S. 4150 — District of Columbia Home Rule Improvement Act of 2026

This section establishes a uniform 60-day congressional review period (from 30 calendar days) for all District of Columbia laws under the D.C. Home Rule Act (i.e., period during which Congress may disapprove a D.C. Council act before it takes effect). Specifically, it (1) sets the period to begin on the later of the transmission date to the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate, excluding only days when either House is adjourned for more than three days during a session; (2) eliminates the alternative review period previously applicable to acts affecting criminal laws; and (3) requires that any extension or substantially similar reenactment of an emergency act (i.e., one taking immediate effect for up to 90 days under a D.C. Council determination) undergo the full congressional review.

This section revises the expedited procedures under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act applicable to congressional resolutions of disapproval for actions of the D.C. Council (i.e., joint resolutions passed within 30 legislative days of receiving a D.C. law to prevent it from taking effect). It applies all procedures of section 604 of the act to such resolutions (previously excluding subsections (d), (e), and (f)) and replaces subsections (c) through (j) of section 604 with new provisions as follows: (1) referral of resolutions to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability or the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; (2) in the House, discharge from committee after 20 calendar days, with 1 hour of debate on the resolution, no amendments or motions to recommit, and highly privileged motions to discharge or proceed; (3) in the Senate, discharge after 20 calendar days on any member's demand, waiver of points of order on motion to proceed, 10 hours of debate, and vote immediately after debate (with procedures inapplicable after 60 session days); and (4) coordination between houses if one passes a resolution before receiving one from the other.

This section authorizes Congress to disapprove individual provisions of District of Columbia (D.C.) acts through joint resolutions under the D.C. Home Rule Act (i.e., rather than requiring disapproval of the entire act, as previously required). As background, under current law, D.C. acts take effect 30 legislative days after transmission to Congress unless a joint resolution disapproves the act in full. It further specifies that disapproving one provision does not repeal remaining provisions or prohibit subsequent disapprovals of other provisions and strikes the prohibition on resolutions specifying more than one action.

This section requires the District of Columbia Mayor to transmit each executive order and each regulation promulgated by an executive branch officer to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate; delays their effectiveness for 60 days (excluding days either House is adjourned for more than three days during a session of Congress) or until the prescribed date, whichever is later, unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval; and deems such a resolution, if enacted after the 60-day period, to repeal the order or regulation as of its enactment date. It applies expedited congressional consideration procedures (previously limited to D.C. Council actions) to these joint resolutions of disapproval (i.e., under amended section 604 of the D.C. Home Rule Act) and makes conforming and clerical amendments. (As background, the D.C. Home Rule Act grants the District limited self-government while authorizing Congress to disapprove local actions via joint resolution; thus, this extends that oversight to the Mayor's executive orders and regulations.)

This section prohibits the District of Columbia Council from withdrawing an act after transmitting it to the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate during the review period specified in paragraph (1) of Section 602(c) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. (Thus, the act remains subject to that subsection notwithstanding any attempted withdrawal.)

This section prohibits the D.C. Council from transmitting to Congress another act substantially the same as one previously disapproved by a congressional joint resolution under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, unless specifically authorized by a law enacted after that disapproval. The prohibition applies to D.C. acts disapproved by joint resolution on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

This section requires the Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia to appear at least once every calendar year before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to present a report on the state of the District, including recommendations for necessary and expedient measures.

This section sets the effective date of the Act and its amendments as applying, except as provided in section 7(b), to acts of the District of Columbia transmitted to Congress by the Council under section 602(c) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act and to executive orders and regulations transmitted by the Mayor under section 605 of such Act (as added by section 5), on or after the date of enactment.