Committee on Housing and Workforce Development Achievments

Councilmember Brown set an aggressive legislative agenda by successfully moving the following bills out of the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development and through the full Council:

  • “Unemployment Compensation Reform Act of 2009”, to improve the administration of the unemployment compensation program, and qualify the District for federal modernization funding pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and to extend the time to file an appeal with respect to unemployment benefit eligibility, and expand eligibility to those who had to leave jobs for compelling family reasons.
  • “Tenant Organization Petition Standing Amendment Act of 2010”, to give tenants the right to allow their tenant organization to represent them in any petition action brought under the Rental Housing Act of 1985 or under the D.C. Housing Code.

  • “Keep DC Working Act of 2010”, to establish a voluntary work share program supported by partial unemployment compensation to provide employers with an alternative to layoffs.

  • “Stimulus Accountability Act of 2010”, to require that all jobs created through stimulus funding be listed on the Department of Employment Services website and to require the Mayor to maintain a list of all jobs created and filled by District residents as a result.

  • “Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Preservation Clarification Amendment Act of 2010”, to amend the Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act of 1980 to clarify that hand delivery or sending by certified mail a tenant letter of interest preserves the tenant’s or tenant group’s opportunity to purchase rights under the act, and that actual receipt of the letter by the housing provider or the Mayor within the relevant time frame is not required.

  • “Whitelaw Disposition Approval Resolution of 2010”, to approve the land sales agreement between the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Whitelaw Hotel Limited Partnership to facilitate the rehabilitation of the 35 affordable units of the Whitelaw Hotel Apartments in Ward 1 and guarantee that the apartments remain affordable for low-income renters for an additional 14 years.

  • “Rental Housing Commission Reform Amendment Act of 2010”, to provide baseline qualifications for Rental Housing Commission nominees including requiring members of the Rental Housing Commission to possess skills and experience relevant to (1) litigation, preferably including both appellate practice demonstrated by written work product and exposure to the concerns of pro se litigants; (2) administrative law, preferably in an area of complex regulation; or (3) housing law, preferably in the area of rental housing and rent control or rent stabilization; and provide the Rental Housing Commission with protection against frivolous lawsuits.

  • “Rental Housing Act Extension Amendment Act of 2010”, to amend the Rental Housing Act of 1985 to extend the provisions of the District’s rent control law for an additional ten years.

  • “District of Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Amendment Act of 2010”, to amend the District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999 to change the composition of the DC Housing Authority Board of Directors by replacing the Mayoral appointed public housing resident commissioner with a Mayoral appointed Housing Choice Voucher holder.

The Committee held topical roundtables on the following issues:

  • Rent Control – Organizing and hosting multiple working group meetings on the District’s Rent Control laws to identify issues that may need additional reforms.
  • Summer Youth Employment Program – Reigned in issues of poor performance, budgetary waste, and overspending regarding the District’s Summer Youth Employment Program.
  • Housing Affordability and Resale Restrictions – Organizing and hosting multiple working group meetings on Affordable Homeownership Resale Restrictions to identify a policy that balances equity appreciation and affordable housing preservation.
  • Workforce Investment Council and the District’s One Stop Centers – Highlighted concerns regarding the DC Department of Employment Services and the Workforce Investment Council’s planning and implementation of our city’s workforce development system through oversight hearings and roundtables which culminated in a thorough Special Committee Report.
  • The District’s Role in the Federal Jobs and Housing Agenda
  • Job Creation and the Creative Economy
  • The Committee planned and staffed two job fairs:

    • May 20th - Building Jobs and Skills for a Better Tomorrow
    • October 19th - Brown Blueprint for Employment Success
  • The Committee planned and staffed the Second Chances Roundtable, on July 26th, a meeting of service providers, government officials, and citizens focused on issues related to barriers to employment faced by ex-offenders.
  • The Committee conducted community budget briefings on the FY2011 budget:
    • Workforce Development Community Budget Briefing – April 8th, First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.
    • Housing Programs Community Budget Briefing-April 20th , Turkey Thicket Recreation Center
  • The Committee completed a Special Report on the State of the District’s Workforce Programs, detailing the challenges currently facing the District’s workforce development infrastructure and making recommendations on how to improve the system. Organizing and hosting multiple working group meetings on the lack of coordination regarding workforce development program funding and planning to identify policy and oversight reforms that address the structural and implementation deficiencies.