Norton Announces Markup of Her Bill Expanding D.C. Home Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that the House Committee on Oversight and Reform will mark up her District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act, which would be the biggest expansion of D.C. home rule since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973, at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. The bill would give D.C. the exclusive authority to prosecute D.C. crimes, give D.C. the exclusive authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, and eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation.

“D.C. should—and will—be a state,” Norton said. “However, until Congress grants D.C. statehood, which is closer than ever, there is no constitutional or policy reason Congress should not expand D.C.’s authority to govern its local affairs. Thank you to Chairwoman Maloney for marking up this important bill.”

The D.C. Home Rule Expansion Act would give D.C. the same authority states and territories have over certain local governmental functions. Under the Constitution, Congress has plenary authority over both D.C. and the territories. Congress has already used its plenary authority to give the territories the self-governing authorities this bill would give D.C.

First, the D.C. Home Rule Expansion Act would give D.C. the exclusive authority to prosecute D.C. crimes. Currently, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles, while the D.C. Attorney General has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by juveniles and some by adults. 

Second, this bill would give D.C. the exclusive authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes. Currently, the president exercises the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes.

Finally, this bill would eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation. D.C. legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. The review process imposes significant costs on both D.C. and Congress, but only three D.C. disapproval resolutions have been enacted since passage of the Home Rule Act, and none since 1991.

This Congress, in addition to passing Norton’s D.C. statehood bill, the House has twice passed Norton’s bill that would give the D.C. mayor control over the D.C. National Guard. The House has also, at Norton’s request, twice passed bills that would prohibit the use of federal funds to carry out the provision in the Home Rule Act that authorizes the president to federalize the D.C. police department.

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