COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, nw
Washington, D.C. 20004
Christina Henderson Committee Member
Councilmember, At-Large Government Operations and Facilities
Health
Labor and Workforce Development
Transportation and the Environment
Statement of Introduction on the Commission on Public Compensation Establishment
Amendment Act of 2022
Today, along with Councilmembers Brianne K. Nadeau, Mary M. Cheh, Vincent C. Gray, Kenyan
R. McDuffie, Anita Bonds, and Janeese Lewis George, I am introducing the Commission on
Public Compensation Establishment Amendment Act of 2022. This legislation would amend the
District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to establish a
Commission on Public Compensation to review and make recommendations on the compensation
and stipend levels for the members of Council of the District Columbia, the Mayor, the Attorney
General, the members of the State Board of Education, and several public commissions and boards.
The compensation levels for the Districts elected officials, boards, and commissions are
established by statute and are reviewed and adjusted on an ad hoc basis. Although the DC Council
passed legislation in 2006 to establish an Advisory Council to look at the compensation levels for
the Mayor and Council, based on review of the records, it was never active. And the last time the
District attempted to engage in a comprehensive study of the compensation and stipend levels of
the Districts boards and commissions was in 2002. It is time we get this right and really engage
in this conversation. If we want to continue to be able to recruit great people to serve in roles on
important boards like the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or the Public Employee Relations
Board, we should ensure individuals are being appropriately compensated for their work. Many
states including Maryland, Delaware, Hawaii, New Jersey, Missouri, Oregon, and Washington use
some type of compensation commissions to inform the salaries set for elected and judicial officials.
Currently, there are 21 boards and commissions in the District where members receive either
compensation or a stipend for their work. However, some have argued that others like Advisory
Neighborhood Commissioners, which are elected, should be included among that group. Part of
the charge of this Commission on Public Compensation will be to consider this and recommend to
the Council an appropriate stipend level, if any. The Commission is structured to work over the
course of a year and provide a report of recommendations to the Council and Mayor in time for
recommendations to be considered and incorporated into the Fiscal Year 2025 (effective October
1, 2024) budget and financial plan.
I look forward to working with my colleagues as we continue to establish healthy good government
practices in the District of Columbia.
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2 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Christina Henderson
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6 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh Councilmember Vincent C. Gray
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10 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Councilmember Anita Bonds
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14 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
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22 AN ACT
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24 ______________
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26 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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30 To amend the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to
31 strike the Mayor and Council Compensation Advisory Commission and establish in its
32 place a Commission on Public Compensation to review and make recommendations on
33 the compensation and stipend levels for the members of Council of the District Columbia,
34 the Mayor, the Attorney General, the members of the State Board of Education, and
35 several public commissions and boards.
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37 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
38 act may be cited as the Commission on Public Compensation Establishment Amendment Act of
39 2022.
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41 Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of
42 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C. Official Code 1-601.01 et seq.) is
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43 amended by striking Subchapter XI-A (D.C. Official Code 1-611.51 et seq.) and inserting the
44 following in its place:
45 TITLE XI-A
46 COMMISSION ON PUBLIC COMPENSATION
47 Sec. 1151. Commission on Public Compensation Establishment.
48 There shall be a Commission on Public Compensation (Commission) to review and
49 make recommendations on the compensation and stipend levels for the members of Council of
50 the District of Columbia (Council), the Mayor, the Attorney General, the members of the State
51 Board of Education, and the following public commissions and boards:
52 (1) Advisory Neighborhood Commission;
53 (2) Alcoholic Beverage Control Board;
54 (3) Board of Elections;
55 (4) Board of Ethics and Government Accountability;
56 (5) Board of Zoning Adjustment;
57 (6) Contract Appeals Board;
58 (7) Concealed Pistol Licensing Review Board;
59 (8) District of Columbia Retirement Board;
60 (9) Higher Education Licensure Commission;
61 (10) Historic Preservation Review Board;
62 (11) Housing Authority Board of Commissioners;
63 (12) Office of Employee Appeals;
64 (13) Police and Firefighters Retirement and Relief Board;
65 (14) Public Charter School Board;
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66 (15) Public Employee Relations Board;
67 (16) Public Service Commission;
68 (17) Real Property Tax Appeals Commission;
69 (18) Rental Housing Commission;
70 (19) Washington Metrorail Safety Commission; and
71 (20) Zoning Commission.
72 Sec. 1152. Commission Membership.
73 (a) The Commission shall consist of 11 voting members. Seven members shall be
74 appointed by the Council and four members shall be appointed by the Mayor. The Chairman of
75 the Council shall appoint one of the seven members appointed by the Council to serve as the
76 chairperson. The Council and the Mayor should consider geographic diversity when making
77 appointments.
78 (b) No member of the Commission shall be or have an immediate family member that
79 is:
80 (1) A current elected official in the District;
81 (2) A current member of the public commissions and boards which are under
82 review pursuant to section 2 of this Act;
83 (3) A current employee of the District government; or
84 (4) A current employee or Board member of a District of Columbia public
85 charter school.
86 (c) No Commissioner shall have any past due taxes, special assessments, or other
87 charges owed to the District.
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 88 (d) Each member of the Commission shall self-attest to the Board of Ethics and
89 Government Accountability that they have no active business before any of the public
90 commissions and boards which are under review pursuant to section 2 of this Act.
91 (e) The Commission shall organize within 15 days after the appointment of its members
92 and shall select vice chairperson and secretary from among its members.
93 (f) Vacancies in the membership shall be filled in the same manner as the original
94 appointments.
95 (g) The appointments shall expire upon the submission of a report to the Council and the
96 Mayor. Beginning in 2026, new appointments to the Commission shall be made by December 1
97 of that year and every fourth calendar year thereafter.
98 (h) The office of the Chairman of the Council shall provide administrative support to the
99 Commission as needed.
100 Sec. 1153. Functions.
101 (a) The Commission shall review the compensation and stipend levels of the members
102 of Council, the Mayor, the Attorney General, the members of the State Board of Education, and
103 the public commissions and boards outlined in section 2 of this Act, and shall submit a report to
104 the Council and the Mayor with proposed recommendations, if any, concerning changes to the
105 amount of respective compensation or stipend levels.
106 (b) In reviewing these compensation and stipend levels, the Commission shall consider:
107 (1) The responsibilities of each office, board, or commission;
108 (2) The number of hours per week required to perform the responsibilities of
109 each office, board, or commission;
110 (3) Comparable positions in the public and private sectors within and outside of
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111 the District;
112 (4) The current state of the District and national economies;
113 (5) Projections of future economic growth or decline; and
114 (6) Past, and projections of future, cost of living increases.
115 (c)(1) The Commission shall submit its first report with proposed recommendations, if
116 any, on or before December 1, 2023, and then on or before December 1 of every fourth calendar
117 year thereafter.
118 (2) The report from the Commission shall include, but not be limited to, the
119 following components:
120 (A) A description of the Commissions activities;
121 (B) Recommended compensation or stipend level changes, if any, for
122 each elected office and public commission and board outlined in Section 2 of this Act;
123 (C) Reasoning for the recommendations; and
124 (D) Any other material and recommendations that the Commission
125 deems relevant to the scope of its work.
126 (d) Before submitting the report as required by subsection (c) and after giving
127 appropriate public notice, the Commission shall hold at minimum four public meeting sessions
128 and at minimum one public hearing to receive feedback from the public. The hearing shall be
129 recorded and offer opportunity for testimony to be submitted online. All minutes and agendas
130 shall be published online on the Council website.
131 (e) The Commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the
132 services of employees of any District agency, board, or commission as it may require to execute
133 the requirements of this Act..
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134 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
135 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact
136 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
137 October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code 1-307.47a).
138 Sec. 4. Effective date.
139 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
140 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as
141 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
142 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
143 Columbia Register.
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