D.C. Law 21-213. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Community Partnership Amendment Act of 2016.
AN ACT
To amend An Act To provide for the abatement of nuisances in the District of Columbia by the Commissioners of said District, and for other purposes to clarify that the owner of record or an authorized agent of the owner of record may register a property as vacant, and to provide that the Mayor may allow a relative of the owner of record to register the property as vacant if the owner is physically unable to do so; and to amend Chapter 28 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code to require the owner of a building offered for lease or rent to post in a visible place a telephone number accessible on a 24-hour basis for residents and to provide the number to the Mayor, and to provide an exemption from business license requirements for de minimis business activity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Community Partnership Amendment Act of 2016".
Sec. 2. Section 6 of An Act To provide for the abatement of nuisances in the District of Columbia by the Commissioners of said District, and for other purposes, effective April 27, 2001 (D.C. Law 13-281; D.C. Official Code § 42-3131.06), is amended by adding a new subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
"(a-2)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, no person except the owner of record or an authorized agent of the owner of record, with proof of authorization from the owner of record, may register a building as vacant.
"(B) The Mayor, upon a showing that the owner of record is physically unable to register the property, may allow a relative of the owner of record to register the building as vacant; provided, that the relative can show proof of being a relative and, to the satisfaction of the Mayor, that the owner of record is physically unable to register the property.
"(2) This subsection shall not in any way limit the Mayor's authority to register as vacant or blighted any property whose owner fails to register it as required by
"(3) For the purposes of this section, the term:
"(A) "Owner of record" means the person or persons named in the public record as the title holder of a real property.
"(B) "Relative" means a spouse, domestic partner, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or the sibling's child, spouse, or domestic partner.".
Sec. 3. Chapter 28 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows:
(a) The table of contents is amended by adding a new section designation to read as follows:
47-2851.02a. License exemption for de minimis business activity.
(b) Section 47-2828 is amended as follows:
(1) A new subsection (a-1) is added to read as follows as follows:
"(a-1)(1) An owner of a residential building in which one or more dwelling units or rooming units are offered for rent or lease shall provide to the Mayor a 24-hour accessible telephone number and publicly post the telephone number in the residential building.
"(2) The telephone number required pursuant to this subsection shall be continuously and conspicuously posted for residents to view. Any change in a posted telephone number shall be provided to the Mayor and the correct number posted in the building as required by this subsection within a reasonable amount of time, as determined by the Mayor or as set forth in rules issued pursuant to this subsection.
"(3) The failure to post and maintain a telephone number as required by this subsection shall be a civil infraction for the purposes of
(2) Subsection (c) is amended as follows:
(A) The existing text is designated as paragraph (1).
(B) A new paragraph (2) is added to read as follows:
"(2) As a condition of licensure, apartment houses, all community-based residential facilities, and other residential housing businesses shall post and provide to the Mayor a telephone number as required by subsection (a-1) of this section.".
(c) A new section 47-2851.02a is added to read as follows:
"Sec. 47-2851.02a. License exemption for de minimis business activity.
"(a) Business activity shall be exempt from the licensing requirement set forth in § 47-2851.02; provided, that the business activity has a gross annual revenue of $2,000 or less and does not occur more than 30 days in a calendar year.
"(b)(1) Upon request by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, a person applying for the exemption provided by this section ("applicant") shall submit a letter self-certifying that the gross annual revenue of the business activity for which the exemption is sought does not exceed $2,000 and does not occur more than 30 days in a calendar year ("self-certification letter").
"(2) An applicant who knowingly makes a false statement in a self-certification letter shall be guilty of a Class 1 civil infraction and subject to fines pursuant to section 16-3201 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
"(c)(1) If, after the submission of a self-certification letter, the revenue of the business activity described in the self-certification letter exceeds $2,000 or the business activity occurs more than 30 days in a calendar year, the applicant shall inform the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs within 30 days of the increase in revenue or days of business activity from that stated in the self-certification letter.
"(2) An applicant who fails to inform the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs as required by this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 civil infraction and subject to fines pursuant to section 16-3201 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
"(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede the zoning regulations.".
Sec. 4. Applicability.
(a) Section 3(a) and (c) shall apply upon the date of inclusion of their fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan.
(b) The Chief Financial Officer shall certify the date of the inclusion of the fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, and provide notice to the Budget Director of the Council of the certification.
(c)(1) The Budget Director shall cause the notice of the certification to be published in the District of Columbia Register.
(2) The date of publication of the notice of the certification shall not affect the applicability of this act.
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement contained in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
Sec. 6. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.
