On Tuesday, October 2, 2018, the DC Council convened a Committee of the Whole meeting immediately followed by a legislative meeting. As expected, the agenda for both meetings was robust as the Council considered several measures:
The Council unanimously approved Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s Short-term Rental Housing Protection Amendment Act (AirBnB bill) that regulates and restricts home-sharing services like Airbnb and VRBO. The bill which has drawn some concern from the Mayor would require funding for enforcement. Some members of the Council are also concerned about approving a bill that is essentially unaffordable to enforce. A second and final vote on the hill is expected later this month.
The Council approved Councilmember Charles Allen’s Revised Synthetics Abatement and Full Enforcement Drug Control Amendment Act of 2017 (B22-628) updating banned substances found in synthetic drugs (Ka) simplifying those
compounds as one illegal class.
A modified version of the Tipped Wage Workers Fairness Emergency Amendment Act of 2018 (B22-992) unanimously passed on first reading and vote. The bill will likely see several iterations before its second and final reading/vote.
