Results tagged “legislation”

The D.C. Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary may have just spent two long days hearing public testimony on the same-sex marriage bill for no good reason. A draft report coming out of the committee and currently being circulated to the rest of the council argues that marriage equality already exists in the city, and a law legalizing it isn't much more than a formality.

After first merely postponing a hearing on his recently proposed taxicab legislation in the wake of related federal bribery charges against his chief of staff, Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham has gone ahead and withdrawn the bill entirely, Tim Craig is reporting at D.C. Wire. In a rich bit of political theater, Graham is also apparently trying to sell reporters on the notion that this decision has "nothing to do" with the charges against Ted Loza. "Graham said he is pulling the bill because of confusion and opposition within the taxicab industry to a medallion system." Suuuuuure.

"For anyone who wants to vote, I want it to be a smooth, efficient operation."

The long-delayed bill which includes a potential $1.5 billion in funding for Metrorail will finally be voted on in the Senate tomorrow, and it is expected to pass. Debate on the floor was officially closed by a 69-17 vote yesterday, and it would appear that the legislation has more than enough votes to make it's way to President Bush's desk. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is probably finding the bill more difficult to roadblock these days, since the law's main purpose - improving rail safety across the country, with the recent Los Angeles commuter rail accident which killed 25 people fresh in the collective memory - is being credited for the bill's sudden resurgence. Of course, that didn't stop Coburn from trying.

Metro brings word that yesterday, the House of Representatives approved an amended version of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, H.R. 2095. While the bill's main financial purpose is to allocate $13.06 billion in federal funds over the next five years to Amtrak, it also includes $1.5 billion in appropriations for Metro to make capital improvements in the next ten years - vital funds for WMATA. The bill, mended into one collective document after two attempts at passage in each legislative body stalled during last year's Congressional session, is expected to pass easily in the Senate after unanimous bipartisan approval in the House.

Well that was quick. We just got word that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform apparently has scheduled a markup tomorrow on legislation that would gut the District's current gun regulations. As you can read earlier, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) have tried to preempt Congress, but the committee doesn't seem too impressed. We don't yet have a time for the markup, but the folks at DC Vote have asked that concerned residents pack the hearing room. You can check their website for updates on when the markup will go down.

As we mentioned this morning, today the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that would do away with the District's newly-issued regulations on gun ownership. According to the pro-gun crowd, the city's regulations are still restrictive enough to violate the Supreme Court's June decision holding the District's handgun ban to be unconstitutional.

When Joan Wages, President of the National Women's History Museum, was successful at moving the Suffrage statue to the Capitol rotunda from the depths of the basement, it served as a metaphor for women's history. She wanted to bring the accomplishments and contributions of women into the light and placed in full view for all to see and learn.

As if yesterday's news from California wasn't enough to get gays everywhere excited, same-sex couples here in D.C. recently got a little something extra to celebrate. Early last week the D.C. Council expanded its domestic partners law, granting registered couples rights previously only granted through marriage.

Maybe you've got a 20-year old bottle of Burgundy chilling in your wine cellar that you want to drink for a special dinner out. Or, you just want to order something nice off the wine list. Up until now, D.C. ABC regulations dictated that you can't carry any remainder out of the restaurant. So of course, most folks would either try to finish the whole thing, leave it behind, or stealthily hand it off to some other lucky diner. This leaves you with the options of dangerous, wasteful, or illegal.

Everyone knows by now that talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving in the District is illegal -- even if it is a poorly enforced and largely ignored law. But given the increasing popularity of SMS (and really, who actually talks on the phone anymore? I recently found myself incredibly frustrated that a close friend left me a voicemail. Who leaves garbled voicemail when you can shoot a quick, clear text? You want me to call who? Just send me a text, ZOMG!!1!), what's the rule on the arguably more dangerous practice of texting while driving? Turns out, there is none, and in Virginia at least, some legislators would like to change that.

The D.C. Council voted 10 to 3 today to give Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee the power to fire nonunion central office employees.

If you think the Montgomery County 911 system has problems, D.C.'s 911 office isn't likely going to be having an easy time of it this week either. On Saturday the Examiner ran a small story about how D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At large) had to make a 911 call early Friday morning and says he received "textbook badgering treatment" from the operator.

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting...

Though it is District law that cars must stop for pedestrians in every crosswalk, let's be honest -- very few actually do so. When I choose to walk to work, I'm often left to navigate the harrowing crosswalk at Connecticut Avenue and Wyoming Avenue NW, where even a sign reminding drivers of their responsibility to stop is regularly (and at high-speed) ignored. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) is hoping to change that. Cheh's office...

Remember those billboards that popped up in the 1980s that counted up the national debt, dollar by dollar? Pretty scary, huh? Well, District voting rights activists want something similar for their cause. Today the D.C. Council held a hearing on legislation that would allow the city to place two large LED billboards -- one outside the John A. Wilson Building and the other outside the new Washington Nationals stadium -- that would display the amount...

DC for Marriage, an eight-month-old group advocating same-sex marriage rights in the District, will hold a "Marriage Equality Community Forum" tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in room 412 of the Wilson Building. This is the group's first public event, which is co-sponsored by several local LGBT organizations including the DC Center, DC Black Pride, AQUA DC, and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, among others. Yesterday, DC for Marriage announced Sabrina Sojourner, the first open...

Sure, it's December and we're all preoccupied with holiday cheer and making plans for that one New Year's party that will finally be worth the all the hype. But even though they've suffered some setbacks this year, D.C. voting rights activists are pushing the cause through the holiday season. On Thursday, December 6, the D.C. Council will hold a hearing to consider legislation that would place large electronic billboards outside the John A. Wilson Building...

A day after the Washington Post put a number as high as $2.46 million on the amount of money that was stolen from the Office of Tax and Revenue in 1999, the last year that current D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi was the head of the office, at least two D.C. Council members are starting to test the waters by suggesting that Gandhi ought to resign. At-large member Kwame Brown and Ward 1 Council...

Roll Call had a subscriber-only story up yesterday about today's kick-off of an effort on the part of non-profit Trust for the National Mall to raise $350 million to revitalize Washington's top tourist destination. Students from Ann Beers Elementary School in Southeast are getting things going today by planting 3,000 daffodil bulbs in Constitution Gardens. Citing maintenance needs due to heavy use like cracked walkways and patchy grass, the Trust will be working alongside the...

The folks over at Dulles Metro extension are breaking out the construction tools … and the credit cards. $900 million of the $2.83 billion price tag of the initial 11.6-mile leg is in that Transportation Department spending bill tied up in Congress and under threat of veto by President Bush. But with or without the money, officials plan to start work, reports The Examiner. Is it just us, or does this violate everything you ever...

>> "A D.C. police officer confessed in court today that, while responding to a false alarm at a Northeast Washington home in August, he swiped the owner's credit card from a credenza while she was gone and tried to rack up thousands of dollars in charges." [WaPo] >> "The D.C. Council is considering legislation to reduce the spread of drug-resistant staph infection by starting the fight where the bug is most prevalent — in...

It's not often that two hippos chase down a presidential candidate. But today two did and survived to tell the story. Voting rights activists protested outside the Washington Hilton this morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of John McCain and express their displeasure at his recent vote against cloture on voting rights legislation that would have moved legislation forward to grant the District a voting seat in the House. Among the activists were two...

Perhaps Mayor Adrian Fenty has already made up his mind on the great zone vs. meter debate, and he's just waiting until tomorrow to announce his decision for dramatic effect. But we think the odds are pretty good that he's still mulling it over as we type. Wednesday, October 17 is the deadline imposed by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who inserted the provision in legislation last fall that forces Fenty to either switch to time...

Morning, Washington. We hope you were out enjoying the fantastic weather, especially since the environment has been front and center in the news this weekend. As you must have heard, our former Vice President turned Global Warming Guru had to shove over the Oscar on his mantle to make space for half of a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe after the news you were inspired to go check out the 20 amazing houses built on the...

Good morning, Washington. What a difference a day makes, right? Just yesterday we were complaining bitterly about the heat and about when administrative law Judge Roy Pearson would finally be brought before the panel that will decide his fate for a hearing. But both problems have been resolved, as if by magic, while we slumbered. The current temperature outside is 57 degrees in our nation's capital, with an expected high of 66. And Judge...

Welcome back to work, you godless heathens who had yesterday off. While you were off frolicking in the sunshine with flowers in your hair and puppies at your feet, the rest of us were here, slaving away. OK fine, maybe we spent a little time playing with our new avatar feature (read more here). But we only did it in a totally serious manner, devoid of any fun or whimsy. Speaking of fun, this ridiculous...

Imagine this -- the District could have hybrid taxicabs before it even resolves its long-running dispute between meters and the zone system. Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) yesterday introduced legislation that would offer a one-time tax credit to encourage the purchase of hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles for use as taxicabs. The legislation would also establish a set of goals for converting the city's taxicab fleet to hybrid vehicles -- 5 percent by 2009 and...

When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious -- Mike Huckabee. Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn't have much of a chance of winning, but he's been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District's 600,000 residents. In response to...