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Record of Proceedings

35th Legislative Meeting of DC Council (Period 26) - July 14, 2026

Council of the District of Columbia — Tuesday, July 14, 2026
BodyWashington, District Of Columbia
SessionCouncil of the District of Columbia
DateTuesday, July 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

I'm calling go to this meeting.

0:12

This is the 35th legislative meeting of Council Period 26.

0:18

I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council, and the Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia.

0:25

And today is Tuesday, July 14th, 2026.

0:28

The time is 2.40 in the afternoon.

0:30

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

0:34

This meeting is being broadcast on cable channel 13 as well as on the council's website, www.dccouncil.gov.

0:45

This is an additional meeting, meaning it's not a regularly scheduled meeting of the council.

0:54

And with that, um we always have a moment of silence at the beginning of our meetings, uh a moment for reflection if we could have silence in the chamber as well as on the dais.

1:23

Uh Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll?

1:25

Councilmember Allen?

1:26

Councilmember Bonds.

1:28

Councilmember Bonds.

1:30

Councilmember Crawford here.

1:32

Councilmember Falder.

1:34

Present.

1:35

Councilmember Freeman.

1:36

Present.

1:37

Councilmember Henderson.

1:38

Councilmember Lewis George.

1:40

Here.

1:40

Chairman Mendelson.

1:42

Present.

1:42

Councilmember Nedau.

1:43

Here.

1:44

Councilmember Parker.

1:45

Here.

1:45

Councilmember Pinto.

1:47

Present.

1:47

Councilmember Robert White?

1:49

Present.

1:49

Councilmember Trojan White.

1:51

Present.

1:52

Mr.

1:52

Chairman, you have a quorum.

1:54

Thank you, Madam Secretary.

1:55

We have the consent agenda before us.

1:59

And looking at the consent agenda on page three, item 10, fair initiatives lend transparency to every resident amendment act.

2:12

That's Bill 26-436 was agendized for September 22nd.

2:16

So it is not on this agenda.

2:19

On page 4 at the bottom of the page number 5, Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia marked battle confirmation resolution of 2026.

2:28

PR 26-741 was removed from consent at Committee of the Whole.

2:34

On page 5 number 9 at the top, Hill East Phase 2 bundle disposition term sheet amendment approval resolution of 2026, PR 26-736 was put on non-consent at the Committee of the Whole.

2:48

And I believe those are the only changes that I know of to the consent agenda.

2:55

Are there any other changes?

3:00

Hearing none.

3:07

Aye.

3:07

Aye.

3:08

Aye.

3:09

Are there any opposed?

3:10

Hearing none, the ayes have it unanimously.

3:14

Turning to page four item five at the bottom.

3:26

So moved.

3:27

Is there discussion?

3:29

Mr.

3:30

Chairman.

3:31

Councilmember Parker.

3:32

Thank you.

3:33

I just want to say it again for the record.

3:35

This is in no way uh to undermine or question the qualifications of Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Personnel Matters███████████████████████23%
Environmental Protection██████████10%
Cannabis Regulation█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Special Education Transportation████4%
Public Benefits████4%
Public Safety███3%
Economic Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

35th Legislative Meeting of DC Council (Period 26) - July 14, 2026

The Council of the District of Columbia held its 35th legislative meeting of Council Period 26 on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 2:40 PM in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. Chair Phil Mendelssohn presided. The meeting included a consent calendar, several non-consent items, emergency and temporary legislation, and farewell remarks for Councilmember Donnie Crawford, who was leaving after filling a vacancy.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously after adjustments: Bill 26-436 (fair initiatives) was removed; PR 26-741 (UDC Board of Trustees confirmation) and PR 26-736 (Hill East Phase 2 term sheet) were moved to non-consent.
  • All other consent items were adopted without debate.

Discussion Items

  • PR 26-741 – UDC Board of Trustees Confirmation: Councilmember Parker voted no, stating he believes district residents should be appointed to district boards but acknowledged Mr. Battle was qualified. The resolution passed 12–1 (only Parker opposed).
  • PR 26-736 – Hill East Phase 2 Disposition Term Sheet Amendment: Councilmember Freeman moved the item over. Allen questioned the construction start date (target 2028, completion 2030), the $5 million liability plus $30 million for streets, and the lack of a firm start date. Freeman noted the agreement has a term but no specific deadline. On park maintenance, the developer pledged $325,000 per year but not in escrow. Allen expressed concern about using $35 million in capital funds elsewhere. Freeman argued the city has borne similar costs in other projects. The resolution passed with Mendelson voting no, and Allen and Robert White recorded as present.
  • Bill 26-224 – Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE Act) – Final Reading: [ Amendment 1 (Pinto): Struck provision allowing the mayor to regulate primary market ticket fees. Pinto argued fees are part of the business model and the bill should focus on secondary market gouging. Parker opposed, saying it would leave Live Nation/Ticketmaster unchecked. The amendment passed with Parker and possibly others voting no (recorded as no by two members). Amendment 2 (Allen, Henderson, Nadeau): Clarified that a ban on surveillance pricing does not apply to discounts based on publicly available criteria (e.g., military, seniors). Adopted unanimously. Final Passage: Allen highlighted the bill as the strongest consumer protection in the country, including a 10% price cap, ban on speculative sales, registration for high-volume scalpers, and all-in pricing. The bill passed unanimously. ]
  • PR 26-784 – Recess Rules Resolution: Adopted unanimously. Extends grant modification authority for UDC, adjusts racial equity impact assessment rules, and permits up to three roundtables on elections/campaign finance.
  • Bill 26-711 – Entertainment Establishment Employee Safety Temporary: Final reading. Passed with one no vote (name not given in transcript).
  • Emergency and Temporary Bills (block): Multiple emergency declarations and underlying bills were passed, all with at least 12 votes. Notable discussions: Real Property Tax Sale Delay (PR 26-780): Withdrawn by Mendelson because the fiscal impact statement showed insufficient funds. Net Zero Continuity (PR 26-783 & Bill 26-767): Councilmember Lewis George explained the need to align expiring temporary legislation. Trayon White asked if it affected Congress Heights and Douglas Recreation Center pools; Lewis George clarified the legislation exempts indoor pools but the executive chose not to include a pool at Congress Heights. An amendment (LC 1) was adopted unanimously. Schedule of Fines (PR 26-775 & Bill 26-747): Allen moved emergency approval for DDOT rulemaking to adjust speeding thresholds to comply with a court ruling. Passed with Mendelson and Trayon White voting no. SNAP Data Sharing (PR 26-777): Freeman noted the bill allows DHS to share data to automatically exempt residents from work requirements, preventing loss of benefits. Passed unanimously.
  • Temporary Bills (block): Nine temporary bills were moved in block and passed unanimously (including for-hire vehicles, medical cannabis, Berry Farm, covenanted roads, special education, pre-arrest diversion, SNAP data sharing, and language access). Note: The schedule of fines temporary was not included.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
  • PR 26-741 (UDC Board): Passed 12–1 (Parker no).
  • PR 26-736 (Hill East): Passed with Mendelson no, Allen and R. White present.
  • Bill 26-224 (RESALE Act): Pinto amendment passed with two no votes; Allen amendment and final passage unanimous.
  • Emergency declarations: Most passed unanimously; schedule of fines passed 11–2 (Mendelson and Trayon White no).
  • Real property tax sale emergency: Withdrawn.
  • Temporary bills block: Approved unanimously.
  • Next legislative meeting: Scheduled for September 22, 2026.
  • Farewell to Councilmember Donnie Crawford: Multiple councilmembers praised her service, integrity, and impact during her brief tenure. Crawford expressed gratitude and noted this was her favorite job.

The meeting adjourned at 3:59 PM.

Meeting Transcript

I'm calling go to this meeting. This is the 35th legislative meeting of Council Period 26. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council, and the Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia. And today is Tuesday, July 14th, 2026. The time is 2.40 in the afternoon. We are in room 500 of the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building. This meeting is being broadcast on cable channel 13 as well as on the council's website, www.dccouncil.gov. This is an additional meeting, meaning it's not a regularly scheduled meeting of the council. And with that, um we always have a moment of silence at the beginning of our meetings, uh a moment for reflection if we could have silence in the chamber as well as on the dais. Uh Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll? Councilmember Allen? Councilmember Bonds. Councilmember Bonds. Councilmember Crawford here. Councilmember Falder. Present. Councilmember Freeman. Present. Councilmember Henderson. Councilmember Lewis George. Here. Chairman Mendelson. Present. Councilmember Nedau. Here. Councilmember Parker. Here. Councilmember Pinto. Present. Councilmember Robert White? Present. Councilmember Trojan White. Present. Mr. Chairman, you have a quorum. Thank you, Madam Secretary. We have the consent agenda before us. And looking at the consent agenda on page three, item 10, fair initiatives lend transparency to every resident amendment act. That's Bill 26-436 was agendized for September 22nd. So it is not on this agenda. On page 4 at the bottom of the page number 5, Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia marked battle confirmation resolution of 2026. PR 26-741 was removed from consent at Committee of the Whole. On page 5 number 9 at the top, Hill East Phase 2 bundle disposition term sheet amendment approval resolution of 2026, PR 26-736 was put on non-consent at the Committee of the Whole. And I believe those are the only changes that I know of to the consent agenda. Are there any other changes? Hearing none. Aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed?

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