District Of Columbia 2025-2026 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill B26-0038 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 01/10/2025

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A BILL 
airman Phil Mendelson 
at the request 
of the Mayor 
11 	IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 To amend section 205 of the Clemency Board Establishment Act 	of 2018 to authorize the 
1 7 Clemency Board 
of the District of Columbia to, for applicants seeking a pardon, grant a 
18 waiver of the five-year waiting period. 
19 
20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL 	OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 
21 act may be cited as the "Clemency Board Waiver Authority Amendment Act 	of 2025". 
22 Sec. 2. Section 205 of the Clemency Board Establishment Act 	of 2018, effective 
23 December 13, 2018 (D.C. Law 22-197; D.C. Official Code§ 24-481.05), is amended by adding a 
24 new subsection (f) to read 
as follows: 
25 "(f) The Board may, upon written request 	of the applicant, grant a waiver 	of the 
26 requirements 
of subsection ( c )(1) of this section; provided, that: 
27 	"(1) The Board shall only grant a waiver under this subsection where the Board 	is 
28 in receipt of notice from the Office of the Pardon Attorney that the Pardon Attorney or the 
29 President of the United States has provided the applicant with a waiver 	of the five-year 
30 requirement pursuant to§ 9-140.112 of the Department of Justice Manual; 
31 	"(2) The Board may decline 	to grant a waiver under this subsection even when the 
32 Board is in receipt of the notice described in paragraph (1) 	of this subsection;  “(3) The Board shall not grant a waiver under this subsection when the applicant 33 
is on probation, parole, or supervised release; 34 
“(4) The Board may request additional information from the applicant to support 35 
their request for a waiver of subsection (c)(1) of this section, which may include a request to 36 
meet with the applicant to discuss their waiver request; 37 
“(5) The Board shall provide the applicant with written notice of the Board’s 38 
decision to grant or deny a waiver request pursuant to this subsection; and 39 
“(6) Prior to the Board making a determination whether to grant a request for a 40 
waiver pursuant to this subsection, the applicant’s application shall be deferred until a 41 
determination is made.” 42 
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 43 
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Chief Financial Officer as the fiscal 44 
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 45 
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Offiacial Code § 1-301.47a).  46 
Sec. 4. Effective date.  47 
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 48 
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review as 49 
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 50 
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 51 
Columbia Register.  52  Government of the District of Columbia 
Office of the Chief Financial Officer 
 
Glen Lee 
Chief Financial Officer 
 
 
 
 
 
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 203, Washington, DC 20004 (202)727-2476 
www.cfo.dc.gov 
MEMORANDUM 
 
TO:   The Honorable Phil Mendelson 
 Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia 
 
FROM:   Glen Lee 
 Chief Financial Officer 
 
DATE:   December 12, 2024 
 
SUBJECT:  Fiscal Impact Statement – Clemency Board Waiver Authority 
Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 
 
REFERENCE:  Draft Emergency Bill as provided to the Office of Revenue Analysis on 
December 10, 2024 
 
 
Conclusion 
 
Funds are sufficient in the fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2028 budget and financial plan to 
implement the emergency bill.  
 
Background 
 
The Clemency Board of the District of Columbia (Board) reviews pardon or communication requests 
from individuals convicted of committing DC Code offenses. Because the District is not a state, the 
Board cannot grant clemency, but it can recommend clemency to the President of the United States 
and the Department of Justice Pardon Attorney. 
 
Current law requires individuals to wait five years after the date of their release from confinement 
or, in case no prison sentence was imposed, five years after the date of the conviction before they can 
apply to seek a pardon. The emergency bill allows
1 the Board, upon written request of the applicant, 
to grant a waiver of the five-year waiting period if the Board is in receipt of notice from the Office of 
the Pardon Attorney that the Pardon Attorney or the President of the United States has provided the 
applicant with a waiver of the five-year requirement. The Board may decline to grant a waiver under 
this subsection even when the Board is in receipt of a notice from the Office of the Pardon Attorney. 
The Board is prohibited from granting a waiver when an applicant is on probation, parole, or 
 
1
 By amending Section 205 of the Clemency Board Establishment Act of 2018, effective December 13, 2018 
(D.C. Law 22-197; D.C. Official Code § 24-481.05).  The Honorable Phil Mendelson 
FIS: “Clemency Board Waiver Authority Emergency Amendment Act of 2025,” Draft Emergency Bill as 
provided to the Office of Revenue Analysis on December 10, 2024 
Page 2 of 2 
 
supervised release. The Board may request additional information from the applicant to support 
their request for a waiver. The Board must provide the applicant with written notice of the Board’s 
decision to grant or deny a waiver request.  
 
Financial Plan Impact 
 
Funds are sufficient in the fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2028 budget and financial plan to 
implement the emergency bill. The Board can review and grant waiver requests with existing staff. 
The Mayor’s Office of General Counsel provides administrative staff support to the Board. No 
additional resources are required to implement the bill.   1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 409, Washington, D.C. 20004   Phone (202) 724-	5524   Email: b enjamin.moskowitz1@dc.gov 
 
 
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
Office of the Attorney General 
 
 
 
 
 
Legal Counsel Division 
    
 
MEMORANDUM  TO: Tomás Talamante 
  Director 
 Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs         FROM: Benjamin E. Moskowitz 
Acting Deputy Attorney General 
Legal Counsel Division 
 DATE: November 19, 2024 
 RE: Legal Sufficiency Review of Draft Legislation, the “Clemency Board Waiver 
Authority Emergency Amendment Act of 2024” and Emergency Resolution 
 (AE-24-542)   
 
This is to Certify that this Office has reviewed the above-	referenced draft 
legislation and found it to be legally sufficient	. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to 
call me at 724-5565.    	_________________________________ 	Benjamin E. Moskowitz