§ 1–309.12. Advisory Neighborhood Commissions — Joint meetings; involvement of neighborhood groups; service area coordinators; service area manager; citizen’s advisory mechanism.

(a) Commissions may meet jointly either formally or informally to deal more effectively with or respond to common issues and concerns. A Commissioner of an individual Commission may represent and participate in a formal joint meeting only after the individual Commission has authorized the participation of the Commission in the joint meeting. For any official action taken in a formal joint meeting, the Commission shall specify in a resolution the scope of any individual Commissioner’s participation. Action taken by individual Commissioners in an informal joint meeting shall follow the general direction of the Commission.

(b) Each Commission may involve representatives of other neighborhood groups in the work of its standing or special committees.

(c) The Mayor shall appoint a service area coordinator for each ward who shall act as the chairperson of the service area committee in that ward and shall coordinate all District government services at the ward level to residents of the ward. The head of each District government department or agency that delivers services at the ward level shall appoint a service area manager who shall oversee the day-to-day operations of the department or agency within the ward and shall represent that department or agency on the service area committee of that ward. The service area coordinators and managers shall work closely with the Commissions in their service area ward and shall provide them with any technical assistance necessary to the performance of their duties and responsibilities.

(d)(1) The Council may assist the individual Commissions in the following areas:

(A) Dispute resolution between the entities of the District government and the individual Commissions to facilitate the advisory process;

(B) Providing the training to Commissioners with respect to the procedures and content of District laws, including, but not limited to, laws governing zoning and licenses to sell alcohol; and

(2) The OANC shall provide assistance to the Commissions in the following areas:

(A) Review of quarterly financial reports to ensure compliance with current law;

(B) Monitoring of Commission expenditures and responses to inquiries from individual Commissions on the legality of proposed actual expenditures; and

(3) The Mayor shall provide assistance to the Commissions in the following areas:

(A) Repealed.

(B) Liaison efforts between the individual Commissions and District government entities to ensure responsiveness to Commission requests and compliance with current law;

(C-i) Reimbursement of translation and interpretation service costs incurred by a Commission, for residents and Commissioners who require such services in relation to Commission documents or proceedings; provided, that applications for reimbursement under this subparagraph shall be submitted to OANC, using a form prescribed by the Mayor;

(C-ii) Reimbursement to the Commission for the purchase or rental of assistive listening systems, as they are described in the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, Section 706 of Appendix D to 36 C.F.R. Part 1191, for use by hearing-impaired residents or Commissioners at Commission proceedings; provided, that applications for reimbursement under this subparagraph shall be submitted to OANC, using a form prescribed by the Mayor;

(D) Within 180 days of June 27, 2000, issue regulations to provide parking privileges for Commissioners while on official business; and

(E) Any other assistance necessary to ensure that a Commission is able to perform its statutory duties.

(4) The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia shall provide legal interpretations of statutes concerning or affecting the Commissions, or of issues or concerns affecting the Commissions. These interpretations may be requested directly by any Commission or by the OANC.

(5) Within 180 days after April 7, 2017, the Mayor shall provide the following:

(A) An email address for each Commission Chairperson, including the word "chair" and the single-member district alphanumeric designation, correspondence to which shall automatically be directed to the government-provided single-member district email address of the Commission Chairperson.

(B) An online Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Portal ("ANC Portal") where District agencies, boards, and commissions may post notices and documentation, Commissioners may post questions and comments, and agencies may respond to questions and comments posted by Commissioners. All content uploaded to the ANC Portal shall be accessible for viewing by the general public. Communications between government entities and Commissioners via the ANC Portal shall not be considered sufficient for meeting the requirements of § 1-309.10.

(6) The District of Columbia Office of Open Government ("OOG") shall develop a training program and materials on the requirements of subchapter II of Chapter 5 of Title 2 ("FOIA") with respect to Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. The OOG shall coordinate with the OANC to include OOG-developed FOIA training materials in Commissioner training sessions provided by the OANC. OOG shall also provide a training session at least twice per calendar year on Commission obligations under FOIA, to which all Commissioners shall be invited.

(e) Whenever a District government entity is required to establish a citizen’s advisory mechanism, appointments to that mechanism shall be made in such a manner as to ensure as far as possible the equal representation on the mechanism of each electoral ward, provided that, members of the advisory mechanism possess skills relevant to the tasks for which the advisory mechanism was established and, in the event that the size of the advisory mechanism requires the appointment of more than one person per ward, ward appointments shall be made in such a manner so as to ensure as far as possible a fair representation of each Commission area.

(f)(1) Each executive and independent agency, board, and commission of the District shall assign an individual to act as an Advisory Neighborhood Commission Liaison who shall serve as a designated contact for all Commissioners conducting official business with the government entity. The duties of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission Liaison shall include transmitting notice to Commissions pursuant to § 1-309.10 for any action that the government entity has determined to require notice under § 1-309.10, acknowledging receipt of Commission-approved comments submitted pursuant to § 1-309.10(d), and forwarding the Commission comments to the appropriate staff.

(2) The OANC shall maintain a list of Advisory Neighborhood Commission Liaisons.

(3) The Mayor shall transmit to each Commission and the OANC the e-mail and telephone contact information for any newly designated Advisory Neighborhood Commission Liaison within 5 business days of the designation.

(g) The Mayor shall provide informational materials to all newly hired or promoted District supervisory employees of the executive branch on the role of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and on their relationship to other government entities with which they interact. The materials shall cover the responsibilities of District agencies under § 1-309.10.

(h) The OANC shall hold biannual training sessions on the responsibilities of District agencies with respect to Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, including those responsibilities under § 1-309.10. The OANC shall invite the director or highest-ranking officer of each District government agency, board, or commission, or his or her designee, to attend the training.

(Oct. 10, 1975, D.C. Law 1-21, § 15; as added Mar. 26, 1976, D.C. Law 1-58, § 2, 22 DCR 5463; Mar. 6, 1991, D.C. Law 8-203, § 3(e), 37 DCR 8420; Jun. 27, 2000, D.C. Law 13-135, § 3(c), 47 DCR 2741; Apr. 7, 2017, D.C. Law 21-269, § 2(g), 64 DCR 2162.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 1-263.

1973 Ed., § 1-171k.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-135 rewrote this section, which formerly read:

“(a) Commissions may meet jointly either formally or informally to deal more effectively with or respond to common issues and concerns. A Commissioner of an individual Commission may represent and participate in a formal joint meeting only after the individual Commission has authorized the participation of the Commission in the joint meeting. The Commissioner selected by the individual Commission to represent the Commission at a formal joint meeting may only vote on issues or concerns that have been discussed at a public meeting of the Commission and on which the Commission has voted to take a formal position. The Commissioner selected by the individual Commission to represent the Commission at a formal joint meeting shall, in the Commissioner’s official capacity, follow the general direction of the individual Commission in all discussions at a formal joint meeting.

“(b) Each Commission may involve representatives of other neighborhood groups in the work of its standing or special committees.

“(c) The Mayor shall appoint a service area coordinator for each ward who shall act as the chairperson of the service area committee in that ward and shall coordinate all District government services at the ward level to residents of the ward. The head of each District government department or agency which delivers services at the ward level shall appoint a service area manager who shall oversee the day-to-day operations of the department or agency within the ward and shall represent that department or agency on the service area committee of that ward. The service area coordinators and managers shall work closely with the Commissions in their service area ward and shall provide them with any technical assistance necessary to the performance of their duties and responsibilities.

“(d)(1) The Council may assist the individual Commissions in the following areas:

“(A) Dispute resolution between the entities of the District government and the individual Commissions to facilitate the advisory process;

“(B) Providing the training to Commissioners with respect to the procedures and content of District laws, including, but not limited to, laws governing zoning and licenses to sell alcohol; and

“(C) Any other assistance necessary and feasible to enable the Commissions to perform their statutory duties.

“(2) The District of Columbia Auditor shall provide assistance to the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in the following areas:

“(A) Review of quarterly financial reports to ensure compliance with current law; and

“(B) Monitoring of Commission expenditures and responses to inquiries from individual Commissions on the legality of proposed actual expenditures.

“(3) The Mayor shall provide assistance to the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in the following areas:

“(A) Legal interpretations of statutes concerning or affecting the Commissions, or of issues or concerns affecting the Commissions. These interpretations are to be obtained from the Corporation Counsel and may be requested directly by any Commission;

“(B) Liaison efforts between the individual Commissions and District government entities to ensure responsiveness to Commission requests and compliance with current law; and

“(C) Any other assistance necessary to ensure that a Commission is able to perform its statutory duties.

“(e) Whenever a District agency is required to establish a citizen’s advisory mechanism, appointments to that mechanism shall be made in such a manner as to ensure as far as possible the equal representation on the mechanism of each electoral ward, provided that, members of the advisory mechanism possess skills relevant to the tasks for which the advisory mechanism was established and, in the event that the size of the advisory mechanism requires the appointment of more than 1 person per ward, ward appointments shall be made in such a manner so as to ensure as far as possible a fair representation of each Commission area.”

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 21-269: § 7145 of D.C. Law 23-16 repealed § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269. Therefore the amendment of this section by D.C. Law 21-269 has been implemented.

Section 3(d) of Law 21-269 provided that section 2(g)(1)(A), (h)(4)(B), (h)(5)(A), (h)(7), (h)(8), and (i) of Law 21-269 shall apply on April 1st, 2017.

Section 7036 of D.C. Law 22-33 amended § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269, retaining the applicability restriction affecting this section, therefore the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 21-269 have not been given effect.

Applicability of D.C. Law 21-269: § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(g) of D.C. Law 21-269 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Section 7036 of D.C. Law 22-33 amended § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269 to delay the applicability of part of this section. Therefore some of the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 21-269 have not been given effect.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269, see § 7036 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).

For temporary (90 days) amendment § 3 of D.C. Law 21-269, see § 7036 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions Transfer Authorization Emergency Amendment Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-35, Mar. 28, 2017, 64 DCR 3103).