Norton Introduces Bill to Eliminate Congressional Review Period for Local D.C. Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today reintroduced her District of Columbia Legislative Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the congressional review period for bills passed by the D.C. Council, enabling local D.C. bills to take effect immediately. Currently, there is a required congressional review period for bills passed by the D.C. Council of either 30 or 60 legislative days, depending on the type of bill. If a resolution disapproving a D.C. bill is signed into law during the review period, that D.C. bill does not become law.
"The congressional review period for D.C. bills is onerous for the District, and rarely even used by Congress, causing D.C. bills to be unnecessarily ensnared in congressional bureaucracy for months," Norton said. "Congress generally uses the appropriations process to overturn or block D.C. laws. Legislative autonomy would eliminate unnecessary and wasteful administrative costs on the D.C. government, Congress, D.C. businesses and D.C. residents.
“The District currently has no certainty when D.C. bills, covering major issues such as taxes and regulations, will take effect. Under my bill, Congress would maintain its plenary authority to block or overturn D.C. legislation at any time. Congress loses nothing by passing this common-sense measure to update the Home Rule Act to save time and taxpayer dollars for all concerned."
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability marked up and passed the bill in 2022. Norton's introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the
Introduction of the District of Columbia Legislative Home Rule Act
January 6, 2025
Today, I introduce the District of Columbia Legislative Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the congressional review period for legislation passed by the D.C. Council. D.C. legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. The review period imposes significant costs on both D.C. and Congress, but only four disapproval resolutions on D.C. legislation have been enacted since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973.
Congress loses nothing by eliminating the review period. Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time, and has done so many times outside of the review period, such as through the appropriations process.
The congressional review period (30 days for civil bills and 60 days for criminal bills) is based on legislative days, not calendar days, often delaying D.C. bills from becoming law for many months. The D.C. Council has had to develop a Kafkaesque legislative process to comply with the review period. The review period forces the D.C. Council to pass most bills several times, using a cumbersome and complicated process to ensure that the operations of this large city continue uninterrupted.
Placing a congressional hold on D.C. bills has not only proven unnecessary, but has imposed costs on the D.C. government, residents and businesses. It is particularly unfair to require the D.C. Council to engage in this unnecessary, labor-intensive and costly process. D.C. residents and businesses are also placed on hold because they have no certainty when D.C. bills, from taxes to regulations, will take effect, making it difficult to plan.
In the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill as part of my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022.
I urge my colleagues to support this good-government measure.
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