Pre-Legislative Briefing on July 13, 2026: Final Reading on Resale Act and Initiative Process Reform
Pre-Legislative Briefing on July 13, 2026
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson held a pre-legislative briefing on July 13, 2026, at approximately 4:00 PM to outline the agenda for the upcoming legislative meeting on July 14, the last meeting before summer recess. The briefing covered key legislation, committee markups, confirmations, and emergency measures, followed by questions from reporters on a range of topics including autonomous vehicles, the ballot initiative process, the National Guard presence, and juvenile violence.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tax Sale Delay: A reporter asked about the emergency bill to delay the real property tax sale. Chairman Mendelson explained the delay is needed due to recent Supreme Court decisions regarding excess profits from tax sales. He noted the property owner may still be entitled to some equity above owed taxes, and the bill pushes the sale to after September 22, 2026, with the CFO indicating an actual later date.
- Autonomous Vehicle Bill: In response to a question about the autonomous vehicle bill, the Chairman stated he has no firm view but believes technology progress is inevitable and regulation is appropriate. He cited concerns over liability, safety, and consumer protection but would not take a position until the transportation committee revises the bill. He noted Waymo has invested millions but that it is too soon to predict council support.
- Ballot Initiative Reform (First Reading): A reporter asked about concerns timing and implications of the initiative process bill. The Chairman expressed support for reform, criticizing out-of-state influence, single-subject ambiguity, and lack of deliberation in the initiative process. He called the process “fraught” and overdue for reform, noting the bill has already passed committee.
- Letter to Michigan and Virgin Islands Governors: A reporter asked about a letter signed by the Chairman and 12 colleagues regarding National Guard presence in D.C. The Chairman confirmed the letter was sent, has not yet received a response, and stated the District “deeply resents” the National Guard’s presence on city streets, calling it a bad image for a safe city.
- Juvenile Violence: A reporter referenced a recent homicide of a 13-year-old. The Chairman advocated for focused deterrence strategies and criticized lack of planning in juvenile justice and housing programs, noting that DYRS often lacks treatment plans before a juvenile is committed.
- St. Elizabeth's Redevelopment: A reporter asked about legislation on parcels at St. Elizabeth's. The Chairman hoped the bills would be taken up early in fall, urging the council to move quickly to avoid becoming a delay in economic development.
- President's Arch and Height Act: A reporter asked about the administration’s argument that federal buildings should not be subject to the Height Act. The Chairman strongly disagreed, citing legislative history and calling the Department of Interior General Counsel’s opinion “weak.” He said the 1910 Act explicitly repealed the 1899 exemption for federal buildings.
- Chevron Decision: A council member asked about the Supreme Court’s Chevron decision and the council’s response. The Chairman explained the council adopted legislation to preserve deference to agency expertise in local law, arguing the Chevron ruling is flawed because it shifts decision-making to unelected judges without expertise.
- Homeland Security Commission Dissolution: A reporter asked about a provision destroying records and imposing a gag order. The Chairman admitted he was unaware of the specific FOIA and records retention issues and had not seen a letter from the open government coalition. He stated he could not comment without familiarity.
Discussion Items
- Chairman Mendelson outlined the legislative agenda for July 14: final reading on the resale act (secondary ticket market), first reading on the initiative process reform bill, committee of the whole markup of eight resolutions, four revenue bond projects, and confirmations including Robin Wells to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (which had lacked a quorum).
- Emergency measures include a delay of the real property tax sale (to address Supreme Court rulings on excess proceeds) and restoration of Covenant Roads (clarifying city responsibility for unowned alleys, specifically one off Morris Road in Ward 8).
- The council goes on recess from July 15, which is described as a working period for staff to prepare legislation for a heavy fall agenda.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken during the briefing; it was informational only.
- The Chairman stated he will introduce a bill to amend the tax sale process in response to Supreme Court decisions.
- The Council will hold a committee of the whole and a legislative meeting on July 14, 2026.
- The Chairman expressed intention to continue developing relationships with Congress and coordinating council efforts to push back on federal interference.
Meeting Transcript
Why don't we get started? This is the um briefing that I do before a legislative meeting, typically before a regular legislative meeting. Tomorrow is actually not a regular legislative meeting, it's an additional meeting, but it is also the last meeting before the summer recess for the council. Feels a little different this summer than last summer when uh we had our last meeting on August 1st and uh adopted the budget, I think on July 23rd or something. And this year we were done with the budget what several weeks ago. Uh there's not a lot happening tomorrow. I would say probably the most uh um important is final reading on the resale act and also first reading on the um uh legislation dealing with the initiative process. We're gonna start uh tomorrow with a uh committee of the whole meeting at the committee of the whole, the committee of the whole will be marking up something like uh eight resolutions. The um there are four revenue bond projects, which the committee of the whole had a hearing on, gosh, back in early June. I don't think there's anything controversial there. A number of uh confirmations in the committee of the whole for markup. The only one that I would think is noteworthy is Board of Zoning Adjustment simply because the Board of Zoning Adjustment has been without a quorum, and uh the uh mayor uh sent us that she sent three nominations a month ago, maybe six weeks ago. We moved two of them, the third was withdrawn. Uh the mayor submitted Robin Wells, and uh so we're marking her up tomorrow. Uh so I think the only vacancy left on the Board of Zoning Adjustment at this point will be the NCPC designee. Um the other committees are doing moving quite a number of measures. Um a lot of it is uh permanent versions of bills that have been adopted on an emergency basis. There are some uh confirmations to the police complaints board. Uh the uh board of elections are two confirmations there. The um happy to answer questions on that, but uh everything on the committee, the whole agenda will be on the legislative agenda, and uh the legislative agenda. As I noted, uh the uh probably the most um important issues are the um resale act, which is dealing with uh the resale of tickets to entertainment events on the uh secondary market, although the legislation does affect the primary market. The um, and I'm I've heard that there'll probably be some be some amendments tomorrow, but I have not seen any. Uh there also is on an emergency basis. I'm moving a measure to uh delay the real property tax sale. That's uh simply to give time to work out some issues given uh recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the um sale of property due to unpaid taxes. So um I expect that I'll be introducing a bill today or tomorrow to uh get the ball rolling on amending the law regarding the tax sale process. There's another bill that I'm moving uh on emergency basis, the restoration of Covenant Roads is just to clarify so that we have these uh what are uh I could say private alleys, but they really don't belong to anybody, and yet there are a number of property owners who rely on them as well as city services, and they're not being um maintained because nobody owns them or is responsible for taking care of them. The city uses them, and so we're trying to make it clear through these uh let these bills. There was one a couple years ago that I moved that uh uh DDOT should be coming in and fixing these alleys uh so that they can be used uh and be used for public purposes. Uh so the alley that uh was the genesis for this emergency tomorrow is off of Morris Road in Ward 8, and um in really bad condition. Um the uh council goes on uh recess beginning the 15th, and uh that is not a time off. It's just a time when the uh council will not be having hearings, and uh therefore we'll be in a better position as staff will be in a better position to work on bills for uh consideration in the fall. We are moving toward the end of the council period, and so I expected this fall, especially uh the last meeting in October, the first meeting, couple meetings in November, the agenda will be quite heavy with legislation, and that's what staff will be working on during the recess. Um I think I'll leave it there and uh take questions on whatever if there are questions. Can you say more about um why the tax sales being canceled and what proposal you're going to put forth to change the process of it? Well, um the uh I believe what we are filing says that the tax sale could occur after September 22nd, which is when our next meeting will be. Um the chief financial chief financial officer says that in actuality the delay will be later than that um just because it will take time. Uh, there are issues with regard to the uh treatment of I'll say profit, maybe I shouldn't call it profit, income from the tax sale that is above the uh taxes that are owed, and what is to happen with that income. And um, so we're trying to work that out, but the legislative change would be. Can you be a little bit more precise about what you mean by that? Well, if I was more precise, then I would have the legislative language. Um the Supreme Court in a couple of cases has addressed the issue of um I'll call it excess profits from the from these tax sales. So let's say that uh the property owes uh $30,000 in taxes. Uh the property is valued at uh $500,000 and it sells for $500,000. What's to happen with the uh excess uh over what is owed uh from the uh in taxes, um and to be honest with you, I'm not clear whether it is the person who buys the property at the tax sale who manages to profit from this, or it's the city. Uh, but in either event, the Supreme Court has said that um the property owner, even though he she or it was delinquent in taxes, still is entitled to some portion of that uh equity. And so that's what we're trying to address. And so, in effect, then anybody uh any property owner whose tax lien was listed for sale on the on the on the tax sale this year year now has more time to pay their tax bill or is the deadline fixed still if I think it's a good idea. No, they a person can pay their tax bill up to I believe it's six months after the sale. Okay.
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