Good morning, everybody.

My name is Charles Allen.

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

Today is Wednesday, July 8th, 2026, and we are meeting both in room 120 of the John A.

Wilson building as well as over the Zoom virtual platform.

The time is now 10 15 A.M.

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

I'll note we have a quorum consisting of myself, Councilman Donnie Crawford, Councilman Christina Henderson, and I believe we will see Councilmer Zachary Parker joining us online in just a few moments.

But with three, we have a quorum.

Today the committee will consider and vote on four measures.

Bill 26 244, the Micromobility Fire Safety Standards Act of 2025, Bill 26 245, the Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Amendment Act of 2025, Bill 26 548, the Washington Commanders Motor Vehicle Identification Tags Amendment Act of 2025, and Bill 26 554, the Commercial Driver's License Amendment Act of 2025.

I'll take each in order.

So first, Bill 26 244, the Micromobility Fire Safety Standards Act of 2025 was introduced on May 6th, 2025 by Councilmers Allen, Bonds, Freuman, Henderson, Pinto, and Robert White.

Electric bicycles, scooters, and other electric micromobility devices provide residents and visitors with safe, convenient, and sustainable alternatives to motor vehicle use.

These devices have proven to be extremely popular in the district and increasingly so.

Over just the last six years, the distance traveled on shared micromobility devices, bical which means bikes and scooters, rose by a factor of 10, from 1.6 million total miles in 2019 to 16.6 million miles traveled in 2025.

But as demand for electric mobility devices has risen, so too have the risks.

Unfortunately, not all micromobility devices are manufactured to a high standard, resulting in serious safety issues.

The most dangerous of these product failures involves a lithium ion battery that powers that micromobility device.

These batteries can experience a phenomenon called a thermal runaway, which can result in smoke, fire, the emission of harmful gases, and even explosions.

Thankfully, several organizations have promulgated standards, that is, technical specifications or benchmarks for products or processes to improve the safety, reliability, and quality of those products or processes.

Accredited laboratories test products against these standards to minimize safety risks such as fire or electrical hazards, requiring these products to adhere to these standards in a straightforward way to improve their quality and reduce the risk of a battery related fire.

Accordingly, the committee print requires that any electric bikes, electric mobility devices, or traction batteries manufactured, distributed, sold, leased, or rented in the district to be certified to meet these applicable safety standards.

The bill also requires that a certification mark be displayed on each cover device to demonstrate to the public and agencies that products comply with the certification requirements.

The provides a narrow exemption, though, for devices offered for rental through a shared fleet device program like Lime, provided the program provides documentation to DDOT, demonstrating their products comply.

The print also exempts secondhand sales from the requirement to display a certification mark.

While the bill is introduced to require these products to conform to standards developed by UL standards and engagement, the print adds the option for these products to conform to the applicable EN, Euro Norm standard.

The UL standards are incredibly popular in the U.S.

and Canada and are considered some of the most robust safety standards available today.

But the EN standard is widely used in the European market, and compliance with it also can reduce the risk of fires.

Similarly, the original bill also are only allowed laboratories designated by OSHA as nationally recognized testing laboratories, or NERDL, to test, evaluate, and certify products to the applicable standards.

While Nerdles conduct highly rigorous product testing, certification through a Nerdle can be slower and more expensive than through other certification bodies.

Several witnesses recommended allowing an ISO IEC accredited laboratory to serve as a potential certification body alongside Nerdles as well as allowing the EN standard to be used.

The print incorporates those changes.

With the expansion of eligible standards and certification bodies, the print will allow more products to remain or enter in the district market without compromising the ultimate goal of improving safety and preventing battery-related injuries or damages.

Is there any discussion?

And hearing none.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

When any opposed, and the ayes have it unanimously.

And I mentioned earlier that Councillor Parker was going to be joining us soon, and so uh please note that he joined us uh for that vote as well.

Thank you.

Next, let me turn to Bill 26-245.

This is the Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Amendment Act of 2025, introduced by Councilmers Alan Henderson and Parker on May 6, 2025.

Demand for food delivery services such as Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Instacart has grown significantly in a recent years.

The food delivery market in the U.S.

has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic when delivery services became an attractive option for residents who were ill, elderly, or simply preferred the convenience of home delivery.

Even though the public health emergency has ended, food delivery service obviously remains popular.

But greater demand for food deliveries has resulted in increasingly crowded streets, leading to concerns about safety and congestion.

An innovative solution that could help cities meet demand for food deliveries while reducing roadway congestion are personal delivery devices or PDDs.

These are small, semi-autonomous robots designed to transport deliveries short distances.

These devices have the potential to complete last mile deliveries and operate on sidewalks, taking cars off the road, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting our local businesses.

The committee print amends the Personal Delivery Device Act of 2018 to raise the district's current weight limit on personal delivery devices from 90 pounds to no more than 275 pounds, excluding its cargo.

The bill also allows the district department of transportation to establish a higher weight limit through rulemaking as a quick point of comparison.

Over a dozen states now allow PDDs to be 500 pounds in weight or more, and several states also empower their Department of Transportation to set higher weight limits through rulemaking.

Increasingly, the weight limit for personal delivery devices will allow companies to deploy a wider range of PDD models to expand sustainable delivery options in the district.

Is there any discussion?

Hearing none, I now move to approve and block the committee report in print of Bill 26-245, the Personal Delivery Device Weight Limit Amendment Act of 2025 with leave for staff to make technical editorial and conforming changes.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

And the ayes have it unanimously.

Next, let me turn to Bill 26-548.

This is the Washington Commanders Motor Vehicle Identification Tags Amendment Act of 2026.

It was introduced by former Councilman Kenya McDuffie on December 15th, 2025, and referred to the committee on December 16th, 2025.

The Committee Print amends the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1937 to authorize the mayor to design and make available for issuance one or more Washington Commanders Motor Vehicle Tags, otherwise known as license plates, that demonstrate support for the National Football League's Washington Commanders.

Residents would be required to pay a $25 application fee and a $20 annual display fee for a Washington Commander's license plate.

The mayor would be required to deposit any application and display fees received from the Department of Motor Vehicles for the issuance of a commander's tag into the State Athletic Activities Programs and Office Fund.

The DC State Athletic Association manages this fund and uses those resources to develop and support state athletic programs and competitions.

Is there any discussion?

I just have a brief comment.

Yes, Councilman Crawford.

This is the last bill I had the pleasure of working on as committee director, so I just want to thank you for advancing it.

Absolutely.

I think you you have uh some ownership on this one, so thank you very much.

Um I'd like to ask a question if possible.

Sure.

Uh and I think we've gone through this with other teams.

Um what's the design process like for the approval before a tag is approved?

For any tag or you mean specifically for a sports team.

For a sports team.

Is it just typically the logo or something else?

Typically, the the mayor through the DMV works with that specific team.

They use trademarked branded logos in this display of the pack on the tag.

So, for example, we have a mystics tag, uh uh capitals tag, and they are basically the team branded logo that is their trade their trademarked logo.

Okay.

And it goes on the tag.

Okay, thank you.

Um but specifically the DMV could work with the team to alter it or to add additional text, but it's a collaborative process.

But whenever it's using a team that has a trademark logo, they work very closely with the team to make that.

Any other questions or discussion?

All right.

I will now move to approve in block the committee report and committee print, a bill 26-548, the Washington Commanders Motor Vehicle Identification Tag Amendment Act of 2025 with leave for staff to make technical, editorial, and conforming changes.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Anyway.

Any opposed?

And the ayes have it unanimously.

And lastly, let's take up Bill 26-554.

This is the Commercial Driver's License Amendment Act of 2025.

The Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, registers commercial motor vehicles, registers commercial motor vehicles and issues commercial driver's license or CDLs for various classes and requires the operator of a commercial motor vehicle to hold a CDL.

As of 2025, approximately 8,500 district residents hold active CDLs issued by the DMV and operate vehicles ranging from delivery trucks and buses to tractor trailers and tanker trucks.

The CDL system is governed by federal law and regulations, specifically the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 and is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is organized under the U.S.

Department of Transportation.

States and local jurisdictions must maintain CDL programs that meet or exceed federal minimum standards to avoid losing federal highway funding.

The DMV must comply with federal CDL standards established in the Code of Federal Regulations, which outline standards covering testing requirements, endorsements, medical certifications, and disqualifying offenses.