S. 51 — Washington, D.C. Admission Act

This section declares the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth admitted into the Union as a state on equal footing with the other states upon issuance of the proclamation required by section 103(a). It requires the state's constitution to remain republican in form and not repugnant to the U.S. Constitution or the principles of the Declaration of Independence. It includes a nonseverability clause stating that invalidation of any provision in this section, or its application to any person or circumstance, invalidates the entire Act and any amendments made by the Act.

This section requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to issue, not more than 30 days after certification of this Act's enactment, a proclamation for primary and general elections for two separately designated Senators and one Representative from the new state, to be conducted and certified under DC law (with results also certified to the President), with elected officials assuming seats in Congress upon admission. This section permanently increases the size of the House of Representatives to 436 members (from 435) effective upon DC state admission; entitles the new state to one Representative initially until the next apportionment; and amends the statutory apportionment formula (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)) to base apportionment on 436 Representatives (from the then existing number) for the first decennial census after admission and all subsequent censuses.

This section requires the President, upon certification of the results of elections for officers specified in section 102(a), to issue a proclamation announcing those results not later than 90 days after receiving the certification pursuant to section 102(b)(2).

This section establishes the territory of the State as all of the District of Columbia as of enactment, excluding the area designated as the “Capital” (the seat of the U.S. Government under Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution) as described in section 112. It directs the President, in consultation with the Chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, to conduct a metes and bounds survey of the Capital within 180 days of enactment.

This section establishes the boundaries of the Capital upon admission of the State into the Union, encompassing the principal federal monuments, White House, Capitol Building, United States Supreme Court Building, and federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings adjacent to the Mall and Capitol Building, as described in a metes-and-bounds outline beginning at the intersection of F Street NE and 2nd Street NE and tracing south, west, north, and east around the core federal area (subject to subsections (c) and (d)).

This section provides for the retention of title to or jurisdiction over real and personal property for administration and maintenance purposes upon the admission of the District of Columbia as a state: (1) the United States retains title to or jurisdiction over all such property it holds on the day before admission; and (2) the state retains title to or jurisdiction over all such property held by the District of Columbia on that date.

This section applies District of Columbia laws in effect on the day before state admission to the Capital in the same manner and to the same extent thereafter (except as otherwise provided in the Act) and deems them laws of the United States applicable only in or to the Capital.

This section establishes the Capital National Guard by (1) replacing "District of Columbia" with "Capital" (and "National Guard of the District of Columbia" with "Capital National Guard," where applicable) throughout Title 32, U.S. Code, including in the definitions of Army National Guard and Air National Guard in 32 U.S.C. §101(4) and (6), and in 24 other sections governing organization, command, training, property, and other National Guard matters (i.e., §§103, 104, 107, 109, 112, 304, 314, 315, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 501, 503, 504, 505, 509, 702, 703, 704, 708, 710, 711, 712, and 715); (2) adding a definition of "Capital" in 32 U.S.C. §101(20) as the area serving as the seat of the Government of the United States, as described in section 112 of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act; and (3) making conforming amendments to 32 U.S.C. §§901 (defining "Governor" for the Capital as its commanding general) and multiple sections of Title 10, U.S. Code (i.e., §§101, 771a, and 1076f). (Thus, these changes support continued National Guard functions—dual state-like and federal roles for training, homeland defense, and active duty support—for the federal capital area following D.C. statehood.)

This section terminates the municipal corporation status of the Capital (or any portion thereof) effective upon the admission of the State into the Union.

This section provides transitional rules upon admission of the District of Columbia as a state. Specifically, it (1) extends the state's legislative power to all rightful subjects consistent with the U.S. Constitution; (2) deems members of District executive, legislative, and judicial offices to hold equivalent state offices; (3) applies federal laws to the state as elsewhere in the United States; (4) preserves obligations under existing contracts involving the District or United States; (5) deems the state the successor to the District in interstate compacts; (6) continues federal representatives' service on District boards and commissions; and (7) prohibits the United States Capitol Police, United States Park Police, and United States Secret Service Uniformed Division from enforcing state laws except as authorized by the state (preserving their authority in the Capital).

This section designates the State as the legal successor to the District of Columbia in all matters and provides that all pending writs, actions, suits, judicial and administrative proceedings, civil or criminal liabilities, prosecutions, judgments, sentences, orders, decrees, appeals, causes of action, claims, demands, titles, and rights continue unaffected by the State's admission into the Union, except as modified under this Act, the State Constitution, or laws of the State or the United States.

This section states that no provision of the Act confers United States nationality, terminates nationality lawfully acquired, or restores nationality terminated or lost under U.S. law or treaty.

This section reserves to the United States exclusive legislative authority over tracts or parcels of land in the state that are owned or controlled by the United States for defense or Coast Guard purposes on the day before state admission, for so long as the United States retains such ownership or control for those purposes. The section further provides that such lands remain part of the state and subject to concurrent state jurisdiction consistent with federal laws enacted pursuant to the federal authority; and authorizes the state to serve civil or criminal process on such lands for rights acquired, obligations incurred, or crimes committed in the state but outside those lands.

This section establishes a compact under which the State and its people disclaim all right and title to any real or personal property not granted or confirmed to the State by this Act if the property is held by or subject to disposition by the United States. The section further provides that nothing in the Act recognizes, denies, enlarges, impairs, or otherwise affects any claim against the United States—which remains governed by applicable federal law—and states that the Act neither constitutes nor shall be construed as a congressional finding, interpretation, or construction regarding the validity of any such claim.

This section modifies residency requirements for certain federal judicial and law enforcement officials by removing exceptions for the District of Columbia and adjusting exceptions for specified New York districts, with changes applying only to individuals appointed after the date of the admission of the State into the Union. Specifically, the section (1) for circuit judges, requires each to reside within 50 miles of the Capital (previously excepting those in the District of Columbia and requiring residence within 50 miles of the District of Columbia); (2) for district judges, removes the exception previously allowing those in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of New York to reside anywhere (retaining only the Southern District of New York); (3) for United States attorneys, requires residence in the district of appointment except for those in the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of New York, who may reside within 20 miles thereof (replacing prior exceptions including the District of Columbia); (4) for United States marshals, limits the residency exception to within 20 miles of the Southern District of New York (previously including others); and (5) for district court clerks, removes the exception previously allowing those in the District of Columbia to reside anywhere.

This section renames the District of Columbia Circuit as the Capital Circuit and the District of Columbia District Court as the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and the Capital District Court by amending 28 U.S.C. §§41 and 88, respectively, and updates the table of sections for chapter 5. The section makes conforming amendments throughout Title 28, United States Code, as follows: (1) for the Court of Appeals, in §§44(a), 48(a), 49, 2265(c)(2), and 2343, replacing "District of Columbia" or "District of Columbia Circuit" with "Capital" or "Capital Circuit"; (2) for the District Court, in §§133(a), 1346(e), 1355(b)(2), 1391(f)(4), 1402(a)(2), 1413, and 2467(c)(2)(B), replacing "District of Columbia" with "Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and the Capital"; (3) for other courts, in §§152(a)(2), 173, 175, 456(b), 462(d), and 798(a), replacing "District of Columbia" with "Capital" or "Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and the Capital," as appropriate; and (4) for other provisions, in §§1608(a)(4) and 2410(b), replacing "Washington, District of Columbia" with "the Capital." The section further adds a definition of "Capital" to 28 U.S.C. §451 as the area serving as the seat of the Government of the United States, as described in section 112 of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act.

This section makes conforming amendments to title 28, United States Code, replacing references to the District of Columbia with “the Capital and Washington, Douglass Commonwealth” or “Washington, Douglass Commonwealth” in provisions governing (1) appointment of United States Trustees, (2) appointment of additional personnel for independent counsels, and (3) judicial review of removal of independent counsels. The amendments take effect upon admission of the State into the Union.

This section modifies pretrial services establishment requirements under 18 USC 3152(a) to make the exclusion of the District of Columbia subject to new subsection (d) and adds subsection (d). Subsection (d) specifies that, for the judicial district of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and the Capital—(1) upon admission of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union, the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth Pretrial Services Agency continues providing pretrial services in the same manner and to the same extent as the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency did the day before admission; and (2) upon the President's receipt of the state's certification under section 315(b)(4) of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act that it has laws providing for state pretrial services, the continuation under paragraph (1) ends and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts establishes pretrial services under this section. (Pretrial services assist federal judges in making pretrial release and detention decisions for criminal defendants by conducting investigations, risk assessments, and supervision.)

This section requires each state to permit absent Capital voters—individuals residing in the Capital who are otherwise qualified to vote in that state based on prior domicile—to register (if received at least 30 days before the election) and vote by absentee ballot in the state's federal elections (i.e., general, special, primary, and runoff). It expresses the sense of Congress that states maximize such voters' access (e.g., by waiving registration requirements, expediting ballot processing, and mailing ballots early); authorizes the Attorney General to enforce these requirements through civil action; specifies that exercising these rights does not affect a person's residence or domicile for federal, state, or local tax purposes; and applies upon the new state's admission to the Union for elections held thereafter.

This section repeals the statutory authority for the Office of Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia (i.e., the non-voting House position established by the District of Columbia Delegate Act) upon D.C. statehood and restores or revives any prior laws amended or repealed by that Act. It also makes conforming amendments to the District of Columbia Elections Code of 1955 by striking all references to the Delegate.

This section strikes the provisions defining "State" to include the District of Columbia and designating the DC Mayor as "executive" for purposes of federal law on the uniform election day for President and Vice President (3 U.S.C. ch. 1), effective upon the District of Columbia's admission into the Union as a state.

This section establishes expedited floor procedures in the House of Representatives and Senate for a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to repeal the 23rd Amendment (i.e., the 1961 amendment granting the District of Columbia three electors in the Electoral College, as if it were the least populous state). In the House, the joint resolution receives immediate calendar placement upon introduction; a motion to proceed is in order within 30 legislative days, with all points of order waived, no debate, and previous question ordered; and consideration includes reading as read, waiver of points of order, 10 hours of debate equally divided, no amendments, and previous question to passage. In the Senate, the joint resolution receives immediate calendar placement; a motion to proceed is in order within 30 legislative days notwithstanding cloture rules, with waivers and no debate or reconsideration; and consideration includes waiver of points of order, a 30-hour limit equally divided, no amendments or motions to commit or postpone, and a vote immediately after debate. The section coordinates procedures between houses (e.g., treating the other house's version upon receipt), deems it a rule of each chamber applicable only to this joint resolution (superseding inconsistent rules), and recognizes each house's right to change its rules.

This section continues entitlements to federal benefit payments under the District of Columbia Retirement Protection Act of 1997 (which federalized pensions for certain pre-1997 D.C. employees, i.e., police, firefighters, teachers, and judges) for individuals as of the day before D.C. statehood, in the same manner, extent, and terms. It preserves federal obligations to such individuals, the state, and the D.C. Federal Pension Fund and transfers the District of Columbia's obligations under the Act to the state, all in the same manner, extent, and terms.

This section continues all obligations of the Federal Government and the District of Columbia under title 5, U.S. Code (federal civil service laws), with respect to individuals first employed by the DC government before October 1, 1987, after DC's admission to the Union as a state. Federal obligations remain in effect as to such individuals and the state; DC obligations become state obligations as to such individuals and the Federal Government, in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same terms and conditions.

This section continues federal obligations under the District of Columbia judges' retirement program (subchapter III of chapter 15 of title 11, District of Columbia Official Code) for any individual's service accrued prior to the date of D.C. statehood, with respect to such individual and the new state in the same manner, to the same extent, and subject to the same terms and conditions as previously applied to the individual and D.C. The section further continues such obligations for service accrued after statehood until the termination date, which occurs when the state certifies to the President that it has enacted laws requiring the state to appropriate and make available funds for retirement of state judges.

This section continues the application of title III of the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970—which establishes and funds the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) to represent indigent persons in criminal, delinquency, and certain civil contempt cases—to the new state and its public defender service following admission to the Union, with the federal government treated as the employer for benefit contributions under section 305(c)(2) of that Act. The section authorizes the state to rename the service upon admission; preserves federal employee benefits under specified chapters of title 5, U.S. Code, for pre-statehood PDS employees (with the state assuming employer contributions thereafter); and terminates the continuation provisions upon the state's certification to the President that it has enacted laws to appropriate funds for a state office providing equivalent services.

This section requires the Attorney General, with the concurrence of the State, to assign assistant U.S. attorneys to the State under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (5 U.S.C. ch. 33, subch. VI) to conduct criminal prosecutions in the State's name that, but for statehood, would have been conducted by the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia under D.C. Official Code § 23-101(c). Assignments are on non-reimbursable detail (per 5 U.S.C. § 3373(a)), with a minimum number equal to those AUSAs principally performing such duties the day before admission; the requirement terminates upon the State's certification to the President that it has appointed state attorneys for those functions. (Thus, the Department of Justice temporarily handles state-level criminal prosecutions during transition without state cost.) This section further transfers clemency authority (i.e., pardon, reprieve, commutation of sentence, or remission of fine or penalty) for offenses against the District of Columbia or State exclusively to state officials under state law, effective upon admission and regardless of prosecuting entity.

This section requires the United States Marshals Service to provide services for the courts and court system of the State in the same manner and to the same extent as it provided such services for the District of Columbia courts as of the day before the State's admission into the Union, without appointing a United States marshal for any court of the State under 28 U.S.C. 561. (Thus, existing Service personnel discharge these duties—such as courtroom security, prisoner custody, and process service—under the Director's supervision.) The obligation terminates upon written certification by the State to the President that the State has appointed its own personnel to provide such services.

This section continues the designation of individuals convicted of violating District of Columbia laws to Bureau of Prisons facilities under chapter 1 of subtitle C of title XI of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (i.e., a 1997 law transferring responsibility for housing and caring for D.C. felons from the District to the federal Bureau of Prisons), applying it to pre-statehood convictions and similarly to post-statehood convictions under state laws. The section terminates upon written certification by the state to the President that it has laws for housing such individuals in state correctional facilities.

This section requires the United States Parole Commission to continue exercising authority to grant, deny, revoke parole, and impose conditions for imprisoned felons eligible under pre-statehood District of Columbia (D.C.) laws, as well as for released D.C. offenders, and to extend such authority to felons and released offenders of the new Washington, Douglass Commonwealth state until the state certifies to the President that it has enacted its own laws (as provided under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997). (As background, the 1997 Act transferred D.C.'s parole authority to the federal commission due to D.C.'s abolition of its parole board and created federal supervision responsibilities.) It further provides for continuation of federal benefits under specified chapters of title 5, U.S. Code, for commission employees who transfer to the state office, with the state responsible for employer contributions thereafter. This section renames the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia as the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for Washington, Douglass Commonwealth (CSOSA)—including its Pretrial Services Agency component—and requires CSOSA to continue providing pretrial services, supervision for probationers, parolees, and supervised releasees, and sex offender registration for pre-statehood D.C. cases, while extending such functions to state cases until state certification. It also provides for continuation of federal benefits for CSOSA employees who remain in federal status post-statehood.

This section continues the application of Title 11, District of Columbia Official Code—governing the courts and court system—to the courts of the new State upon admission to the Union in the same manner as applied to D.C. courts prior to admission, with specified exceptions and federal responsibilities. It (1) treats the federal government as the employing agency for State court employee benefits under specified D.C. Code provisions and 5 U.S.C. subpart G, part III (i.e., federal retirement, life insurance, health benefits, and similar programs); (2) requires the State to select judges for vacancies and permits renaming of courts upon admission, while preserving service of pre-existing judges and judicial appointment requirements; (3) continues federal benefits treatment for pre-admission court employees indefinitely, with the State assuming employer contributions upon section termination; (4) continues federal funding for State courts under section 11241 of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (i.e., annual federal payments via a joint committee mechanism); and (5) requires deposit of State court receipts into the U.S. Treasury, except those for the Crime Victims Compensation Fund. (Thus, the federal government funds and receives receipts from State courts until the State certifies enactment of self-funding laws, at which point most provisions terminate.)

This section continues application of the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999—a federal program providing tuition assistance to District residents for attendance at public colleges and universities (in-state or out-of-state HBCUs) and certain private institutions—to the State and its designated public institution of higher education successor to the University of the District of Columbia after the State's admission into the Union, in the same manner and to the same extent as the Act applied to the District and the University of the District of Columbia beforehand. The continuation terminates, except with respect to the successor institution, upon the State's written certification to the President that it has enacted laws providing substantially similar tuition assistance.

This section continues application of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOR Act)—which provides federally funded Opportunity Scholarships for low-income students to attend participating private schools, along with supplemental aid to D.C. public and public charter schools—to the new state after its admission to the Union, in the same manner and to the same extent as the Act applied to the District of Columbia prior to admission. The continuation terminates upon the state's written certification to the President that it has enacted laws (1) providing tuition assistance substantially similar to the SOR Act and (2) directing supplemental funds to the state's public schools and public charter schools in amounts matching those provided under the Act in the most recent fiscal year.

This section establishes a temporary Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for a state upon its admission to the Union equal to the FMAP applicable to the District of Columbia under Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) as of the day before admission, notwithstanding the standard FMAP formula. (As background, the FMAP determines the federal share—generally 50% to 83%—of most state Medicaid expenditures.) The enhanced FMAP applies from the admission date through September 30 of the fiscal year in which the state certifies to the President that its estimated revenues will cover any losses resulting from this provision's termination during each of the subsequent five fiscal years.

This section makes conforming amendments to chapters 87, 89, and 91 of title 40, United States Code—governing the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), Commemorative Works Act, and Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), respectively—effective upon admission of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union. For the NCPC (a federal commission that reviews development plans affecting federal property in the National Capital region), the section (1) directs continuing application of chapter 87 to the Capital (i.e., the seat of government as described in section 112 of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act) in the same manner as it applied to the District of Columbia before admission and to the new state in the same manner as it applied to Maryland and Virginia before admission; (2) revises NCPC composition to provide for four citizen members with city or regional planning experience appointed by the President (previously three appointees plus others), with residency requirements of one each from Virginia, Maryland, and the new state; and (3) updates definitions of "environs," "National Capital," and "National Capital Region" to reference the National Capital (per the Admission Act) and the new state. For the CFA (a federal advisory body on aesthetics of public buildings and grounds), the section replaces references to the District of Columbia with the Capital and adds a definition of Capital as the seat of government per section 112 of the Admission Act. For the Commemorative Works Act (which establishes procedures for authorizing and siting monuments and memorials on federal land), the section (1) limits chapter application to the Capital and its environs; (2) redefines "Capital and its environs" to mean the seat of government per section 112 of the Admission Act plus National Park Service and General Services Administration lands in the Reserve, Area I, and Area II (per the 2003 map OLM 869/86501 B) located outside the new state (previously "District of Columbia and its environs," which encompassed lands administered by those agencies in the Reserve, Area I, and Area II); (3) updates temporary site designations to the Capital and its environs; (4) makes general conforming replacements of "District of Columbia and its environs" with "Capital and its environs" throughout the chapter; and (5) revises the definition of commemorative site to reference the urban fabric of the seat of government per section 112 of the Admission Act (previously the urban fabric of the District of Columbia).

This section amends Chapter 95 of title 40, United States Code—authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to supply water to the Washington metropolitan area—by adding a new section 9508. Effective upon admission of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth to the Union, the new section deems any reference in the chapter to the District of Columbia to instead refer to the Capital (i.e., the seat of the federal government, as defined in section 112 of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act) or the new state, as applicable. (Thus, the Corps of Engineers retains its water supply authorities for both the federal capital and the new state.)

This section deems the location of any person in the Capital or Washington, Douglass Commonwealth on the day after the date of the state's admission into the Union to satisfy any requirement under laws in effect prior to admission that the person be located in the District of Columbia, including 4 U.S.C. §72 (offices attached to the seat of government) and title 36, U.S. Code (patriotic and national organizations).