Councilmember David A. Catania
A PROPOSED
RESOLUTION IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To declare the existence of an emergency, due to Congressional review, with respect to
the need to exclude Advisory Neighborhood Commissions from the Procurement Practices Act
of 1985.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited
as "The Advisory Neighborhood Commission Procurement Exclusion Congressional Review
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2001 ".
Sec. 2. (a) When the Procurement Practices Act of 1985, effective February 21, 1986,
D.C. Law 6-85, was amended by the Procurement Reform Amendment Act of 1996, effective
April 12, 1997 ( D.C. Law 11-259; D.C. Code §1-1181.1 et seq.) ("Act"),
the government entities that were specifically excluded from its application were the
Council of the District of Columbia, District of Columbia courts, and the District of
Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority.
(b) Emergency legislation will expire on February 15, 2001.
(c) The permanent bill, Act 13-504, which was signed by the Mayor on December 22, 2000
is pending Congressional Review and is projected to become District of Columbia law on
March 28, 2001.
(d) The Corporation Counsel, in response to a request from an Advisory Neighborhood
Commission ("ANC") about the application of the Act to ANCs, in an opinion dated
August 19, 1999, stated that ANCs must comply with all of the requirements of the act when
procuring goods and services because they are an instrumentality of the District
government and are not specifically excluded by the Act.
(e) ANCs are vital elected institutions created by the Home Rule Act to advise the
Mayor and Council about neighborhood issues and concerns, comparable to a legislative
body.
(f) ANC Commissioners provide their services to the community and the District of
Columbia government on a voluntary basis and are not compensated for their work.
(g) The Auditor of the District provides financial control over ANCs, which submit
budgets, annual financial reports, and quarterly financial reports to the Auditor
containing itemized expenditures, copies of canceled checks, bank statements, contracts,
invoices, minutes, and any other relevant financial documentation.
(h) ANCs have never been expected, nor has it been the practice, to comply with the
Act.
(i) In order to continue current procedures, it is necessary to exclude ANCs from the
additional burden of the Act.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the
Advisory Neighborhood Commission Procurement Exclusion Congressional Review Emergency
Amendment Act of 2001 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of
publication in the District of Columbia Register