This emergency act makes several targeted changes to District of Columbia law governing DC Water billing, disconnections, and customer notice. It adds the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) to the Language Access Act as a covered entity with major public contact, which expands language-access obligations for the utility. The bill also clarifies that DC Water may impose late-payment charges and penalties, setting a 10% charge for bills unpaid more than 30 days and a 1% monthly compounded penalty for bills unpaid more than 60 days.
The measure further revises the District of Columbia Public Works Act to govern water shutoffs for nonpayment. It confirms that DC Water may discontinue service after 30 days of nonpayment, prohibits unauthorized restoration of service, and authorizes a fine tied to delinquent charges. It also requires DC Water to submit monthly reports to the Council, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Tenant Advocate detailing notices of disconnection, actual shutoffs, restorations, payment plans, tenant-assumed payments through tenant associations, and receiverships.
The bill also updates the District’s regulations on notice before water service termination. The notice requirements are broadened from “tenants” to “occupants,” require posting at least 30 working days before termination, and direct that notices be provided in English, Spanish, or another language reasonably determined to be spoken at the premises. The notice must be developed with the Office of the Tenant Advocate and must inform occupants, including owners, about the delinquency, payment options, and related remedies such as receivership.
Overall, the bill’s impact is to tighten and clarify DC Water’s billing and disconnection authority while increasing transparency and language access protections for affected residents and property occupants. It affects DC Water, property owners, tenants, condominium and community associations, and common-interest developments, and it creates a recurring reporting obligation to oversight and tenant-protection offices. Because it is an emergency act, it takes effect immediately upon approval and lasts no longer than 90 days.
The general sentiment appears supportive and noncontroversial, as reflected by unanimous final reading approval with 12 yeas and 0 nays. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate in the provided materials. The main policy balance in the bill is between stronger enforcement of water bill collection and added procedural protections, including multilingual notice and monthly public reporting, for occupants facing potential shutoff.
The bill amends the Language Access Act of 2004, the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, the District of Columbia Public Works Act of 1954, and Title 21 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations. It expands DC Water’s legal obligations for language access, clarifies late-fee and penalty authority, codifies shutoff and unauthorized reconnection rules, and imposes monthly reporting requirements to the Council, the Attorney General, and the Office of the Tenant Advocate. It also revises notice rules for water disconnections to apply to occupants rather than only tenants and to require multilingual notice where appropriate.
The available voting record suggests broad agreement: the bill passed final reading unanimously, 12-0. With no committee transcripts provided, there is no evidence of formal opposition in the record supplied. The overall tone of the legislation is pragmatic and administrative, combining enforcement authority with consumer-protection and transparency measures.
No explicit contention appears in the provided materials, but the bill addresses a potentially sensitive policy area: water shutoffs for nonpayment. The likely points of concern are the scope of DC Water’s authority to impose late charges and disconnect service, the fine for unauthorized reconnection, and the adequacy of notice protections for occupants. On the other side, the bill’s supporters appear to prioritize clearer billing rules, multilingual notice, and monthly reporting to oversight bodies to reduce confusion and improve accountability.