Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Committee on Health, chaired by At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, convened on October 14, 2026, at 10:09 AM in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. The committee voted unanimously to advance three bills: the Rodent Education and Management Yields Results Amendment Act of 2026 (Remy Act), the Streamlining Medicaid Credentialing Amendment Act of 2026, and the Captive Insurance Company Amendment Act of 2026. Members present included Councilmember Brianna Doe (Ward 1), Charles Allen (Ward 6), and Zachary Parker (Ward 5, virtual).
Bill 26-707: Rodent Education and Management Yields Results Amendment Act of 2026 (Remy Act) Chair Henderson introduced the committee print combining her legislation with Bill 26-492 by Councilmember Lewis George. She noted that the District has the fastest growing rodent population of major cities despite heavy rodenticide use, citing an estimate of 12 pediatric hospitalizations related to rodenticide in one year and a finding that 85% of autopsied wildlife tested positive for rodenticides. The bill creates a commercial corridor rodent-proof trash receptacle pilot program at the Department of Public Works (DPW), requires a strengthened rodent abatement dashboard from DC Health, clarifies DC Health's authority to require rodent abatement plans and impose financial penalties of up to three times the District's costs for abating harborage conditions, requires DPW to notify ANCs before removing public litter cans from residential blocks, and restricts anticoagulant rodenticides to commercial applicators with enforcement moved to the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), which is authorized to add other rodenticides to the restricted list based on evidence of harm. Councilmember Allen expressed strong support and requested clarification on enforcement triggers; Chair Henderson specified that rodent abatement plans can be required on a first visit, while treble damages apply after repeated failures. Councilmember Nadeau praised the collaboration and stressed the need for broader food waste and trash containment strategies to starve the rat population.
Bill 26-523: Streamlining Medicaid Credentialing Amendment Act of 2026 Chair Henderson detailed the bill's aim to reduce administrative burdens on providers by requiring the Department of Healthcare Finance (DHCF) to develop a single credentialing application, respond to applicants within 10 days, and issue a determination within 30 days. The bill removes a temporary credentialing provision to mitigate program risk and sets an effective date of January 1, 2028. No members offered additional discussion.
Bill 26-588: Captive Insurance Company Amendment Act of 2026 Chair Henderson explained that the bill updates the District's captive insurance regulations to align with national standards. Key changes include updates for protected cell captive insurers related to formation, capital, taxes, and annual reports; granting the commissioner authority to deem entities inactive; increasing the expedited timeline from two to three days; and granting rulemaking authority for risk retention groups. No members offered additional discussion.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:31 AM. The committee announced a public hearing at 11:00 AM on Bill 26-799 and Bill 26-809.
All right. Good morning. I'd like to call this additional meeting of the Committee on Health to order. Today is Wednesday, October 14th, 2026. The time is 1009 a.m. We're in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. I'm at large Councilmember Christina Henderson, Chair of the Committee on Health. We've been joined by Councilmember Brianna Doe from Ward 1, Councilmember Charles Allen from Ward 6, and Councilmember Zachary Parker from Ward 5, who is joining us virtually. Today we will consider and vote on three bills before the committee. I'll describe each one in turn and then provide time for discussion. The first is Bill 26-707, the Rodent Education and Management Yields Results Amendment Act of 2026, also known as the Remy Act. I introduced this legislation on June 22nd, along with Council Members Alan, Freeman, Lewis George, and Pento as co-introducers. It was referred to the Committee on Health. The committee print for Bill 26-707 is a combination of the bill as introduced, as well as Bill 26-492, the Rodent Abatement and Transparency Rat Amendment Act of 2025. So I will refer to both bills in my remarks. Bill 26 dash yes, Bill 26-492 was introduced in November of 2025 by Councilmember Lewis George, as well as Councilmembers Nadeau Parker, Alan, Pinto, and myself as co-introducers. And that was sent subsequentially referred to the Committee on Health as well as the Committee on Public Works and Operations. The Committees on Health and Public Works and Operations held a joint hearing on both bills on July 13th, 2026. Our committees worked closely together to develop the committee print and agreed that the most efficient way to move both bills forward was to combine them into one piece of legislation. And I want to thank Councilmember Nadeau and her team for their close partnership and collaboration on the committee print. By combining these two bills, the committee print prioritizes upstream strategies to prevent rodent infestations while also increasing transparency and protecting public health during rodent abatement. The main driver of rodent infestation in the district and other major cities is easy and abundant access to food. As we learned in the Disney Pixar Class SIC Ratatouille, which inspired the bill's name. Discarded food scraps and open trash receptacles, overflowing dumpsters, and soft plastic containers make for an all-you-can-eat buffet for rodents. Trash management is particularly challenging in commercial areas where restaurants and other food establishments produce a significant amount of waste, but either cannot afford rodent proof receptacles or have waste haulers insisting on using specific models for dumpsters that rodents can easily access. Chemical rodenticides are a short-term solution for rodent infestations and infective in the long term without serious investment in sanitation. In fact, despite heavy application of rodenticides for decades, the district has the fastest growing rodent population of major cities. Rodenticides do, however, put up pose significant health risks to residents, particularly children, as well as pets and endangered wildlife. One local pediatrician estimated treating 12 cases of pediatric hospitalization tied to rodent aside in one year. And City Wildlife found that 85% of wildlife autopsied samples tested positive for rodenticides, particularly eagles, hawks, and birds of prey. Notably, the council has made several investments in rodent prevention, including rodent-proof trash receptacles in public spaces, replacing trash cans at DPR and DC public school properties undergoing modernizations and an ongoing pilot with the Department of Public Works. The committee print builds on that progress through the following. First, it decreases food sources for rodents by establishing a commercial corridor, rodent-proof trash receptacle pilot program to support business improvement district and main streets in addressing areas with high rodent populations. The committee print moves this pilot from DC Health to the Department of Public Works as requested by both agencies. The bill increases transparency and accountability by requiring DC Health to create a publicly accessible rodent abatement dashboard that includes data, um, updated data on treated rat boroughs, service requests, response times, and filters by Ward and ANC. DC Health published a rodent dashboard the week we held a hearing on this bill in July, but it is uh limited in functionality, and this bill would strengthen the dashboard and make it more user-friendly. We also clarify what type of conditions causing rodent activity. DC Health has the authority to abate, including those with improper storage or of trash, garbage, debris, discarded materials, abandoned and improper inoperable vehicles, standing water, or causing or permitting weeds or grass to grow to a height of eight inches or more. We authorize DC Health to require rodent abatement plans from property owners to eliminate rodent activity and infestation. We clarify that DC Health may also impose financial penalties for rodent harborage when the agency must clean up the site three times the costs incurred to the district, up to three times the cost of the site incurred to the district. It requires the Department of Public Works to report any rodent activity observed during enforcement of trash violations to DC Health and clarifies that DC Health and DPW can simultaneously enforce laws against the same property when it is causing a rodent infestation. The committee print also requires DC Health to conduct public education for effective rodent prevention and abatement strategies. It requires the Department of Public Works to notify ANCs before public litter cans can be removed from residential blocks. And it protects children, pets, and wildlife from rodent side poisonings by restricting the use of anticoagulants, uh rodenticides in the district to only government programs certified commercial application applicators. The committee print moves the enforcement provision from DC Health to the Department of Energy and Environment at the request of both agencies as well. We also add enforcement provisions to the road genocide restrictions consistent with DOEE's existing enforcement of restricted use pesticides, including financial penalties and a referral to the Office of the Attorney General. And finally, we authorize the Department of Energy and Environment to add additional types of rodent sides to these restrictions based on documented evidence of harm to children or wildlife.