mayor's proposed FY27 operating budget for DOEE is $181.6 million, or a $28.6% decrease from the FY26 approved budget of $254.2 million.

Where other agencies received an average of 3.8% of a reduction, DOE will have over a quarter of its budget slashed again, combined with the cuts it received in FY26, DOE's annual budget will have shrunk by $137 million or just shy of $45% over the last two fiscal years.

So where do these cuts land within the agency?

It starts with an $80.6 million diversion from the fund to pay the district's energy costs, which was baked into the budget based on the mayor's choices in prior years.

Combined with last year's sweep of $70 million, the district has lost $150.7 million in total SETF funding for sustainable energy and utility affordability investments.

DC SEU relies on this funding to provide benefits through Solar for all, implement the Healthy Homes Program, and continue its successful rebate program.

Every public dollar invested in the DC SEU yields a six to one return in energy cost savings for all ratepayers, not just the household receiving the investment or rebate.

These cuts, if not reversed, will mean a direct loss of jobs for staff at the DCSEU, jobs with their contractors, and their workforce development program.

The continued diversion of SETF funds is resulting in higher bills for the district residents for our local businesses, and it leaves them vulnerable to regional grid mismanagement and what feels like an unending number of data centers in Virginia.

There are not many levers we can pull at the local level to head off those big increases in electricity and gas, but I will say this.

Residents who have been able to tap into solar on their roof or through a community project or who have been able to upgrade their home to be far more energy efficient, are feeling a lot less of those cost increases.

The SCU is the place where we ensure those benefits aren't reserved only for the wealthy that are able to pay for it.

Identifying additional funds to reallocate to the SETF has been and will remain a priority for this committee.

The committee identified $2 million in FY27 and $11.2 million across the financial plan and restoration for the SETF.

The committee specifically directs this enhancement to the SETF to support the DC SEU.

The FY27 budget as proposed also once again uses funding needed for core services to meet federal clean water requirements, misdirecting $4.4 million in DOEE stormwater management funding towards routine street sweeping and leaf collection at the Department of Public Works.

Please note, you're not getting more street sweeping.

You're just getting the same level, but these dollars are being shifted.

This represents yet another dramatic disinvestment from climate and environmental commitments in district history.

To ensure the district has adequate funding for stormwater management as well as our MS4 compliance, the committee proposes a subtitle Adjusting the Stormwater Fee to Match Inflation Costs, which would raise about $6 million each fiscal year.

Compared to DOEE, the mayor's proposed FY27 operating budget for the Department of Motor Vehicles stands at $70.8 million, a 4% decrease from its FY26 approved budget, while the FY27 operating budget for the District Department of Transportation is $151.1 million, representing a $25.1 million or $14.3% decrease from its FY26 levels.

Much of the reductions are associated with policy choices made in last year's budget, such as the cessation of the DC streetcar services, with many of DDOT's core programs preserved.

For the newly added agencies under the committee's purview, the Public Service Commission and the Office of People's Council, their proposed funding remains relatively flat.

Lastly, the Green Finance Authority, also known as the DC Green Bank, is flat funded at $3.75 million through its fund, though its funding has been reduced in prior fiscal years.

To be sure, the committee is pleased these agencies were spared from harsher cuts, but for a budget that has been called belt tightening year by multiple agency directors, DOEE has once again been asked to contribute more than nearly any other agency across all of our government.

In terms of the FY 27 Budget Support Act, in addition to the budgetary choices summarized above, the FY27 Budget Support Act would also reverse the district's progress on several key environmental initiatives.

Specifically, the proposed BSA extends the requirement for meeting performance targets for the second cycle of the Building Energy Performance Standards, or BEPS program, delays issuing final net zero regulations that would require all new construction or substantial improvements to be built to net zero standards by one year, and it would delay the deadline by which the district government, public transit agencies, and large private commercial operators must cease buying gas-powered vehicles or transition to an electric fleet.

The committee has, for its part, attempted to undo much of the harm suggested in the proposed budget.

The committee's recommended budget centers around the following themes: reducing energy costs and promoting sustainable redevelopment.

Rising utility costs have become a huge concern for households across the district.

Much of what's been proposed by the mayor will ultimately increase energy costs.

We also know that the building sector is the single largest source of carbon emissions in the district.

To help reduce electricity bills and promote more sustainable development, the committee is adding $2 million in FY27 and $11.2 million across the financial plan to the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund.

These enhancements will help support the contract for the DC Sustainable Energy Utility.

The committee also identifies $1.5 million for the DC Green Bank to cover the debt service associated with the issuance of the district's first ever green bond.

Green bonds are an innovative financial product that will allow the green bank to deploy substantially more capital in service of its mission.

The committee also strikes, the Net Zero Energy Code Amendment Act of 2026, which would delay net zero requirements for new construction by one year, ensuring the district stays on track to meet its climate and environmental commitments with respect to new buildings or substantial renovations to existing buildings.

To support buildings that are currently working to lower emissions and utility bills, the committee is adding $126,000 to the Department of the Department of Energy and Environment for a new position at the agency to support and advise condominium and co-op buildings that are navigating solar installation and BEPS compliance.

In terms of safeguarding the district's natural resources, it's also crucial that the district maintain and expand funding needed to protect the district's environment and wildlife.

To begin, the committee adjusts the stormwater fee to account for inflation, generating an additional $6.6 million annually for stormwater management efforts in the district.

This additional revenue will remain in the stormwater fund and help the district better comply with the requirements of its federal MS4 permit and minimize legal exposure that could result in penalties of $25,000 a day.

On a different topic, the committee has been engaged with DC water in recent days related to the mayor's public inconvenience fee changes proposed in the Budget Support Act.

The committee is recommending approval of that subtitle, but we're going to work with D.C.

Water between now and first reading about potential impacts on their longer-term projects.

The committee also fully reverses the mayor's sweep of $600,000 from the Anacosta River Cleanup Fund, including a complete restoration of the wildlife rehabilitation grant funding.

Other notable achievements in this budget with respect to the protection of our natural resources includes fully funding the Tree Preservation Enhancement Amendment Act of 2026, which this council passed to better protect and expand the district's urban tree canopy.

The committee also accepts a $200,000 transfer from the Committee on Facilities for DOE to conduct a greenhouse gas mission study to determine the cost of carbon emissions to the district caused by major polluters.

Thank you, Counselor Lewis George.

The committee also restores $250,000 in funding needed to support the Office of District Waterway Management and the Waterways Commission.

Finally, the committee identifies $132,000 for the implementation of Bill 26-66, the Youth Advisory Council on Climate Change and Environmental Conservation Establishment Act of 2025, which gives young people in the district a formal venue through which they can comment on and influence the district's environmental policy.

Turning to the RFK campus redevelopment project, the committee also approves significant investments in the campus.

Specifically, the committee approves $200 million in capital funding for roadway improvements associated with the RFK campus redevelopment across the capital improvement plan, including funding for technical assessments, planning, and design of the site.

The committee also approves $18.2 million in capital funding for bridge improvements associated with RFK campus redevelopment across the CIP, and it adds $2 million to the bus priority project in FY27 for planning a more comprehensive east-west crosstown bus connection, connecting the RFK campus, including a connection east to the Binning Road Metro station, making sure that we do not repeat some of the same mistakes from the streetcar service.

In terms of supporting safe and reliable mass transit, beyond the RFK site, the committee also continues to support investment in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, our regional transit agency.

The committee approves 794 million to fully fund the district's portion of the Metro system, including funding for overnight metro bus service and preserving the $6.3 million for bus service intended to fill gaps that were left by the better bus changes that reduced service, as well as subsidy for kids' ride-free program.

In terms of enhancements, the committee identified $376,000 for DDOT to increase the adult learner transit subsidy program from $70 per month to $100 per month, reducing financial barriers for adult learners attending school, and we heard from hundreds of our adult learners across the city advocating for that change.

In terms of micromobility and multi-use trails, this is a multimodal committee, so we wanted to make additional investments to support other transportation modes.

So the committee identified $250,000 for rebates to e-bikes issued through the district's e-bike incentive program and $385,000 for expansion of the DC trail ranger program to better maintain the district's growing inventory of our multi-use trails.

The committee was glad to see funding preserved for the highly successful Capital Bike Share Program, which set a new ridership record in 2025 with nearly 6.7 million rides.

While there are some adjustments to how the program is funded, we've been assured the program remains fully funded.

Capital Bike Share has become an enormously popular way to get around for many DC residents and tourists alike, and its fleet of 3200 e-bikes has made it much easier for people to move and ride a bike to get around our city.

In terms of our neighborhood revitalization, the council passed the Public Life and Activity Zones Amendment, also known as the Plaza Act of 2024, to accelerate the development of additional pedestrian plazas throughout the district and create more spaces where people can gather and businesses can thrive with newly minted public spaces.

The law establishes a plaza program within DDOT that designated corridors in the district to be closed through personal vehicle travel for 24 hours a week and issues grants to help implement those closures.

The committee was able to fund the final element of this bill, allocating $600,000 in FY27 for grants to businesses and other entities to support those street closures under the Plaza Act.

Thanks to transfers from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

There is an additional $200,000 in grant support available in the out years.

When it comes to modernizing the Department of Motor Vehicles, the DMV may seem like an innocuous agency to many until they have to go to one of DMV's services or inspection locations for driver's license or ID cards or to get their vehicle inspected.

Behind all this are the critical systems infrastructures that is unfortunately aging and in need of updating.

So the committee approves an additional $9.5 million in FY27 and FY28 for the agency's destiny replacement project to create a modern state-of-the-art web-based driver's license and motor vehicle information system.

Additionally, the committee approves 1.6 million dollars for the development and launch of a secure credentialing initiative at DNV that would incorporate digital credentialing into DMV's existing destiny system, a key priority this committee has pushed the DMV on for the last three years based on a law that the council passed in 2022.

When it comes to encouraging the adoption of electrical vehicles, as we continue to see federal disinvestments in the form of clawbacks and the phasing out of key programs and incentives for climate action and clean and green alternatives, the district must step up and do its part to promote greenhouse gas reductions across as many sectors as possible.

The committee does this for transportation by continuing to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles and the installation of EV charging infrastructure to reduce or eliminate charging anxiety that prevents residents from making the switch away from gas vehicle.

So the committee approves three mayoral subtitles, extending tax benefits for electric vehicles to reduce fossil fuel emissions in the district by, extending the gas powered to electric vehicle conversion tax credit for nine years from its current expiration date of 2026 until 2035.

It extends the alternative fuel tax credit for nine years from its current expiration date of 2026 until 2035.

Exempts electric vehicle infrastructure from personal property taxes, which is part of the electric vehicle public accessible charging stations Personal Property Tax Exemption Act of 2026.

And finally, the committee reduces the mayor's proposed five-year delay of the requirement that all public buses and large commercial fleet transitions to zero emission vehicles to just three years, which is in alignment with Wamada's electrification plan.

So to wrap up, I am proud of what we've been able to do and accomplish for the district residents during this budget process, but there remains a lot of work to do as we move forward to the full council.

The Sustainable Energy Trust Fund has once again been smashed like a piggy bank when it could be doing enormous work to lower tens of thousands of residents' bills each month and provide a crucial backstop to disconnections and skyrocketing gas and electric bills.

This discussion will continue with the full council as we look to address steep cuts across the entire city to provide more to our residents and our businesses during this challenging moment.

So with that, I'd like to turn to my colleagues for any statements or comments or questions about the committee's recommendations before then moving for approval.

Councilor Lewis George, I see your hand up first, so let me turn to you.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Allen.

I want to begin by thanking you and the staff, the Committee on Transportation and Environment.

This is the most difficult budget we face in recent years.

And the Department of Energy and Environment is uh once again amongst the agencies who hardest hit.

I appreciate the work you and your team have done to mitigate some of the worst impacts of the mayor's proposed budget.

To see DOEE, the district's lead agency in combating climate change and building a more resilient future for DC residents, cut by $137 million over just two fiscal years.

A 43% reduction points to something deeply troubling about the direction we are heading.

I recognize many of these cuts stem from the federal government pulling back on their climate commitment, but DC should be resisting that retreat, not reinforcing it.

If the federal government is stepping away from its responsibility to build a climate resilient future, local governments must step up to fill that gap.

That is why my committee, the committee on facilities, transferred 200,000 to your committee to support the greenhouse gas emissions study.

Because if we are serious about preparing for a more unstable climate and its impact on our infrastructure, public health and economy, we need clear data on what we are facing and where our limited local dollars can have the greatest impact, and to lay the groundwork for understanding who should pay the price.

On top of cuts to DOEE, the mayor has opted for the second year in a row to divert funds from our sustainable energy trust fund to the Department of General Services to pay the district's utility bill.

I asked about this alarming pattern during my budget oversight hearing with DGS, and agency heads could offer no meaningful justification for the sweep, and in fact, asserted that it had not taken that it had not taken place.

If we are serious about reversing this trend of taking sustainability dollars into other uses, our agencies must be clear about how we are currently paying our bills and who suffers as a result of sweeps like these.

I was hoping very much to send funds from DGS to reverse this sweep, but we were not able to find the dollars to do so without the CFO saying that we would be creating a deficit.

That's why I'm very grateful the committee restored some amount of funding to SETF, particularly to support the DC sustainable energy utility, which has done critical work in supporting low and middle income families, helping them upgrade their homes to be safer and more energy efficient.

But if we are going to meaningfully support our residents in home electrification projects or the insulation of solar panels, we're going to need to do more as a council to fill this gap, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to do so.

I am also thankful that the committee allocated 1.5 million to the green bank so it can continue its vital work supporting green development across the district.

If we want to build a resilient economy that works for the people, the district government must be a reliable partner.

The lack of predictability and financing tools like the DC Green Bank, the DC SEU, and the SETF speaks to a broader pattern across DC agencies.

Instead of being a steady and reliable partner to the private sector, the district government can become a barrier to the investment our city needs.

Cuts to agencies that can leverage investment will only make it harder for DC to incentivize the kind of development we need to help our city grow.

I understand why the committee struck the mayor's proposed net zero subtitle, which delayed the deadline for the net zero building code without any consideration that doing so will allow buildings that won't be constructed for many years to still burn fossil fuels to the detriment of the district residents and environment.

I believe there's another way, one that will avoid an unacceptable future in which appendix Z applies to private development while still achieving significant progress towards addressing the present and worsening and climate catastrophe.

I look forward to working with you, Chairperson Allen, and Chairman Mendelson on finding a solution that gets us closer to our shared goal of upholding the district's legal and moral climate commitment.

I also want to recognize several important restorations investments in this budget to support public transit and infrastructure.

Continue support for kids ride free, increasing transit benefits for adult learners from $70 to $100 per month.

Restoring funding for our rivers and stormwater management systems, investments to expand implementation of the Plaza Act, and funding to modernize DMB software systems.

The committee has also made critical investments in micro-mobility access, finding additional funds to support low-income residents and purchasing e-bikes and expanding DC trail rangers who play an important role in maintaining our paved trails across the district.

I also want to thank the committee's work to connect communities across DC by investing 2.2 million dollars of capital funds to plan for a more comprehensive cross-town transit, expanding investments already made surrounding development at RFK.

At the same time as you, I remain deeply concerned about where this budget leaves us.

We are still failing to fully address lead pipe replacement, even as the district lags behind our own goals to reduce the prevalence of lead in our communities, and we are undermining our client commitments by weakening the very programs designed to help us meet them.

I look forward to continuing to work with the committee and the full council to identify ways to move closer to fulfilling our climate commitments ahead of the final budget vote.

And I know Chairman uh Chairman Allen, you are also uh going to be focused on that as we go to the committee of the whole.

So again, I want to thank you to thank you, Chairperson Allen and your tremendous and mighty committee staff for the tremendous amount of work that went into these recommendations, and I will be proudly voting yes on today's budget.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Councilor Lewis George.

Uh next, I see counselor Parker's hand up.

Let me turn to you and Councillor Parker.

Let me also note appreciation.

Uh you transferred $150,000 to help uh purchase three additional truck-restricted route enforcement cameras for Ward 5, which I know is a big priority in your community.

So I want to acknowledge and thank you for making that.

Let me turn it to you for comments.

Thank you, Chairperson Allen.

Um, and I want to thank you and your team for reversing uh some of the what I would call cynical cuts to our environmental sector, uh the sustainable Energy trust Fund and the DC Green Bank help support projects throughout the city to make our communities healthier and to provide much needed relief to cultural institutions and renters from surging utility prices.

My team attended two recent rhythm cuttings supported by these investments.

One delivering rooftop solar and batteries at the Howard Theater, another delivering 18 units of affordable and net zero energy housing on North Capitol Street.

We should be accelerating this work, not slowing it down.

And I look forward to working with you and the full council to restore more of these funds.

I also want to shout out the committee for funding two laws in the environmental sector, the tree preservation enhancement amendment act of 2026, which I know was the product of a lot of hard work from this committee and Casey Trees, a beloved Ward 5 institution that will better protect and expand the district's urban tree canopy.

Ward 5 has many neighborhoods that suffer from urban heat island effects.

And we also have a lot of forested areas where the existing canopy is at risk.

Funding this legislation will have meaningful positive impact on those communities.

And again, I look forward to working with you.

I also support the implementation of the Youth Advisory Council on the Climate Change and Environmental Conservation Establishment Act of 2025.

As the chair of the committee on youth affairs, I think our government works better when we engage directly with our young people and give them opportunities to help shape the future.

Turning to transportation, I want to thank you and your team for working with me to identify existing capital dollars that were no longer needed for old projects and redirecting them to areas of high need in Ward 5.

I'm delighted that we will be providing $750,000 in additional funds to construct priority intersection improvements to close out the South Dakota corridor safety project that this committee launched two years ago.

I'm also delighted that we will be investing $750,000 in quick build vision zero projects on Rhode Island Avenue, which is part of our high injury network.

That will allow short-term improvements to happen quickly while DDT works towards a larger capital investment down the road.

And finally, I'm excited that we have secured $430,000 to begin design on the Metropolitan Branch trails to connect between Fort Totten and the future Prince George's County Connector.

I want to thank you for your partnership truly, Chairperson Allen in bolstering traffic enforcement.

That work has taken many forms, and this year I was proud, as you just alluded to, to transfer funds to address a nuisance for the Ward 5 community.

We have many routes that see high truck traffic, whether it's uh out of town truckers uh or development projects where truck drivers are routinely ripping through our neighborhood streets, and this enforcement will go a long way into uh holding them accountable.

Two other enhancements that caught my eye.

I want to shout out the enhancement to the WABA Trail Ranger Program.

As some may know, WABA has a new home in Ward 5, and my team has seen the value of the Trail Ranger program firsthand.

They have helped remove down trees within a matter of hours and have also flagged down drivers who have ended up on the MBT.

I'm also grateful for the committee's transfer of recurring funds to enhance funding for food prints, which provides gardening and cooking, nutrition education to students across the district, including several ward five school communities like Burroughs and Langley and Washington U Yang public charter school.

I will stop there, but uh I can't say enough just how appreciative I am of you and your team's work and as I mentioned, reversing some of the cynical cuts to our environmental sector and your leadership in continuing to improve uh traffic safety uh across the district.

I do have two quick questions.

I don't know if I should ask them now, or you would rather me hold off and wait.

I guess it depends on the question.

But go no, go ahead, seriously.

Um, one is about WAMATA, and you referenced this a little bit in your opening, but as uh you know, but just for the public good, um, I have been working with Wamada to address some of the route issues from their better uh bus uh redesign work, um, impacting our senior communities in particular, uh, the D-36 and the C63 in particular at a last minute and amendment at WAMATA spring board meeting, those changes which had been proposed to be approved were struck down.

Um it seems as though we are preserving the funding for those changes and others.

So can you confirm that the funding for those bus enhancements is still included, and what next steps might we expect uh between the council and WAMATA in hopes that we can see those changes come back online?

Thank you.

Great question and perfect time.

Um, so yes, so the day before, maybe the morning before that Wamata board vote, our DC Wamata board members and the chair got uh communication from the mayor's office apparently asking them to move an amendment to strike six million dollars from WAMATA's budget for these bus routes.

You gave two examples, but many that they we had been working with them on, being them being WAMATA to be able to repair where better bus changes did not go as intended, and we ended up with a large number of neighborhoods that actually had decreased bus service.

So this was six million dollars to help essentially repair and restore bus service in particular in much more bus dependent neighborhoods.

Um I strongly objected to that move, but that was what they did.

Um the next step that I heard from Wamada was should the council ensure the funding for that six million dollars is included in the budget, they will then reverse that decision by the WAMATA board to make sure that it's fully funded.

So the position we're in right now, this committee is recommending keeping that funding in place.

I think it's crucial to our city and to people who depend on Metro every day.

Um I think it repairs some of the unintended harm that might have happened with a better bus redesign.

Much of better better bus actually worked out for the better, as its name suggests, but there were some unintended consequences.

So I strongly have argued we need to have this funding here.

This that's this committee's recommendation.

The next step will be that we need to at the full council ensure those six million dollars are restored or not, they're not restored, just not removed.

Um, so as long as we keep the the six million in, we're fine, and WAMATA will uh adjust to make sure that's part of their funding and budget plan.

That is absolutely great news.

I just want to underscore how significant this is for seniors in ward five.

And as you mentioned, there are many routes included here, but the two in Ward 5 are particularly important because in our Fort Lincoln community and edgewood community, you have seniors who are now being forced to walk blocks with walkers and/or across sidewalks that are not in good condition.

Um, and it's really posing a challenge.

Um neighbors are paying very close attention to this.

They were really excited that WAMATA through deliberate feedback and work hurt their concerns, was ready to take action.

They were devastated when they learned that actually the board didn't vote.

They were super excited to hear that you rallied and were pushing for this, Chairperson Allen.

So I just want uh the public to know just how important uh these route changes are.

It's not a matter of people just wanting a different bus stop for the sake of it, but it truly is about giving access to some of our most vulnerable and treasured neighbors, our seniors.

Very quickly, last question.

Uh, if you could just speak to the stormwater fund and what impact, if any, you expect on larger apartment buildings.

Uh, I note it it wasn't really spilled out in the print, and we just love uh for you to look that up.

Sure.

So to set the stage on that one.

So what we've seen the last couple of years is the mayor takes the stormwater fund, reduces dollars for store for street sweeping at DPW, then takes the stormwater fund from DOEE, moves it over to DPW to backfill street sweeping, and leaves the stormwater fund rated.

So the problem is for the first time ever, DOEE has now had to say this now means that we are out of compliance with the MS4 permit, which is a federally required permit, that now puts us at legal liability and exposure that we had not had before.

One of the consequences of which would be the city is fined $25,000 a day in taxpayer funds.

So what we looked at were a variety of ideas.

What we landed on, unlike our surrounding jurisdictions that have adjusted their stormwater fee over years, most recently this year, DC has actually not done that in 16 years.

So what we propose is a $1.36 cents per month adjustment in the stormwater fee.

It's currently $2.67.

So adjusting for inflation would increase it $1.36 per month.

And that is what the inflation adjusted costs would be.

That generates the approximate $6 million, which goes back into our DOEE stormwater fund, which would be largely fully funded.

And what we are told is essentially would remove that legal jeopardy and liability that the district would have otherwise, because we know lawsuits are coming since we're out of compliance, and this will prevent that.

And so that's the strategy behind it.

The way that it gets assessed is a calculated per thousand square feet of impervious surface per month.

So you calculate your square feet.

The way it breaks down is for the average resident, for example, is a dollar 36 cents.

Thank you.

I'll leave it there.

But really great work and shout out to you and your team.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Councilman Henderson here in person is raising her hands, though, Counselor Henderson.

And I know is that as an at large council, you heard everything that Counselor Parker said about that importance of that Metro bus service, too.

Councilmember.

Thank you.

Hello to my colleagues on the interwebs.

Well, first I want to thank you, Councilmember Allen, and congratulate you and your team on this report.

I know that for the fast for the past few years, this committee has seen its agency's resources whittled down or in some case uh slashed tremendously.

Um and it is a testament to you and your staff and the work that you are able to do and restore some of the cuts that we have before us today.

Um I want to just call out some of the things that I was happy to see in the report, and just because I'm not mentioning it doesn't mean that it is not of importance.

Um, but my colleagues, this is the joy of coming uh, what I'm fourth, maybe third or fourth to speak.

So nonetheless, a lot of people have said other things, but um increasing the adult learner transit subsidy, which we had a lot of uh witnesses testify about, especially from our adult uh public charter schools, reversing the proposed sweep of the $600,000 from the Anacostia River Cleanup Fund.

Um, you know, we've had some setbacks in terms of the cleanup efforts at the Anacostia, but it should still be a priority for us.

Um approving the capital funding for the educational and recreation improvements at Kingman and Heritage Islands.

Um I think Kingman Island is it is like one of those hidden gems of the district, and um they need some upgrades there.

Um, following through on the efforts began in fiscal year 26 to explore a green bonds program by allocating some additional funding to the DC Green Bank to cover debt service, um, maintaining uh the investments in capital bike share, which has truly transformed how some people get around the city, and then also prefunding the resale act.

Yay.

I did, I noticed.

Um, so hopefully we can get some movement on that from the committee on uh public works and operations.

Great, great.

Um, so the DIS print identified additional um capital funding for the bus priority project to enhance the crosstown bus service, and I'm glad we were able to make this investment.

Um I look forward to um learning more about Wamata and DDOT's plans and the vision to connect the district, and I see this as a timely opportunity for us to have a larger conversation about the future of H Street from a public transit uh perspective.

Um my understanding from Wamada is that time is as of the essence to realize um or actually begin working on some of the transit um transportation efficiencies and improvements if we're going to make the schedule of commander's opening day.

So I look forward to working with you on those efforts.

Um, in terms of the Department of Energy and Environment, I want to flag that the uh lead safe uh division's budget has been reduced in such a way that they're not explicitly able to tell us whether or not they can filter and test all of the child development centers in the district.

I believe they might have told my staff that they have funding to test the centers, but they do not have funding to provide the filters, should lead be identified.

I'm uncomfortable with such an important function not being intentionally budgeted for.

And unfortunately, the conversations that my staff had with DOE was a little bit late for the Committee on Health to try to fill that gap.

But I would uh love to work with you as well as the department on capacity resources to ensure that the existing law is able to achieve the optimal outcomes.

Because it is budget adjacent, I did want to raise one issue that a constituent alerted me to yesterday around the Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast and Minnesota Avenue Southeast Project, which is a project that we have been working on for a while.

Roadway improvement projects, especially for roadways that have historically been treated as highways, just to move people in and out of the district.

Have usually required improvements for calming traffic.

And it was very disappointing to learn that DDOT allegedly is changing the project design for this particular project to add more lanes to Pennsylvania Avenue as opposed to removing lanes.

And so I plan to follow up with follow up with the agency separately about this, but I thought it was apt to raise, considering we're voting on a budget today that would be funding this project and wanting to make sure that it is a road design that is providing the safest possible option for the residents who live in that community, not just the option that maximizes commuting out of that community.

But thank you so much, Chairman Allen, to you and your team for another great report.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And I will note in regard to the Pennsylvania and Minnesota Avenue intersection, I heard from the ANC just last night about this as well.

I talked to Counselor Felder this morning, who's already spoken with the DDOT director about the concerns.

So I think that we have elevated the concerns coming from the community around that.

Um, but I'll absolutely make sure that uh you're circled into those conversations that are taking place, and I chatted with my staff.

We'll make sure we follow up with DUEEE about the filters, and between now and first reading, if there's anything necessary, we can work with you and DOE and try to make sure we get some good certainty around that.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Counselor Crawford, did you have anything?

I don't want to leave you out.

Yes.

Okay.

I do.

Thank you.

Uh, thank you, Chairperson Allen, to you and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment for all your work on this report and recommendations on the fiscal year 2027 budget.

I want to begin by recognizing several important investments and restorations included in your recommendations that reflect a strong commitment to transportation access, environmental stewardship, and long-term quality of life for district residents.

I appreciate the committee's support for the continued redevelopment of the RFK campus, including more than 200 million in capital funding for roadway improvements and an additional 18.2 million for bridge improvements associated with this project.

These infrastructure investments are critical to ensuring the site can support future housing, recreation, economic activity, and connectivity for surrounding communities.

I also live uh near this stadium, and I've already heard from neighbors and constituents about the plans for H Street Northeast, and I look forward to amplifying their concerns and priorities going forward too.

I also want to commend the committee for including support for overnight metro bus service, reliable public transit is essential for residents getting to work, school, health care, or daily other daily needs, particularly for residents who depend on public transit the most.

So thank you for that.

And relatedly, I also appreciate the committee's continued support for the kids ride free program.

Our office has heard from many adult learners and adult learner campuses about the transit subsidy, and the fact that it is now going from $70 to $100 per month is worthwhile, and they really reduce these investments reduce real financial barriers for students and adult learners who are trying to access educational and economic opportunities.

I want to also acknowledge the committee's investment in the DC Trail Ranger program.

Expanding this program helps maintain and activate critical trail infrastructure that residents across all eight wards rely on for recreation, commuting, and community connection.

And my office also heard from residents in Ward 7 about the importance of investing in trail infrastructure.

So I'm happy to see the committee preserved funds for trail infrastructure in both ward seven and eight in the capital budget.

I was happy to also see the transfer to the committee on public works and operations to fund the implementation of the resale act.

It's a very important bill.

We've all uh been engaged on conversations and uh the hearing on how important it is to advance this.

So I'm happy to see that we are pre-funding this in the budget.

Uh while I am glad to see the committee was able to identify two million in FY27 and 11.2 million across the plan to restore the SETF to support DC SEU, the cumulative impact of recent sweep sweeps remains substantial.

Um we've had conversations, uh, council member Allen about how this fund can help residents, especially seniors and residents on fixed incomes lower their utility costs.

And likewise, the scale of the proposed reductions to DOEE is concerning, particularly at a time when residents continue to face those rising utility costs, climate pressures, and environmental health challenges.

So I appreciate the committee's efforts to mitigate some of these impacts, but I also remain concerned about what these reductions could mean long term for the district's environmental and energy goals.

And then finally, my office did receive a letter in support of the net zero energy code subtitle signed by a coalition of business consortiums.

So I wanted to put that on the record.

They highlighted a number of affordability, grid readiness, and economic concerns, and a goal of aligning the net zero timeline with the broader construction code update that is already underway and expected to conclude by the end of next year.

They specifically stated that without the net zero delay, the industry faces a disruptive scenario in which projects permitted over the next permitted, excuse me, over the next 18 months could be subject to three different code regimes in rapid succession.

The current code, then net zero in January 2027, and then the updated construction codes in late 2027.

And I know we discussed this reality as a council when we took up the recent net zero emergency legislation a few years a few months ago.

Um, but I just wanted to ask if you received this letter and what is your response to this specific uh feedback.

Got it.

Thank you very much, Council McCrawford.

Alright, I think everybody had a chance to add comments, so I don't think there's anybody left.

Oh, I had a question.

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question.

Oh, I wanted to know if you received that letter from the consortium of business groups.

Yes, I did.

I think I got it yesterday.

And if you had any um specific feedback on their thoughts around overlapping construction codes.

Um, well, what we've seen with the I guess yes, I got the same letter.

I think it was just yesterday, so it's a little late in the process.

Um, and I've spoken with a couple of those partners and intend to maybe talk with them next week to try to sit down with them and understand what some of their specific concerns are.

I will note from the construction code perspective, um, you could count me as somewhat skeptical that we would actually see construction codes by the end of 2027.

Um, the current construction code update that we've been waiting on was I think five years overdue.

So I I appreciate the point they're making.

I'm not necessarily convinced you're gonna actually see construction codes later in the year, but um that said, I I intend to be able to speak with them sometime next week and hear kind of what their concerns are or see if they have any other suggestions.

I don't believe though that we should be delaying our net zero requirements.

These have been in law, they've been predictable, they've been expected, so it's not like um it's a surprise.

These are the laws and codes that people have been expecting to see.

Um, I also know that others have been working on permanent legislation, and so that could also be perhaps a better way to address any of those alignment concerns.

Um, and I believe that there has been conversation on permanent legislation outside the budget process.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Yeah, absolutely.

Sorry, Mr.

Question earlier.

Um, okay, with that, I think we're done with comments, unless somebody has anything else.

Um, so I want to thank everybody for their comments.

And so now let me move to approve and block the report and recommendations of the committee on transportation and the environment on the fiscal year 2027 budget for agencies under its purview and the recommendations of the committee concerning the budget support act with leave for staff to take technical editorial and conforming changes.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Okay.

Any opposed?

Let the record reflect the ayes have it unanimously.

All right, before we conclude the committee's markup on its report and recommendations for the budget.

Um, I do want to thank the extraordinary teams across the council for assisting the committee in what has been yet another uh very quick turnaround on a budget process.

At the budget office, specifically, I want to call out Joe Wolf and Phelps, Everell Caraway, and Budget Director Jim Boudoff.

Um, we bother Joe a lot during this process, but to the entire team, thank you all very much.

Zach Walter in the Office of General Counsel, uh Brian Carran within the Office of Revenue Analysis, the Secretary's Office, Secretary Howard, and the entire team, including our incredible support services office.

And then, of course, I need to thank my own incredible staff, Kevin Whitfield, who is our committee director and has done a wonderful job.

Connor Fagan, Deputy Committee Director, Anthony Thomas Davis, our policy advisor, Kate Mitchell, our chief of staff, Eric Salmy, Deputy Chief of Staff, Antonio Nunez, legislative director, as I think all members know, uh, it's not just the committee, it's kind of almost a all hands on deck as we work through our budget report.

So thanks to my entire team.

I also want to thank the hundreds and hundreds of public witnesses who have not just come to the hearings and testify, but they have walked the halls, they have made sure that they are uh having their voices heard, not just in my office but across the whole council.

I greatly appreciate that because the feedback and recommendations, I think, have helped shape a better committee budget uh for that advocacy work.

And I think you hear certainly my committee colleagues acknowledging the work that still lays ahead of the move to the to the full council, and I trust the remainder of my colleagues have also heard that.

So thank you to everyone who did that.

So there being no further business before the committee, the time is now 1 59 p.m.

And this regular committee of sorry, the regular meeting of the committee on transportation and the environment is now adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.

Congratulations.