Chapter 3. Law Revision Commission.

§ 45–301. Established; composition; term of office; residency requirement; vacancies; compensation; requests for information; power to enter into contracts.

(a) There is established as an advisory body to the Council of the District of Columbia the District of Columbia Law Revision Commission (“Commission”), which shall be composed of 9 members, as follows:

(1) Four members appointed by the Council of the District of Columbia;

(2) Two members appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia;

(3) Two members appointed by Joint Committee on Judicial Administration in the District of Columbia; and

(4) The Attorney General of the District of Columbia, or his or her designee.

(b) Repealed.

(c) No person may be appointed as a member of the Commission after the effective date of this chapter unless he or she is a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia who has maintained an actual place of abode in the District of Columbia for at least 90 days immediately prior to his or her appointment to the Commission.

(d) Repealed.

(e) Members of the Commission shall serve for 4-year terms and may be reappointed for no more than 2 consecutive terms.

(f) The Chairman of the Commission shall be selected by the members of the Commission from among their number.

(g) Appointments to fill vacancies on the Commission shall be made in the same manner, and on the same basis, as original appointments to the Commission. A member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve until the expiration of the term of the member whose vacancy he or she was appointed to fill.

(h) Each member of the Commission shall serve without compensation; provided, that each member may be reimbursed for actual expenses pursuant to § 1-611.08.

(i) The Commission may request from any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the District of Columbia or federal government, including independent agencies, any information necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Each department, agency, instrumentality, or independent agency of the District of Columbia is authorized and directed, to the extent permitted by law, to furnish the Commission the requested information.

(j) Repealed.

(k) The Commission may establish such advisory groups, committees, or subcommittees, consisting of members or nonmembers, as it deems necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(Feb. 26, 1981, D.C. Law 3-119, § 2, 27 DCR 5641; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 70, 52 DCR 2638; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 48(f), 53 DCR 6794; May 2, 2015, D.C. Law 20-271, § 222, 62 DCR 1884.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 49-401.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 15-354 substituted “Attorney General for the District of Columbia” for “Corporation Counsel”.

D.C. Law 16-191, in subsec. (a)(4), validated a previously made technical correction.

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-271 rewrote (a) and (h); repealed (b), (d), and (j); and deleted “Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section” from the beginning of (c).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 222 of the New Columbia Statehood Initiative, Omnibus Boards and Commissions, and Election Transition Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-481, Nov. 18, 2014, 61 DCR 12133, 20 STAT 4405).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 222 of the New Columbia Statehood Initiative, Omnibus Boards and Commissions, and Election Transition Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-7, Feb. 26, 2015, 62 DCR 2646, 21 STAT 807).

References in Text

The District of Columbia Law Revision Commission Act, referred to throughout this section, is the Act of August 21, 1974, 88 Stat. 483, Pub. L. 93-379, D.C. Law 3-119, codified as § 1-604.06 and this chapter.

Editor's Notes

Appropriations: The District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1992, Pub. L. 102-111, contained no appropriation for the Law Revision Commission and subsequent appropriations acts have not restored any appropriation.

§ 45–302. Duties.

It shall be the duty of the Commission to do the following:

(1) Examine the common law and statutes relating to the District of Columbia, the ordinances, regulations, resolutions, and acts of the Council, and all relevant judicial decisions for the purpose of discovering defects and anachronisms in the law relating to the District of Columbia and recommending needed reforms;

(2) Receive and consider proposed changes in the law recommended by the American Law Institute, the Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, any bar association, or other learned bodies;

(3) Receive and consider suggestions from judges, public officials, lawyers, and the public generally as to defects and anachronisms in the law relating to the District of Columbia;

(4) Recommend, from time to time, to the Council of the District of Columbia such changes in the law relating to the District of Columbia as it deems necessary to modify or eliminate antiquated or inequitable rules of law, and to bring the civil, criminal, and administrative law relating to the District of Columbia into harmony with modern conditions;

(5) Upon request of the Council of the District of Columbia or the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, study the legislative and rulemaking methods, practices, and procedures used by the District of Columbia government and make recommendations for improvement and modernization.

§ 45–303. Annual report.

The Commission shall make an annual report of its proceedings to the Council of the District of Columbia and the Mayor by March 31st of each year. The report shall contain the following:

(1) A list of all topics considered by the Commission during the reported year;

(2) The final disposition of all the topics;

(3) The number of hearings held;

(4) Suggested legislative changes;

(5) A discussion of any problems which may have arisen after a change in legislation; and

(6) The agenda of the Commission for the next reporting year.

§ 45–304. Appropriations.

Appropriations are authorized to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

§ 45–305. Effective date.

This chapter shall take effect after a 30-day period of Congressional review following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council of the District of Columbia to override the veto) as provided in § 1-206.02(c)(1); provided, that this chapter shall not take effect prior to March 31, 1981.