Council Chairman Phil Mendelson held a press conference on Monday, June 1, 2026, ahead of the legislative meeting scheduled for June 2. He outlined the month's legislative agenda, discussed the status of the teen curfew emergency bill, and responded to questions about the budget, revenue estimates, and mayoral appointments. The Chairman expressed frustration with five council members blocking the curfew declaration and criticized the Chief Financial Officer's projections and liquidity concerns.
Good morning. Why don't we get started? This is the press conference that I have before legislative meeting. And tomorrow, June 2nd, we will have a legislative meeting. It will be our regular legislative meeting for the month of June. I am told, I think this is correct that there may be a legislative meeting every week in the month of June because we're dealing with budget. Although I suspect June 16th we will not have a legislative meeting since that's uh election day. Um but we vote on the budget next Tuesday, June 9th, and we vote again on the budget June 23rd. And uh I think that's also a regular committee, the whole meeting, and then we have a regular meeting uh June 30th, which will be our regular meeting for the month of July, so that we can have an additional meeting on July 14th before we go on recess. So the council will be dealing with the budget on June 9th and 23rd, uh, and we have under the Home Rule Act a uh deadline of uh 70 days to vote on the budget, which we honor, and uh so June 9th and June 23rd. Uh tomorrow's gonna be a fairly light day with regard to the legislative agenda. We do have a committee of the whole additional committee of the whole meeting uh beforehand, uh we will be marking up three nominations by the mayor to the commission on arts and humanities are all reappointments. Two nominations to the board of zoning adjustment. These will be new members. Right now, the Board of Zoning Adjustment doesn't have a quorum. And with these two uh appointments, assuming the mayor appoints after we confirm, um, the um board of zoning adjustment will be able to resume its meetings. Uh this is a problem for businesses and homeowners who need relief from the uh Board of Zoning Adjustment because it has been unable to meet for several months. And then we have four revenue bonds uh projects for approval. I don't think they're controversial. Friendship Public Charter School, DC Preparatory Academy, Food and Friends, and Methodist Home doing business as Forest Hills. Uh these are where we use uh a mechanism provided in the federal internal revenue code that uh we're able to provide these uh bonds provided that they meet certain criteria, are eligible. Uh we provide these bonds at uh no cost to the district, uh, but it's uh cheaper borrowing for these organizations. I believe they're all nonprofits, and then we have uh first reading. Well, we'll have a markup and first reading on the open meetings clarification, which is has been law for a year and a half, maybe as emergency, and uh so this will be moving forward, uh, so we don't have to keep doing emergency bills. The uh following the committee of the whole, we will have a legislative meeting our 30th. At one time I was told I have to say how many meetings we legislative meetings we've had in the council period, so my bad if I don't say tomorrow 30th legislative meeting at council period 26. Uh I think you all have the um agenda. Um it's there are a number of items, it's almost all consent. Uh if I remember correctly, there are no emergency uh legislation from members tomorrow or from the mayor. Uh we will have final reading on the motor vehicle insurance modernization, which will raise the minimum insurance requirements for motor vehicles in the District of Columbia. Those um minimum insurance requirements have not gone up since 1986. That was 40 years ago. Um, if I remember correctly, the increase that uh this legislation would mandate is similar, very similar to Virginia, and other states have been moving in this direction of updating their minimum requirements. Of course, motorists, many motorists have uh, or I should say motor vehicle owners have uh insurance that that exceeds it's greater than what the minimums, these minimums are. Um I think maybe I'll just kind of leave it there and see if there are questions on any of the matters that are on the agenda or otherwise. Okay, um, question about the BZA here. So I was told by the Bowser administration that these nominations were going to be filled last month. That didn't happen, and one of the applications or nominations from uh Marquis Chapell was withdrawn. Do you know why it was withdrawn? I do not know why it was withdrawn. A series of delays here. Uh we received I don't know when we received the nominations. I think uh we received the nominations in May. Um, I believe it was in April. Sorry, could you check while I'm standing here? Um we scheduled the hearing pretty quickly. Uh I mean, we did receive these during budget season, which is always uh a difficult time to schedule anything that isn't budget. Um, I'll get you the date for when they were submitted to us. Uh, we expected we were going to receive them before the budget, and um we didn't, so uh but we've moved quickly. And uh I think we have not provided the um typically the rules don't require require it, but typically we give two weeks for the record to close.