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Record of Proceedings

Committee of the Whole Markup of FY2027 Local Budget Act and Budget Support Act - June 9, 2026

Council of the District of Columbia — Tuesday, June 9, 2026
BodyWashington, District Of Columbia
SessionCouncil of the District of Columbia
DateTuesday, June 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:26:03

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:05

Recording in progress.

0:07

I'm calling order this uh calling to order this meeting.

0:10

This is an additional meeting of the committee of the whole of the council of the District of Columbia.

0:15

I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee of the Whole.

0:18

Today is Tuesday, June 9th, 2026.

0:22

The time is 11.52 in the morning.

0:24

We are in room 500, the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building.

0:28

This meeting is being recorded.

0:30

It is being streamed as well, I believe, on TV Cable Channel 13, and on the council's website, www.dccouncil.gov.

0:41

This is an additional meeting, meaning it's not regularly scheduled, although actually rescheduled this meeting maybe three months ago.

0:49

This meeting will be followed by a legislative meeting, which will also be an additional meeting.

0:55

For the committee of the whole, we have two measures for markup.

0:58

They are the fiscal year 2027 Local Budget Act of 2026 and the fiscal year 2027 budget support act of 2026.

1:09

These two bills are the first of, I believe it's five bills that the mayor sent with regard to the budget.

1:23

We will also consider for final reading the fiscal year 2027 local budget act.

1:29

So this is today is the first of two votes on that.

1:32

On the 23rd, we will also consider a bill that's called the Federal Portion Budget Request Act.

1:39

And the second reading on the budget support act will not be in two weeks.

1:44

It will either be in three weeks or four weeks.

1:47

No, three weeks or five weeks.

1:48

That's the 20 the 30th or the 14th of July.

1:53

So I am a little disorganized here.

2:01

Yes.

2:02

Oh.

2:05

I'm so excited.

2:06

Um we have to see if we have a quorum of the members.

2:10

Uh Mr.

2:11

Cash, would you call the roll?

2:12

Chairman Mendelson.

2:13

Present.

2:13

Councilmember Allen.

2:14

Here.

2:14

Councilmember Bonds.

2:15

Here.

2:16

Council Member Crawford.

2:17

Here.

2:17

Councilmember Felder.

2:19

Councilmember Felder, Councilmember Freeman.

2:21

Present.

2:22

Councilmember Henderson.

2:23

Here.

2:23

Councilmember Lewis George.

2:24

Here.

2:25

Councilmember Nadeau.

2:26

Here.

2:26

Councilmember Parker.

2:28

Here.

2:28

Councilmember Pinto.

2:30

Present.

2:31

Councilmember Robert White.

2:33

Councilmember Robert White.

2:34

Councilmember Triam White.

2:36

Present.

2:36

Mr.

2:36

Chairman, you have a quorum.

2:38

Thank you.

2:42

So the first measure for consideration is Bill 26-6 659 entitled the fiscal year 2027 local budget act of 2026.

2:53

The top line message with regard to the what's before us today is revisions to the budget that the mayor proposed submitted to the council on April 14th.

3:03

The budget that we were presented was had hundreds of millions of dollars in critical programs like the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, the Child Care Subsidy Program, Universal Paid Leave, Access to Justice, and Domestic Violence Programs, all of which were reduced substantially in the proposed budget.

3:24

The budget that I am proposing today, the committee print, restores for all of these programs without significant tax increases.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████████████28%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████12%
Youth Programs██████████10%
Procedural█████████9%
Racial Equity█████████9%
Miscellaneous████████8%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Parks and Recreation█████5%
Economic Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Committee of the Whole Markup of FY2027 Local Budget Act and Budget Support Act - June 9, 2026

On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 11:52 AM, the Council of the District of Columbia's Committee of the Whole, chaired by Phil Mendelson, convened in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building for an additional meeting to mark up the Fiscal Year 2027 Local Budget Act (Bill 26-659) and the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act (Bill 26-661). The meeting was streamed on Channel 13 and the council website. A quorum was present.

Chairman Mendelson's Opening Remarks

  • Chairman Mendelson presented a committee print that restored hundreds of millions of dollars in critical programs, including:
    • Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund: restored to $72 million (FY26 level), reversing a $60 million cut.
    • Child Care Subsidy Program: increased by $39 million to $153 million, serving an average of 8,450 children monthly, eliminating an enrollment freeze.
    • Housing Vouchers: $173 million added over the financial plan to support 659 vouchers, including 190 for families exiting rapid rehousing; the mayor's budget had no new vouchers and inadequate funding for existing ones.
    • Universal Paid Leave: restored benefits for FY27 (the mayor had proposed a freeze) and maintained an inflationary index; weekly cap set at $1,100 (up from mayor's $1,000).
    • TANF: delayed step-down and sanctions for one year.
    • Alliance (healthcare): increased investments by $53.2 million, removed age moratorium for new enrollees up to 138% of federal poverty level.
    • Workforce Investment Account: added $100 million for collective bargaining agreements (mayor had zero).
    • Office of the Attorney General: restored 58 filled positions slated for RIF.
    • Access to Justice: fully restored to $31.8 million.
    • Victim Services: added $6.1 million.
    • Sustainable Energy Trust Fund: $7.9 million additional (total restoration $10.1 million).
    • Stadium Armory Metro Station: $300 million in capital budget (mayor had zero).
    • UPSFF: $15 million added for public charter schools; not yet at equity with DCPS.
    • UDC subsidy increased by $6 million.
    • St. Coletta's: additional $2.7 million.
    • Charter facilities allotment: eliminated mayor's subtitle that would have frozen increases.
    • Mold Act funding for Department of Buildings inspections.
  • Funding source: $150 million from the Fiscal Stabilization Reserve (one-time), plus $274 million from decoupling revenues. Chairman noted CFO concerns about liquidity, but stated the district had 66 days of cash reserves (65.5 days) and would drop to 62 days, still above the 60-day best practice. He cited Moody's stable outlook.

Discussion Items

  • Parker LBA Amendment 3 (LGBTQ+ Funding): Councilmember Parker moved to protect LGBTQIA+ funding by establishing a grant to a third-party community fund, using existing dedicated funds. No new spending. Adopted without objection.
  • Parker LBA Amendment 2 (Financial Literacy Pilot): Proposed a $50 weekly cash stipend for 40 weeks to students in participating schools, funded by cutting two SYDR positions at DYRS. After debate (support from Robert White, Freeman, Crawford; opposition from Chairman Mendelson, Henderson, Freeman), a roll call vote passed 9-4 (yes: Allen, Crawford, Felder, Lewis George, Nadeau, Parker, Pinto, Robert White, Trayon White; no: Mendelson, Bonds, Freeman, Henderson).
  • Lewis George LBA Amendment 1 (Brightwood Family Success Center): Restored $325,000 for the Brightwood Family Success Center in Ward 4, which was cut in the mayor's budget. Adopted without objection.
  • Felder LBA Amendment (Kelly Miller Pool): Proposed moving $150,000 from CPEP relocation to a new pool shell at Kelly Miller Pool. After debate and concerns about cost ($150K vs. $1.5M estimate) and source, Councilmember Felder withdrew the amendment with commitment to find funding at second reading.
  • Nadeau/Allen BSA Amendment 1 (U Street Parking & Curbside Management): Directed funds from the Greater U Street Performance Parking Zone to support place management and an automated curbside management program at DDOT. After debate, roll call passed 7-5-1 (yes: Mendelson, Allen, Freeman, Lewis George, Nadeau, Parker, Robert White; no: Bonds, Crawford, Felder, Pinto, Trayon White; present: Henderson).
  • Nadeau BSA Amendment 2 (Contingency List): Proposed using future surplus revenue in FY27 for additional priorities (pay equity, credible messengers, school-based behavioral health, ERAP, TANF COLA, housing vouchers). Withdrawn after Chairman Mendelson and others requested collaborative discussion; a meeting scheduled for June 22.
  • Motion to Strike iGaming Subtitle: Councilmember Nadeau moved to strike the Internet Gaming Revenue Fund subtitle (DD). After debate, she withdrew the motion to preserve flexibility for future legislation.
  • Parker BSA Amendments (LGBTQ+ and Financial Literacy): Both adopted without objection, implementing previously approved LBA amendments.
  • Parker BSA Amendment 3 (Industrial Land Use Study): Required the Office of Planning to include reforms to reduce inequitable concentration of industrial land in the comprehensive plan. After oral amendment to remove specific ward references, passed 12-1 (no: Mendelson).
  • Felder BSA Amendment (Art All Night Sponsorships): Allowed DSLBD to enter sponsorship agreements for Art All Night. Adopted without objection.

Key Outcomes

  • Bill 26-659 (Local Budget Act) as amended: passed unanimously (voice vote).
  • Bill 26-661 (Budget Support Act) as amended: passed unanimously (voice vote).
  • Both bills placed on the consent agenda for the subsequent legislative meeting.
  • Second readings: LBA on June 23; BSA on June 30 or July 14.
  • A collaborative meeting on contingency funding scheduled for June 22.
  • Chairman announced a fall hearing on revenue measures, invitation-only, to discuss potential tax changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public testimony was heard during the markup; all remarks were from council members.

Note

All actions and votes are captured from the raw transcription and reflect the proceedings as recorded at approximately 5:18 PM adjournment.

Meeting Transcript

Recording in progress. I'm calling order this uh calling to order this meeting. This is an additional meeting of the committee of the whole of the council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee of the Whole. Today is Tuesday, June 9th, 2026. The time is 11.52 in the morning. We are in room 500, the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building. This meeting is being recorded. It is being streamed as well, I believe, on TV Cable Channel 13, and on the council's website, www.dccouncil.gov. This is an additional meeting, meaning it's not regularly scheduled, although actually rescheduled this meeting maybe three months ago. This meeting will be followed by a legislative meeting, which will also be an additional meeting. For the committee of the whole, we have two measures for markup. They are the fiscal year 2027 Local Budget Act of 2026 and the fiscal year 2027 budget support act of 2026. These two bills are the first of, I believe it's five bills that the mayor sent with regard to the budget. We will also consider for final reading the fiscal year 2027 local budget act. So this is today is the first of two votes on that. On the 23rd, we will also consider a bill that's called the Federal Portion Budget Request Act. And the second reading on the budget support act will not be in two weeks. It will either be in three weeks or four weeks. No, three weeks or five weeks. That's the 20 the 30th or the 14th of July. So I am a little disorganized here. Yes. Oh. I'm so excited. Um we have to see if we have a quorum of the members. Uh Mr. Cash, would you call the roll? Chairman Mendelson. Present. Councilmember Allen. Here. Councilmember Bonds. Here. Council Member Crawford. Here. Councilmember Felder. Councilmember Felder, Councilmember Freeman. Present. Councilmember Henderson. Here. Councilmember Lewis George. Here. Councilmember Nadeau. Here. Councilmember Parker. Here. Councilmember Pinto. Present. Councilmember Robert White.

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