Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The Council headed back to the dais this week for our first Committee of the Whole meeting and Legislative Meeting since July. We voted on several measures, but I want to highlight a few bills we considered and voted on Tuesday.
First, the Council took up consideration of a bill introduced by At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds, the Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident (FILTER) Amendment Act of 2025. This bill aims to create new regulations around the District’s ballot initiative process, which has been used in recent years to advance voters’ priorities around the tipped minimum wage (I-82), ranked choice voting (I-83), and more. While I understand some of my colleagues’ concerns about the process of ballot initiatives being abused to circumvent the Council’s legislative process, I ultimately voted against the measure on Tuesday. I was one of only two no-votes, and the measure passed. I simply could not square the reality that this bill will stymie a currently healthy, democratic process that centers the opinions of voters. The bill will come to the Council for a second vote at our next Legislative Meeting. I hear from neighbors frequently with concerns that the Council is incrementally taking steps to box the public out of the democratic process, and I will continue to push back on it.
We also voted on a bill I was proud to co-introduce, Eric’s ID Law. As I shared after last week’s markup, this legislation—championed by Eric and Linda Carpenter-Grantham—advances equity and public safety priorities for residents with nonapparent disabilities. It does so by allowing applicants for a license, permit, or identification card to choose to indicate on that identification card any nonapparent disability. It also provides for training of first responders to recognize the nonapparent disability symbol (a butterfly) so they can engage safely. Tuesday’s unanimous approval of the bill on first reading is an affirmation that this common-sense legislation is a win for our neighbors with nonapparent disabilities and for all of the District.
