DC council passes emergency legislation allowing more closed-door meetings
WASHINGTON () — The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to amend the Open Meetings Act, allowing for more closed-door meetings.
'There is constantly a complaint that the ability to have a conversation, just a conversation, is impeded. That's what this legislation gets to,' said Chairman Phil Mendelson (D).
Under the emergency legislation, the council will be allowed to have private meetings — without the required two business days' notice to the public — if the group is being briefed on a potential terrorist threat, public health threats or having a meeting with the mayor. No votes or official action can be taken.
'It doesn't close the meeting where action is taken. In fact, it preserves most of the existing law,' said Mendelson.
The legislation cites 'consequential, large-scale business and economic development…' like the arena deal with Monumental Sports and Entertainment, as an example of when a closed-door meeting may be necessary.
Expelled DC Councilmember Trayon White teases re-election campaign on social media
It also points to the need for privacy when strategizing on federal issues and interference, after Congress passed a recent spending bill that cut $1 billion from D.C.'s budget.
'This emergency legislation is particularly necessary in the current political climate to allow the council to be briefed as a body in a timely manner and to develop appropriate responses to rapidly unfolding issues,' said the legislation.
Still, some advocacy groups have come out in opposition to the changes.
'They work for the public, they work for the people of the District of Columbia,' said Bob Becker. 'And the people of D.C. have the right to know why they're doing things, not only what they're doing but why they're doing it.'
Becker is a member of the
The group sent a letter to the council criticizing the legislation. Becker worries it'll impact public trust and transparency.
'[The public] has a right to be confident that [the council isn't] giving in to special interests,' he said.
Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) introduced legislation to narrow the scope of what discussions can happen behind closed doors, limiting it to economic development negotiations or federal government relations. That amendment failed.
Because the legislation was passed on emergency, it will go into effect for 90 days without a public hearing.
A hearing on the permanent legislation is set for April 22.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘It won't end well for Trump' if he does this amid LA protests, ex-GOP rep says
The execution of a legal method to crack down on dissent, if used by President Donald Trump amid or after current protests in Los Angeles, will not end well for the president, according to one Republican who previously served in Congress. Three days of chaos started after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested several people at a Home Depot in Paramount, a city just south of Los Angeles. Since then, protests erupted with more arrests, cars destroyed and, as the New York Times reported, reporters shot at by law enforcement. On Saturday, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to Los Angeles without Gov. Gavin Newsom's request. In a series of posts on X, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a frequent critic of Trump's and someone who served on the Jan. 6 Investigative Committee in the wake of the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, commented on the deployment and Trump not using the Insurrection Act. 'DO NOT FEDERALIZE THE GUARD,' Kinzinger wrote. 'This is absolutely wrong at this moment.' Kinzinger posted shortly after and said the National Guard has 'no ability to do law enforcement without the Insurrection Act.' 'They are essentially no longer National Guard and now are active duty federal troops with all the restrictions,' he continued. 'Only a governor can activate them for law enforcement without the Insurrection Act.' His last remark on the matter, on Sunday morning, read that 'Now, if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, then we're in a whole new world and it won't end well for Trump.' He did not elaborate further. Trump told reporters on Sunday that the events over the weekend were a riot rather than an insurrection, thus not invoking the Insurrection Act, the Los Angeles Times reported. This act gives the president the legal power to send the military and the National Guard to suppress civil disorder. Los Angeles was the epicenter of the Insurrection Act's last usage, by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, when riots broke out following the acquittals of four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in connection with the beating of a Black man named Rodney King on Interstate 210. Newsom and Los Angeles officials slammed the Trump administration's response to the protests. The governor called out the president after Trump congratulated the National Guard before they were deployed. 'The California National Guard wasn't even deployed in Los Angeles yet when this rant was posted,' Newsom wrote in a post on X. 'Facts matter.' On Sunday night, Newsom formally requested that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth rescind the National Guard from Los Angeles. 'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Newsom wrote in another post on X. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles Police Department both described the protests as peaceful. 'We will always protect the constitutional right for Angelenos to peacefully protest,' Bass wrote on X. 'However, violence, destruction and vandalism will not be tolerated in our city and those responsible will be held fully accountable.' '[On Saturday,] demonstrations across the city of Los Angeles remained peaceful, and we commend all those who exercise their First Amendment rights responsibly,' police said in a statement. '... We will maintain a heightened readiness posture and remain ready to ensure the continued safety of our communities.' 'I don't know if I want to do this anymore': leaked audio highlights turmoil among Dems Graffiti on tank in Trump's parade calls for hanging 2 well-known Americans 'I would': Trump calls for arrest of California's Newsom amid lawsuit over National Guard in LA All Ivy League schools are supporting Harvard lawsuit — except these 2 Embassies directed to resume processing Harvard University student visas Read the original article on MassLive.
Bloomberg
38 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
US May Exhaust Debt-Ceiling Measures in Mid-August, CBO Says
The US government could run out of enough funds to meet its financial obligations in a timely manner between mid-August and the end of September, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday. The updated estimate from the nonpartisan CBO pushes back the so-called X date by at least two weeks from what it previously projected in March. That potentially gives Congress additional runway to negotiate a deal to increase federal borrowing authority as part of President Donald Trump's tax-cut package.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stephen Miller hits Rand Paul over LA unrest
A top aide to President Trump took aim at Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday over Paul's objections to the president's agenda-setting tax and spending measure while protests are underway in Los Angeles over the administration's immigration crackdown. 'While ICE officers are battling violent mobs in Los Angeles, Rand Paul is trying to cut funding for deportations and border security,' White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote in a post on the social platform X. Paul has emerged as one of the most vocal Republican opponents of Trump's megabill because of its price tag and increase to the federal debt. Paul and other GOP senators vowed to vote against the bill after narrowly passed the Republican-controlled House last month unless additional spending cuts are made. 'Congress is like drunken teenagers, they're terrible with money,' Paul said during an appearance this weekend on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures.' 'This is literally out of control.' He reiterated his position on X after Miller's rebuke Monday. 'Don't fall for the Swamp's version of reality, where they claim we either borrow against our future to secure our border now, or we have wide-open borders,' he wrote. 'We can have BOTH border security AND fiscal responsibility; $75 billion is more than enough to accomplish both.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
