ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
February 7, 2023
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend, on an emergency
basis, section 28-3814 of the District of Columbia Official Code to provide a definition of
the term public utility, to ensure that public utilities can continue to engage in certain
practices related to customer contact and posting of notices for disconnection of service
pursuant to Chapter 3 of Title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Protecting Consumers from Unjust Debt Collection Practices
Technical Clarification Amendment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023”.
Sec. 2. (a) The Protecting Consumers from Unjust Debt Collection Practices Amendment
Act of 2022, effective August 27, 2022 (D.C. Law 24-154; 69 DCR 8352), became applicable on
January 1, 2023.
(b) Public utilities are subject to the requirements of the law when attempting to collect
consumer debt. Some of the requirements in the law conflict with existing requirements
applicable to public utilities in Chapter 3 of Title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal
Regulations. Specifically, the law conflicts with current requirements in the following
circumstances:
(1) D.C. Official Code § 28-3814(d)(5) prohibits debt collectors from “visiting or
threatening to visit the household of a consumer at any time for the purpose of collecting a debt,
other than for the purpose of serving process in a lawsuit.” Pursuant to 15 DCMR § 312.2,
however, utilities are required to make reasonable efforts to contact a customer prior to
disconnection, and this contact may include in-person notification. In-person notification may be
necessary when a utility is unable to reach the customer via phone or electronic mail.
(2) D.C. Official Code § 28-3814(e)(2) prohibits debt collectors from disclosing,
publishing, or communicating information related to a consumer debt to a relative, family
member, friend, or neighbor except in limited circumstances. 15 DCMR § 312 and 15 DCMR §
314 require utilities to post a notice of disconnection in a location “reasonably calculated to be
seen by Persons residing on the premises…” The notice must include the reason for the
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disconnection, which could lead to family, friends, or other individuals knowing about the
customer’s debt in violation of the law.
(3) D.C. Official Code § 28-3814(n)(1) requires debt collectors to provide a
written copy of a payment agreement within 7 days of entering into the agreement. 15 DCMR §
306 requires utilities that enter into a deferred payment agreement with a customer to provide the
information in writing within 10 business days.
(c) To avoid confusion or negative impacts on customers or utilities, it is necessary to
clarify that current regulatory requirements for utilities described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (b) of this section are permitted under the debt-collection law.
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
Protecting Consumers from Unjust Debt Collection Practices Technical Clarification Emergency
Amendment Act of 2023 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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