The Council of the District of Columbia is expected to take up its second vote on the Secure D.C. Omnibus bill in March, bringing the sweeping crime legislation one step closer to law as council members seek to decrease criminal activity in the district.
A source with knowledge of the council’s proceedings confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the second and final vote for the Secure D.C. Omnibus bill is expected to be on March 5, almost one month after the council took its first vote on Feb. 6.
Members passed the legislation last month after hours of debate over the bill’s language and restoration of certain police provisions, with some worrying it would negate the steps the council has taken toward criminal justice reform.
Because the legislation is up for a second vote and additional amendments are up for discussion, the language of the Secure D.C. Omnibus bill could change from what was passed in February. Legislative agendas can be subject to change, the source said, but the council is aiming for a March 5 hearing.
Secure D.C. Omnibus was introduced by Councilwoman Brooke Pinto and is the monthslong product of multiple proposals and bills that aimed to decrease crime in Washington.
If the bill is adopted into law following the second vote, the district will revive a 1990s-era policy called “drug-free zones,” which would declare it illegal to gather in a defined area for “participating in the use, purchase, or sale of illegal drugs” for up to five days. Both Pinto and Mayor Muriel Bowser supported the return of the policy, saying it provides the police with additional tools to combat drug activity in the district.
The legislation will also increase maximum sentences for gun-related crimes, as well as expand the definition of carjacking to make it a crime anytime the victim is not just in his or her car but in the vicinity of the vehicle as well. Strangulation would be deemed a felony, and the bill would lower the threshold for retail theft, making it a felony to steal $500 worth of merchandise instead of $1,000.
Amendments added to the bill on Feb. 6 included removing language that it would be illegal to wear a face covering while “caus[ing] another person to fear for his or her personal safety,” striking a proposal expanding DNA evidence collection that would have allowed officers to take DNA from a person upon arrest, inserting a provision allowing the council to implement a record sealing law as early as this year, and including a measure that will sunset the bill’s changes to pretrial detention statuses after 225 days and require a study on the detentions’ effects before that expiration date.
Ward 8 Councilman Trayon White was the only councilman to vote “present” on the bill, while the rest of the members approved it.
Additional amendments could be considered at the second vote. Council members discussed changing the portion of the bill lowering the retail theft felony threshold, but they opted to wait to vote on it and others until the second vote.
If the legislation passes, it will head to Bowser’s desk for her signature. As one of several authors of proposals that were combined into the omnibus, the mayor has signaled she will sign the bill into law.
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The hope of this legislation is to combat the significant uptick in violent and property crimes throughout Washington. Crime in the district rose significantly in 2023, ending the year with a 26% increase in total crime, violent crime rising 39%, and property crime increasing 24%. The most frequent criminal act in the district is carjacking, with motor vehicle thefts increasing by a staggering 82% in 2023.
“Secure D.C.’s 100+ interventions will make sustainable and meaningful improvements to prevent crime, ensure accountability when crime does occur, and improve government coordination to make D.C. residents safer and more secure in our communities,” Pinto said in a statement following the bill’s first passage.