Subchapter I-B. Financial Accountability and Management.

§ 47–318. Definitions.

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term:

(1) “Budget gap” means the difference between estimated expenditures and estimated revenues.

(2) “Budget modification” means a reexamination of all major elements of the current year budget, and shall contain for the current year budget all elements of the multiyear plan listed in paragraph (4) of this section.

(3) “Gap-closing action” means any action designed to eliminate the budget gap. Gap-closing actions include increases in current revenue bases and rates; new taxes, fees, charges, fines, and penalties; expenditure reductions associated with lower service levels; and productivity improvements that yield expenditure reductions without a decrease in service levels. Gap-closing actions must be proposed in the fiscal year prior to their implementation.

(4) “Multiyear plan” means the costs and funding of services in the District over a 4-year period and shall be based on the actual experience of the immediately preceding 3 fiscal years, on the approved current fiscal year budget, and on estimates for at least the 4 succeeding fiscal years. Pursuant to § 1-204.43, the multiyear plan shall include provisions identifying:

(A) Future cost implications of maintaining programs at currently authorized levels, including anticipated changes in wage, salary, and benefit levels;

(B) Future cost implications of all capital projects for which funds have already been authorized, including identification of the amount of already appropriated but unexpended capital project funds;

(C) Future cost implications of new, improved, or expanded programs and capital project commitments proposed for each of the succeeding 4 fiscal years;

(D) The effects of current and proposed capital projects on future operating budget requirements;

(E) Revenues and funds likely to be available from existing revenue sources at current rates or levels;

(F) The specific revenue and tax measures recommended for the forthcoming fiscal year and for the next following fiscal year necessary to balance revenues and expenditures;

(G) The actuarial status and anticipated costs and revenues of retirement systems covering District employees; and

(H) Total debt service payments in each fiscal year in which debt service payments must be made for all bonds which have been or will be issued, and all loans from the United States Treasury which have been or will be received, to finance the total cost on a full funding basis of all projects listed in the capital improvements plan prepared under § 1-204.44; and for each such fiscal year, the percentage relationship of the total debt service payments (with payments for issued and proposed bonds and loans from the United States Treasury, received or proposed, separately identified) to the bonding limitation for the current and forthcoming fiscal year as specified in § 1-206.03(b).

(5) “Multiyear plan modification” means a reexamination of all major elements of the multiyear plan, and shall contain all elements of the multiyear plan listed in paragraph (4) of this section.

(6) “Tax expenditures” means the revenue losses attributable to provisions of federal law and the laws of the District of Columbia that allow, in whole or in part, a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from taxes authorized in this title, or which provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability.

§ 47–318.01. Mayoral budget submissions required; accounting of expenditures.

(a) In the annual budget submission, the Mayor shall provide the Council with an agency-by-agency accounting of expenditures for all years of the multiyear plan and multiyear plan modifications submitted with the Mayor’s annual budget and budget modifications. This accounting shall be of agency expenditures at the agency level, with such additional detail as the Council may request.

(b) Pursuant to §§ 1-204.42 and 1-204.43, the Chief Financial Officer shall prepare, on a biennial basis, and the Mayor shall include in the budget submission to the Council, a tax expenditure budget that estimates the revenue loss to the District government from each tax expenditure for the current fiscal year and the next 2 fiscal years. The Chief Financial Officer shall present the first tax expenditure budget for inclusion in the fiscal year 2003 budget submission to the Council, but shall also prepare for inclusion in the fiscal year 2002 budget submission a pilot tax expenditure budget that includes the tax expenditures for which, in the judgment of the Chief Financial Officer, there is sufficient information to estimate the revenue loss. Beginning with the fiscal year 2003 budget submission, the tax expenditure budget shall include the following information:

(1) An estimate of the annual revenue loss to the District government from each tax expenditure;

(2) A citation of the statutory authority for each tax expenditure;

(3) A description of the objective of the tax expenditure;

(4) An analysis of whether the tax expenditure is meeting the objective;

(5) An analysis of the tax expenditure’s effect on the distribution of the tax burden and the administration of the tax system; and

(6) Other factors that the Chief Financial Officer may consider appropriate.

(Nov. 25, 1993, D.C. Law 10-64, § 3, 40 DCR 7347; enacted, Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-254, § 2, 44 DCR 1575; October 4, 2000, D.C. Law 13-161, § 2(b), 47 DCR 5805.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 47-318.1.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-161 designated the existing text as subsec. (a), and added subsec. (b).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) Fiscal Year 2005 budget submission requirement, see § 1202 of Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Support Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-105, June 20, 2003, 50 DCR 5613).

For temporary (90 day) Fiscal Year 2005 budget submission requirement, see § 1202 of Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-149, September 22, 2003, 50 DCR 8360).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1042(a) of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-486, August 2, 2004, 51 DCR 8236).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1042(a) of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-594, October 26, 2004, 51 DCR 11725).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of D.C. Law 15-205, see § 1002 of Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-168, July 26, 2005, 52 DCR 7667).

Short Title

Short title of title XII of Law 15-39: Section 1201 of D.C. Law 15-39 provided that title XII of the act may be cited as the Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Submission Act of 2003.

Short title of subtitle A of title I of Law 16-33: Section 1001 of D.C. Law 16-33 provided that subtitle A of title I of the act may be cited as the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Submission Amendment Act of 2005.

Editor's Notes

Section 1202 of D.C. Law 15-39 provided:

“(a) For fiscal year 2005, the Mayor shall submit a budget to the Council that increases local funds spending by no more than 3.5% of the fiscal year 2004 budget approved by the Council. Any spending transferred from local funds in fiscal year 2004 to non-local funds in Fiscal year 2005 shall be included in any calculation to determine whether the proposed spending for fiscal year 2005 is more than 3.5% greater than local spending in fiscal year 2004.

“(b) By July 1, 2003, the Chief Financial Officer and the Mayor shall identify by contract or subagency, the areas where contract savings identified by the Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Request Act, passed on May 6, 2003 (Enrolled version of Bill 15-214) shall occur and submit the information to Council.

“(c) The budget submission pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall provide that not less than 1/2 of the personnel costs for Public Safety Communications Center services in fiscal year 2004 shall instead be paid by local funds in fiscal year

Section 1042(a) of D.C. Law 15-205, as amended by section 1002 of D.C. Law 16-33, provided:

“(a) Beginning with the submission of the fiscal year 2006 budget, the Mayor shall submit a budget to the Council that is segmented and distinctly identifies:

“(1) That portion of the budget submission in which local funds are consistent with the amount projected in spending for the previous fiscal year by the Council in its Committee of the Whole Report on the Budget Request Act; provided, that the amounts included in the Committee of the Whole Report are to be revised to incorporate supplemental budget actions approved by the District during the course of any fiscal year; provided further, that the revised projections are certified by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; and

“(2) Any additional proposed budget expenditures not included in paragraph (1) of this subsection that are supported by the revenue and resources certified as available by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.”

§ 47–318.01a. Mayoral budget submission required; consistency of budget submission with previous fiscal year spending. [Repealed]

[Repealed].

(Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 72, 53 DCR 6794; Mar. 25, 2009, D.C. Law 17-353, § 131(b), 56 DCR 1117; Oct. 22, 2015, D.C. Law 21-36, § 7022(b), 62 DCR 10905.)

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 17-353 validated a previously made technical correction in the section designation.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 15-205, §§ 1041-1043, see § 7012(a) of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-127, July 27, 2015, 62 DCR 10201).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of this section, see § 7012(b) of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-127, July 27, 2015, 62 DCR 10201).

Short Title

Short title of subtitle E of title I of Law 15-205: Section 1041 of D.C. Law 15-205 provided that subtitle E of title I of the act may be cited as the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Submission Act of 2004.

Editor's Notes

Section 1042(a) of D.C. Law 15-205 provided: “For each fiscal year, the Mayor shall submit a budget to the Council of which the local funds shall be consistent with the amount projected in spending for the previous fiscal year by the Council in the Council Committee of the Whole report on the Budget Request Act.”

Section 1042 of D.C. Law 15-205 was repealed by D.C. Law 21-36, § 7022(a).

§ 47–318.01b. Legislative branch budget submission.

(a) At least 20 days prior to the Mayor’s submission of the annual budget to the Council, the Chairman of the Council shall transmit to the Mayor an estimate in detail of the amount of money required for the:

(1) Council;

(2) Office of the District of Columbia Auditor; and

(3) Office of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions for the ensuing fiscal year.

(b) The Mayor shall transmit the same estimate required by subsection (a) of this section in his annual estimate of appropriations for the District of Columbia, with such recommendations as he may consider proper.

§ 47–318.02. Mayoral budget submissions required; accounting of expenditures — Budget request and multiyear plan.

(a) The Mayor shall provide the Council with both a budget request and a multiyear plan no earlier than February 1 and no later than February 8 of each calendar year commencing with 1994.

(b) The Mayor shall provide the Council with both a budget modification and a multiyear plan modification 3 times each fiscal year: the first set no earlier than June 1 and no later than June 15, the second set no earlier than November 8 and no later than November 15, and the third set no earlier than February 1 and no later than February 8.

(c) The Council shall adopt each of the budget and multiyear plan modifications no more than 28 days after official submission to the Council. Any modification on which the Council does not act within 28 days shall be deemed approved.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, for fiscal year 1994, the Mayor shall provide the Council with the first budget modification and first multiyear plan no earlier than November 8 and no later than November 15.

§ 47–318.03. Mayoral budget submissions required; accounting of expenditures — Gap-closing actions.

(a) In the annual budget request, the Mayor shall provide the Council with all gap-closing actions for the upcoming fiscal year budget. Gap-closing actions include increases in current revenue bases and rates; new taxes, fees, charges, fines, forfeitures, and penalties; expenditure reductions associated with lower service levels; and productivity improvements that yield expenditure reductions without a decrease in service levels.

(b) If the Council rejects gap-closing actions of the Mayor either in the annual budget request or any budget modification, it must substitute 1 or more of its own gap-closing actions to make up the amount of the rejected gap-closing actions.

(c) Within 30 days after the end of each month, the Mayor shall provide the Council with a progress report on those gap-closing actions that the Council designates for monitoring.

(d) The Mayor or Mayor’s designee(s) shall appear before a hearing of the Committee of the Whole every 2 months to respond to questions regarding gap-closing actions.

(e) The Mayor shall replace, in the Mayor’s budget modification submission, any gap-closing actions that the Council determines to be in serious danger of failure with gap-closing actions more likely to occur. However, the Mayor may not replace gap-closing actions approved by the Council in any budget adoption process merely because the Mayor does not support such actions.

(f) If the Mayor determines that the budget gap has increased from the submission of the Mayor’s budget request to the submission of the first budget modification, or from the submission of 1 budget modification to the submission of another, the Mayor must increase the aggregate dollar value of the gap-closing actions to cover the difference. If the Mayor determines that the budget gap has decreased from the submission of the Mayor’s budget request to the submission of the first budget modification, or from the submission of 1 budget modification to the submission of another, the Mayor may decrease the aggregate dollar value of the gap-closing actions to eliminate the difference.

§ 47–318.04. Mayoral budget submissions required; accounting of expenditures — Deadline for gap-closing submission.

The Mayor shall submit to the Council, no later than October 8, 1993, all explicit actions necessary to close the FY 1994 budget gap previously identified by the Mayor, as well as the dollar value of each action.

§ 47–318.05. Mayoral budget submissions required; accounting of expenditures — Cash flow statements.

The Mayor shall submit to the Council, beginning October 1, 1993, and every month thereafter, monthly consolidated cash flow statements in the same format as currently prepared by the Office of the D.C. Treasurer, except that the statement submitted to the Council shall contain an explanation of all changes in cash flows that have occurred since the previous month’s report.

§ 47–318.05a. Budget submissions required; agency enhancement requests.

The Mayor and the Chief Financial Officer shall supplement all proposed budgets submitted pursuant to § 1-204.42, and related budget documents required by §§ 1-204.42, 1-204.43, and 1-204.44, by submitting to the Council simultaneously with the proposed budget submission:

(1) Actual copies, not summaries, of all agency budget enhancement requests, including the “Form B” for all District agencies; and

(2) Any similar documentation describing in detail agencies’ budget needs or requests.

§ 47–318.06. Monitoring indications of economic growth.

Each year, in connection with budget estimates, the Chief Financial Officer shall prepare an analysis of change in the economy and in economic assumptions and revenue forecasts which, to the extent practical, shall comment on the impact of tax changes on expanding the District’s tax base. Such analysis shall be transmitted to the Council of the District of Columbia at the time of the Mayor’s budget submission to the Council.