Read on Twitter
@councilofdc is doing everything right.
Meeting remotely for the first time in its 45-year history, the D.C. Council on Tuesday unanimously passed its second emergency COVID-19 relief bill, a measure that establishes a rent freeze and mortgage payment deferrals, an expansion of unemployment insurance and more.
The COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 contains provisions to cushion the blow of the coronavirus health crisis on D.C. residents:
Rents are frozen across the District, not only in rent-controlled homes;
Rents are frozen across the District, not only in rent-controlled homes;
Mortgage companies are required to offer payment deferrals of up to 90 days;
Protections against utility shutoffs are expanded to include cable and telecommunications service;
Debt-collection lawsuits and the seizures of cars and other property are prohibited;
Protections against utility shutoffs are expanded to include cable and telecommunications service;
Debt-collection lawsuits and the seizures of cars and other property are prohibited;
The definition of employment, for the purposes of collecting unemployment insurance, has been expanded to include self-employment, gig workers, those seeking part-time work and others “who otherwise would not qualify”;
Mayor Muriel Bowser has been given the authority to extend her emergency orders for a total of 90 days, ending in mid-June;
Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWitt can now borrow short-term up to $500 million to close what’s expected to be a $600 million loss of revenue due to the economic impact of the pandemic;
A $25 million grant program has been established for D.C. hospitals to buy equipment, hire staff and build temporary hospitals (Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the District expects to get that money back from federal relief efforts);
Every voter in the June 2 primary and the Ward 2 special election on June 16 will get an application for an absentee ballot in the mail, with return postage paid.
The bill also allows for up to 54 days of good-time credits for felons, and provides the possibility for compassionate release for inmates over age 60 who have served at least 25 years.
