Who/What: Today, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, will hold a public roundtable to discuss legislative proposals relating to the powers of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel (MOLC). The roundtable will provide the public with an additional opportunity to discuss both important proposals outside of the Council’s budget process.
When/Where: The roundtable will take place today in Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., at 10:00 a.m. You can also watch online at www.dccouncil.us/videos.
Background: On Monday, March 16, 2015, the Attorney General of the District of Columbia introduced Bill 21-0139, the “Attorney General Independence and Authority Implementation Amendment Act of 2015”. According to the introducer, the purpose of the bill is to outline the powers of the Attorney General by making OAG an independent body equal with the Council and the Mayor; giving OAG the power to provide legal advice to all parts of the District government and to review and certify legislation, rulemakings, and certain transactions; clarifying that OAG has settlement authority for matters in litigation, with settlements in excess of $1.5 million subject to the consent of the Mayor; giving OAG independent personnel and procurement authority; expanding OAG’s subpoena authority; and allowing OAG to bargain collectively independent of the Executive.
On Tuesday, April 14, 2015, Title I, Subtitle E of Bill 21-0158, the “Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Act of 2015”, was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The language in the section proposes that MOLC provide legal sufficiency reviews of legislation, regulations, and contracts at the request of the Mayor, and that the relationship between the District government and the Attorney General shall be as client to attorney.
