The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...

passed on December 24, 1973, which

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

certain congressional powers of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to local government, furthering

District of Columbia home rule District of Columbia home rule is Washington, D.C. residents' ability to govern their local affairs. As the federal capital, the Constitution grants the United States Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the District in "all cases whatsoever" ...

. In particular, it includes the District Charter (also called the Home Rule Charter), which provides for an elected

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and the

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state ...

. The council is composed of a chair elected at large and twelve members, four of whom are elected at large, and one from each of the District's eight wards. Council members are elected to four-year terms. Home Rule Charter Yes! Badge

Under the "Home Rule" government,

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reviews all legislation passed by the council before it can become law and retains authority over the District's budget. Also, the

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appoints the District's judges, and the District still has no voting representation in Congress. Because of these and other limitations on local government, many citizens of the District continue to lobby for greater autonomy, such as complete statehood. The Home Rule Act specifically prohibits the council from enacting certain laws that, among other restrictions, would: * lend

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for private projects; * impose a tax on individuals who work in the District but live elsewhere; * make any changes to the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910; * pass any law changing the composition or jurisdiction of the local courts; * enact a local budget that is not balanced; and * gain any additional authority over the

National Capital Planning Commission The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is a U.S. government executive branch agency that provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C., and the surrounding National Capital Region. Through its planning policies and review of developmen ...

Washington Aqueduct The Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs, using water from the Potomac River. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aquedu ...

, or

District of Columbia National Guard The District of Columbia National Guard is the branch of the United States National Guard based in the District of Columbia. It comprises both the District of Columbia Army National Guard, D.C. Army National Guard and the District of Columbia A ...

Laws blocked by Congress

The Home Rule Act allows Congress to block any laws passed by the D.C. council. Since its enactment, Congress has exercised this power several times. * In 1988, Congress voted to block D.C. from expending local funds to cover abortion services through

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

. This was repealed in 2009 but then reinstated in 2011. * Passed by the D.C. Council in 1992, the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act allowed both gay and straight couples to register as domestic partners, allowing familial recognition for such things as hospital visits and allowing the partners of D.C. government employees to purchase private health insurance, was blocked by Congress. The act was finally allowed to go into effect in 2001. * In 1996, the D.C. Council passed a clean needle exchange program law. However, in 1998, Congress voted to block the law. In 2007, Congress voted to lift the ban, thus allowing the law to go into effect. * In 1998, Congress voted to block

Initiative 59 Initiative 59 was a 1998 ballot initiative in Washington, D.C., that sought to legalize medical cannabis. The short title of the initiative was "Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998". Though the initiative passed wi ...

– ''Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998'' – via the Barr amendment. This also caused the result of the referendum to be withheld. When this was challenged in court, it was determined that withholding the result of the referendum violated the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

. In response to this, another amendment was passed in 2000 that simply overturned Initiative 59. In 2009, Congress voted to overturn the ban on Initiative 59, allowing D.C.'s medical marijuana law to go into effect, with the first medical marijuana sale occurring in 2013. * In 2014, Congress voted to block Initiative 71 – ''Legalization of Possession of Minimal Amounts of Marijuana for Personal Use Act of 2014'' – by blocking funds from being used to enact laws, rules or regulations for reducing or legalizing any Schedule I drug. However, since this was passed after the results of Initiative 71 had already been announced, it did not prevent the legalization of marijuana, but had the effect of leaving marijuana legal, but without the authority to expend funds on enacting regulations or taxation.

References

External links

District of Columbia Home Rule ActPDFdetails
as amended in the

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br>Statute Compilations collection
{{Authority control Home rule and voting rights of the District of Columbia 1973 in law 1973 in Washington, D.C. United States federal territory and statehood legislation Legal history of the District of Columbia District of Columbia law