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2 Councilmember Christina Henderson
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8 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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14 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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19 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend, on an emergency
20 basis, the District of Columbia Official Code to allow retail establishments with a valid
21 on-premises Class C or Class D retailer license to refuse cash as a form of payment.
22 RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
23 resolution may be cited as the “Entertainment Establishment Employee Safety Emergency
24 Declaration Resolution of 2024”.
25 Sec. 2. (a) The Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act, passed in 2020 and funded in 2023,
26 prohibited retail establishments from refusing cash as a form of payment. However, due to public
27 safety concerns, a provision was included in the Secure DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2024,
28 to temporarily pause this law. This pause is set to expire on January 1, 2025, at which the
29 cashless retailer prohibition will go into effect. A permanent version of this emergency measure
30 was introduced on September 16, 2024, and is pending in the Committee of the Whole.
31 (b) Many businesses, particularly those that sell alcohol, are concerned for their
32 employees’ safety and have shared multiple stories with the Council about successful and
33 attempted robberies and burglaries of their establishments due to the presence of cash on
34 premises and the need to transport large amounts of cash off the premises. Businesses that are
35 cashless are not at risk of robbery in the same way businesses with cash on hand are. The
36 primary reason establishments choose to avoid cash payments is to reduce the risk of robbery
37 and burglary, followed by the availability of non-cash payment options and reducing the risk of
38 internal theft.
39 (c) Consumer use of contactless payment options has surged dramatically since the initial
40 introduction of the Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act of 2018. In 2018, there were 2.9 billion
41 contactless transactions in the United States; by 2023, that number had increased more than
42 sixfold, reaching 17.9 billion. The Federal Reserve's 2023 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice
43 revealed that cash use had dropped to a near-record low in 2023, with consumers using cash 75%
44 less frequently than credit and debit cards. Additionally, cash was the least common payment
45 method for services at restaurants and bars in 2023. In recognition of the changes in consumer
46 use of payment forms post-pandemic, and to strike a balance between the need for unbanked
47 individuals to rely on cash as a form of payment to obtain necessary goods and services with the
48 safety concerns of particularly vulnerable businesses, this emergency measure would exempt
49 Class C or Class D alcohol license holders from the requirement to accept cash as payment.
50 Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.