ENROLLED ORIGINAL
AN ACT
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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To establish, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, an Office of Racial Equity to
coordinate the Districts efforts to achieve racial equity and to require the Office to
establish a Racial Equity Advisory Board to advise it and to serve as a liaison to the
public; to establish a Commission on Racial Equity, Social Justice, and Economic
Inclusion to advise the Council, to state the sense of the Council that it should include in
its rules for Council Period 24 the establishment of a Racial Equity Program; to amend
the Office of Human Rights Establishment Act of 1999 to require the Office of Human
Rights, in coordination with the Department of Human Resources and the Office of
Racial Equity, to provide racial equity training for District employees and District boards
and commissions; and to amend Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official
Code to require the Office of Racial Equity to coordinate with the Office of the City
Administrator to design and implement racial equity tools to aid in eliminating racial
disparities and to require the Mayor, beginning in Fiscal Year 2022, to include racial
equity-related performance measures in the development of an agencys annual
performance plans and an evaluation of the use of racial equity tools in the annual
performance accountability reports.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the Racial Equity Achieves Results (REACH) Congressional Review
Emergency Amendment Act of 2021.
TITLE I. OFFICE OF RACIAL EQUITY; COMMISSON ON RACIAL EQUITY,
SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND ECONOMIC INCLUSION.
Sec. 101. Definitions.
For the purposes of this title, the term racial equity means the elimination of racial
disparities such that race no longer predicts opportunities, outcomes, or the distribution of
resources for residents of the District, particularly for persons of color and Black residents.
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Sec. 102. Establishment of the Office of Racial Equity.
(a) There is established an Office of Racial Equity (Office) within the Office of the
City Administrator. The purpose of the Office shall be to coordinate the Districts efforts toward
achieving racial equity.
(b)(1) The Office shall be headed by a Chief Equity Officer, who shall be appointed by
the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council pursuant to section 2(a) of the
Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-142; D.C. Official Code 1-
523.01(a)).
(2) The Chief Equity Officer shall be a full-time position, for which annual
compensation shall be fixed in accordance with Title X-A of the District of Columbia
Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective June 10, 1998 (D.C. Law
12-124: D.C. Official Code 1-610.51 et seq.).
(c) The Office shall:
(1) Develop, provide oversight of, and advance the Districts goal of achieving
racial equity;
(2) Coordinate with the Office of Human Rights to produce racial equity training
materials to be distributed to all agencies of the District government;
(3) Coordinate with Executive agencies in the development of annual metrics and
a Racial Equity Action Plan or plans pursuant to subsection (d) of this section;
(4) Work with District agencies to promote inter-agency collaboration, problem-
solving, and cooperation relating to achieving racial equity;
(5) Advise the Council, the Mayor, and District agencies about racial equity in the
District, and recommend policies, programs, or regulations necessary to achieve racial equity;
(6) Develop and distribute information about racial equity, social justice, and
economic inclusion;
(7) Promote educational activities that increase the understanding of racial equity;
and
(8) Analyze the feasibility of expanding the Racial Equity Action Plan to include:
(A) The Districts contracting and procurement process;
(B) The Districts hiring and promotion process; and
(C) The development of effective systems to capture, coordinate, and
share racial equity data across agencies.
(d)(1) By October 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the Chief Equity Officer shall submit
a multi-year Racial Equity Action Plan (Plan) to the Mayor and the Council.
(2) The Plan shall be a formalized accountability plan, including specific
timelines, to be used by each District agency to advance racial equity in the performance of its
duties.
(3)(A) The Office shall hold a series of public engagement forums during
formulation and updating of the Plan to obtain public and expert input on the contents of the
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Plan, including priorities for increasing racial equity in the District. The Office shall provide at
least 15 days written notice in the District of Columbia Register of any such forum.
(B) Each public engagement forum shall be held at an accessible evening
or weekend time and in an accessible location to maximize public participation.
(4) The Office shall take into consideration any comments submitted by the
Racial Equity Advisory Board established pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(5) By October 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the Office shall include in the
Plan a report to the Mayor and Council on the Offices efforts to coordinate actions, goals, and
District-wide investments within the Executive branch to further racial equity and provide a
summary of the programs and activities of the Office and an evaluation of the Districts efforts to
achieve racial equity.
(e) The Office shall accept public comment on any aspect of its functions and on any
policy or proposed policy of the District government relating to racial equity.
(f)(1) The Office shall establish a Racial Equity Advisory Board (Board) consisting of
9 community members to provide to the Office ongoing input on racial equity in the District and
to serve as a liaison between the Office and the public. The Board shall meet not less frequently
than quarterly and shall keep minutes of its meetings that shall be made publicly available, upon
request.
(2) Members of the Board shall be District residents and appointed by the Mayor
with the advice and consent of the Council pursuant to section 2(f) of the Confirmation Act of
1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-142; D.C. Official Code 1-523.01(f)), with due
consideration given to individuals from established public, nonprofit, and volunteer community
organizations, community leaders, academic institutions, and other individuals who have shown
dedication to and knowledge of advancing racial equity or social justice.
(3) A member appointed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection shall serve a
term of 2 years. A member may be reappointed but shall not serve more than 3 consecutive
terms.
(4) Individual members of the Board may be compensated for reasonable
expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
Sec. 103. Establishment of the Commission on Racial Equity, Social Justice, and
Economic Inclusion.
(a)(1) There is established a Council Commission on Racial Equity, Social Justice, and
Economic Inclusion (Commission) to advise the Council of the District of Columbia on
matters of racial equity, social justice, and economic inclusion.
(2) The Commission shall consist of 5 members all appointed by the Chairman of
the Council and who may be residents of the District of Columbia.
(3) Members of the Commission shall have the following qualifications:
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(A) Knowledge of core racial equity concepts, including power and
privilege, implicit bias, and structural or institutional racism;
(B) Extensive experience working with communities of color; and
(C) Demonstrated experience bringing a racial equity lens to their work,
with a focus on identifying and overcoming or mitigating barriers to racial equity.
(4) The Commission shall examine issues of racial equity in governance in the
District in its deliberations, identify best practices in other jurisdictions, and may undertake such
other endeavors related to racial equity as it determines necessary to advise the Council. The
Commission may also work with the Councils Racial Equity Office.
(5) The Council shall provide administrative support to the Commission and may
provide other resources the Council determines are necessary.
(6) The Commission shall not engage in any lobbying of the Council.
(b) It is the sense of the Council that for Council Period 24, the Council should include in
its rules the establishment of a Racial Equity Program to produce racial equity training materials,
provide ongoing racial equity training for Council staff, and include a protocol for conducting
Racial Equity Impact Assessments on legislation.
TITLE II. AMENDATORY PROVISIONS.
Sec. 201. The Office of Human Rights Establishment Act of 1999, effective October 20,
1999 (D.C. Law 13-308; D.C. Official Code 2-1411.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new
section 206b to read as follows:
Sec. 206b. Racial equity training.
(a) The Office, in coordination with the Department of Human Resources and the Office
of Racial Equity, shall provide, on an on-going basis, racial equity training for all District
government employees and members of the Districts boards and commissions. The training
shall include:
(1) Racial equity workshops for District employees at the management level;
(2) A training series for District employees that equips personnel to better
identify and address issues of racial equity; and
(3) Online and in-person racial equity and inclusion courses that focus on the
meaning of diversity, the benefits of a diverse workforce, and barriers that prevent a racially
inclusive workforce environment.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term racial equity means the elimination of
racial disparities such that race no longer predicts opportunities, outcomes, or the distribution of
resources for residents of the District, particularly for persons of color and Black residents..
Sec. 202. Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as
follows:
(a) Section 47-308.01 is amended as follows:
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(1) Subsection (a) is amended as follows:
(A) Paragraph (3A) is redesignated as paragraph (3B).
(B) Paragraph (3B) is redesignated as paragraph (3C).
(C) Paragraph (3C) is redesignated as paragraph (5A).
(D) A new paragraph (3A) is added to read as follows:
(3A) Racial Equity means the elimination of racial disparities such that race no
longer predicts opportunities, outcomes, or the distribution of resources for residents of the
District, particularly for persons of color and Black residents..
(2) A new subsection (h) is added to read as follows:
(h)(1) By March 1, 2021, in coordination with the Office of the City Administrator, the
Office of Racial Equity, established by section 3 of the Racial Equity Achieves Results
(REACH) Amendment Act of 2020, passed on 2nd reading on November 10, 2020 (Enrolled
version of Bill 23-38), shall design and implement racial equity tools to enable District agencies
to incorporate racial equity into their operations, performance-based budgets, programs, policies,
rules, and regulations, and to ensure alignment between departmental and District-wide programs
and initiatives.
(2) At a minimum, the Mayor shall use the racial equity tools to:
(A) Identify clear strategic initiatives, objectives, and measurable
outcomes;
(B) Develop metrics to measure progress in redressing disparate social
and economic outcomes in the District based on race, sex, and ethnicity;
(C) Track and measure how programmatic and policy decisions benefit or
burden individuals based on race, sex, or ethnicity;
(D) Examine potential unintended consequences of a policy or
programmatic decision and develop a strategy to advance racial equity and mitigate unintended
negative consequences; and
(E) Evaluate the efficacy of District agencies strategic initiatives and
programs aimed at reducing disparate outcomes.
(3) Beginning in 2021 for Fiscal Year 2022, and every year thereafter, the
Mayors budget submission package to the Council shall include a summary of how the proposed
budget advances racial equity in the District, reduces disparate outcomes, and allocates resources
to support equitable outcomes..
(b) Section 47-308.02 is amended by adding a new subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) Beginning no later than Fiscal Year 2022, and for each subsequent fiscal year, the
Mayor shall establish at least one relevant performance measure related to an agencys progress
toward achieving racial equity..
(c) Section 47-308.03(c)(1) is amended by striking the phrase agencys performance on
its activities for and inserting the phrase agencys performance on its activities, including those
relating to achieving racial equity, for in its place.
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TITLE III. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
Sec. 301. Applicability.
This act shall apply as of March 6, 2021.
Sec.302. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report for the Racial
Equity Achieves Results (REACH) Amendment Act of 2020, enacted on December 7, 2020
(D.C. Act 23-503; 67 DCR 14390), as the fiscal impact statement required by section 4a of the
General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C.
Official Code 1-301.47a).
Sec. 303. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor,
action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than 90 days,
as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 412(a) of
the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; D.C.
Official Code 1-204.12(a)).
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Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
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Mayor
District of Columbia
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