ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
23-417
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
May 19, 2020
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the District of
Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to prohibit the
District of Columbia government from discriminating, in employment, against an
individual for participation in a medical marijuana program; and to amend the
Department of Corrections Employee Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing Act of 1996
to do the same.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Medical Marijuana Program Patient Employment Protection
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2020.
Sec. 2. (a) On June 18, 2019, the Council passed the Medical Marijuana Program Patient
Employment Protection Emergency Amendment Act of 2019, effective July 8, 2019 (D.C. Act
23-77; 66 DCR 8089) (emergency act), which expired on October 6, 2019.
(b) On July 9, 2019, the Council passed the Medical Marijuana Program Patient
Employment Protection Temporary Amendment Act of 2019, effective October 4, 2019 (D.C.
Law 23-26; 66 DCR 15182) (temporary act).
(c) On September 17, 2019, due to a delay in the transmission of the temporary act, the
Council passed the Medical Marijuana Program Patient Employment Protection Congressional
Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2019 to prevent a gap in the law between the expiration
of the emergency act and the anticipated effective date of the temporary act.
(d) The temporary act is set to expire on June 5, 2020, and no permanent legislation is in
place because the work on the permanent legislation was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic
response.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the
Medical Marijuana Program Patient Employment Protection Emergency Amendment Act of
2020 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.