DC Home Rule Act of 1973

Extracted Attributes

• Name

  District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973

• Type

  U.S. federal law

• Key Provisions

  Established an elected mayor and a twelve-member Council of the District of Columbia; Council members elected to four-year terms.

• Primary Purpose

  To devolve certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule.

• Enacting Congress

  93rd United States Congress

• Public Law Number

  Pub. L. 93–198

• Voting Representation

  The District still has no voting representation in Congress.

• Presidential Authority

  The President appoints the District's judges.

• Congressional Oversight

  Congress reviews all legislation passed by the D.C. Council and retains authority over the District's budget.

• Statutes at Large Citation

  87 Stat. 774

• Prohibited Legislation (Examples)

  Lending public credit for private projects; imposing a tax on non-residents working in the District; altering the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910; changing court composition or jurisdiction; enacting unbalanced budgets; gaining additional authority over the National Capital Planning Commission, Washington Aqueduct, or D.C. National Guard.

Timeline

• Introduced in the Senate as S.1435 by Thomas Eagleton (D-MO). (Source: Web Search)

  1973-04-02

• Passed the Senate with a vote of 69-17. (Source: Web Search)

  1973-07-10

• Passed the House by voice vote. (Source: Web Search)

  1973-10-10

• Reported by the joint conference committee. (Source: Web Search)

  1973-12-06

• Agreed to by the House with a vote of 272-74. (Source: Web Search)

  1973-12-17

• Agreed to by the Senate with a vote of 77-13. (Source: Web Search)

  1973-12-19

• Signed into law by President Richard Nixon. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, Web Search)

  1973-12-24

• Donald Trump invoked the Act to deploy the National Guard and assume federal control of the police in Washington D.C. (exact date not specified in provided context). (Source: Related Document)

  Date not specified

District of Columbia Home Rule Act

The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a United States federal law passed on December 24, 1973, which devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule. In particular, it includes the District Charter (also called the Home Rule Charter), which provides for an elected mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. The council is composed of a chair elected at large and twelve members, four of whom are elected at large, and one from each of the District's eight wards. Council members are elected to four-year terms. Under the "Home Rule" government, Congress reviews all legislation passed by the council before it can become law and retains authority over the District's budget. Also, the President appoints the District's judges, and the District still has no voting representation in Congress. Because of these and other limitations on local government, many citizens of the District continue to lobby for greater autonomy, such as complete statehood. The Home Rule Act specifically prohibits the council from enacting certain laws that, among other restrictions, would: lend public credit for private projects; impose a tax on individuals who work in the District but live elsewhere; make any changes to the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910; pass any law changing the composition or jurisdiction of the local courts; enact a local budget that is not balanced; and gain any additional authority over the National Capital Planning Commission, Washington Aqueduct, or District of Columbia National Guard.

Web Search Results

• District of Columbia Home Rule Act - Wikipedia

  The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a United States federal law passed on December 24, 1973, which devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule. In particular, it includes the District Charter (also called the Home Rule Charter), which provides for an elected mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. The council is composed of a chair elected at large and twelve members, four of whom are elected [...] Reported by the joint conference committee on December 6, 1973; agreed to by the House on December 17, 1973(272-74) and by the Senate on December 19, 1973(77-13) Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 24, 1973 [...] Enacted by the 93rd United States Congress Citations Public lawPub. L.93–198 Statutes at Large87Stat.774 Legislative history Introduced in the Senate as S.1435 by Thomas Eagleton (D "Democratic Party (United States)")–MO) on April 2, 1973 Committee consideration by Senate Committee on the District of Columbia Passed the Senate on July 10, 1973(69-17) Passed the House on October 10, 1973(Voice vote)

• D.C. DESERVES THE POWER TO GOVERN ITSELF - ACLU of DC

  D.C. Home Rule is shorthand for the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, which allows D.C. residents to elect the mayor, D.C. Councilmembers, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners who run day-to-day affairs in the District. Before the passage of Home Rule, federally appointed commissioners and members of Congress—never elected by D.C. residents—shared the responsibility of running the District's local laws and budget. Congressional offices fielded calls about D.C.’s potholes, trash pickup, schools, [...] Before the Home Rule era, Congress struggled to manage D.C., and D.C. residents who demanded improvements regularly reminded members of Congress of their responsibility. By 1973, after nearly 100 years of trying to manage local affairs, many members of Congress were eager to give up the responsibility—even those who had wanted to maintain power over the majority-Black District. Members of Congress expressed their desire to stop managing the District’s day-to-day affairs. They passed the D.C. [...] Home Rule Act.pdf), which itself explains that the “intent of Congress is to delegate certain legislative powers to the government of the District of Columbia” to “relieve Congress of the burden of legislating upon essentially local District matters.”

• D.C. Home Rule: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters

  D.C. home rule is shorthand for the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, which allowed D.C. residents to elect the mayor, D.C. Councilmembers, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners who run day-to-day affairs in the District. [...] The D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973 ultimately passed as a compromise between D.C. residents who wanted full democratic rights and members of Congress who wanted to maintain power over D.C. and its majority Black population. The law allowed D.C. residents to elect a local government that would oversee the day-to-day functioning of the District, while Congress maintained power over local laws, the local budget, and other matters. [...] 1973. That year, the D.C. Home Rule Act passed.

• What to know about DC Home Rule Act as Trump puts DC police ...

  D.C.'s Home Rule Act of 1973 allows D.C. residents to elect a mayor, members of D.C. Council and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. The act "is the result of the ongoing push by District residents for control of their own local affairs," according to D.C. Council. [...] House Judiciary Committee Ranking Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin, in a statement, said he will be introducing a resolution in the House, pursuant to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, to reverse "this plainly ridiculous" state of local emergency and "restore full home rule powers to the mayor, council and people of the District of Columbia."

• DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 400 6th Street NW Washington, DC 20001, Plaintiff, v. - OAG DC

  Government of the District of Columbia (June 1, 1967).3 2 3 10 B. The Home Rule Act Grants the District Autonomy Over Its Own Affairs, Including Control of MPD. 39. After a century of struggle, and amid increasing recognition of District residents’ right to local autonomy, Congress finally passed the Home Rule Act in 1973. See Home Rule Act, D.C. Code §§ 1-201.01 to 1-207.71. 40. Through the Home Rule Act, Congress “grant[ed] to the inhabitants of the District of Columbia powers of local [...] self-government.” D.C. Code § 1-201.02(a). Quoting President Nixon, the drafters described the “spirit of home rule,” stating that a “pressing goal[] for this Nation is to place local functions under local control, and to equip local governments with the authority and the resources they need in order to serve their communities well.” S. Rep. No. 219, S. 1435, 93d Cong., 1st Sess. 2 (1973) (quoting President Nixon, 1971 message to Congress). 41. The Home Rule Act created an elected legislative [...] legislation enacted by the Council. D.C. Code § 1-201.02(a); see also id. §§ 1-206.01 to 1-206.04. But unless Congress intervenes, the Act provides that control over local matters remains in the hands of the District of Columbia’s locally elected leaders. C. Section 740 of the Home Rule Act Grants the President a Time-Limited Authority to Require the Mayor to Provide MPD Assistance in Emergency Circumstances for Federal Purposes. 45. In contrast to the system of presidential control that