NEWS: D.C. CFO Glen Lee has spoken! In a letter to @mayorbowser.dc.gov and D.C. Council, Lee says that tax-filing season *will continue* and that the council's decoupling bill is the law of the land.

WAR ON WIPES? @chenderson.bsky.social has introduced a bill that would impose a *15% sales tax* on disposable wipes. (The standard sales tax is 6%.) The revenue would go to help @dcwater.bsky.social pay for sewer upgrades. Her bill would also exempt bidets from the city's sales tax.

Interesting: The D.C. Board of Elections says it has or is investigating 144 cases of alleged voter fraud from the 2024 general election. That includes people voting with the wrong ballot, or voting in D.C. and somewhere else. There were 328,871 ballots cast in that election.

This might be the first time that D.C.’s CFO has been directly protested. Someone sent me a photo of a @freedcproject.bsky.social flyer posted outside his office in the Wilson Building today.

NEWS: The D.C. Council unanimously passed two bills aimed at shedding more light on federal agents patrolling in D.C. One would release more body-camera footage from local police when federal agents use deadly force. Another would collect names of federal agents.

NEWS: The D.C. Council unanimously passed two bills aimed at shedding more light on federal agents patrolling in D.C. One would release more body-camera footage from local police when federal agents use deadly force. Another would collect names of federal agents.

UPDATE: The meeting broke up after an hour, and I'm told there's no consensus among councilmembers on how to proceed on decoupling. Members are waiting to hear directly from the CFO on whether he agrees with the AG that Congress did not repeal the decoupling bill.

The D.C. Council has been meeting behind closed doors for the last 30 minutes or so to discuss the ongoing decoupling drama. Today could be a critical day in terms of clarity on whether D.C. will continue to treat decoupling as the law of the land or not.

NEWS: @mayorbowser.dc.gov is asking the D.C. Council to vote against a pair of bills that would require more transparency on federal agents operating in the city, largely by mandating that body-camera footage from D.C. officers they patrol with be released when serious force is used.

Interesting: In her responses to the @mdcdsa.org candidate questionnaire, @janeese4dc.bsky.social says she's aiming to get 70,000 votes to win the mayoral primary. Bowser's best was 62,000 in 2022; Vince Gray got 72,000 in 2010. She also wants to knock on 500,000 doors.

D.C. TAXES UPDATE: There's still no final resolution in the fight between D.C. and Congress over whether the city has decoupled itself from some of the Trump tax cuts or not. Tax-filing continues as normal, but there's still a chance it could be stopped and delayed.

NEWS: As was teased two weeks ago, D.C. is lifting its advisory for the Potomac River in the wake of the big sewage spill in January. Testing has generally found E. coli levels in D.C. to be within safe levels, and that’s held since mid-February.

Interesting: At a transportation forum, @janeese4dc.bsky.social says fare-free buses in D.C. are the "long-term goal," but not something she would commit to early on. She says she instead wants to create a dedicated source of funding for Metro.

UPDATE: @mayorbowser.dc.gov is not particularly happy with CFO Glen Lee. In a letter, she questions his decision to not include revenue from the council's decoupling bill, which Bowser says will complicate her formulation of the budget. Bowser also says D.C. taxpayers need clarity.

In the newest revenue estimate, D.C.'s CFO points out that tax revenue from capital gains and corporations is consistently growing. Sounds good, no? Maybe not. Those increases are "highly volatile and largely driven by factors outside the District."

NEWS: There's more trouble and confusion for D.C.'s attempt to decouple its tax code from the Trump tax cuts. In a new revenue estimate, CFO Glen Lee says he's not including the estimated revenue from decoupling "due to the uncertainty" raised by the congressional repeal.

Interesting update: This bill will get a first vote in the D.C. Council next Tuesday.

Trashy fact of the day: Since D.C. kicked off its residential composting program almost three years ago, the city has picked up some five million pounds worth of food waste. There's now some 12,000 participating households, with Ward 4 in the lead followed by wards 3 and 5.

🧵: It's been quite a day for Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll, who has faced a barrage of questions from the D.C. Council over the last few hours over what, if any, cooperation is happening between MPD and federal immigration authorities.

When Bezos fires, @51st.news hires. We're up to $3171 ($2537 donations, 634 follows), which means it's time for me to cut another check. Keep it up and make me send a third. The overall fundraiser is at $215,736‼️

Taunt thy neighbor? It seems that someone in D.C. has been trying to send a message to FBI Director Kash Patel, who owns a condo just across from this building not far from U Street NW. (Though I don't think he lives there anymore.) If you know who did this, get in touch!

Updates on the sewage pipe break and spill: @dcwater.bsky.social says "significant progress" has been made to clear a 45-foot-long rock blockage in the sewage pipe. Once that is cleared, repairs on the pipe can begin; they're still looking at mid-March completion date.

Thing I just learned: While @dcpublicschools.bsky.social lets parents opt their middle-school kids out of sexual health classes, by law they can't opt out of the section where personal boundaries and consent are discussed. That's a really good thing, I think.

First mailer from the D.C. Board of Elections on ranked-choice voting, as part of its voter education and outreach campaign.

D.C. seems to be defying Congress over a tax-policy bill that Republicans on Capitol Hill say they repealed, but what happens next is up in the air. Details on the decoupling drama in @51st.news: 51st.news/congress-dc-...

Interesting: Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto has introduced a bill that would require that MPD release footage from body cameras of D.C. officers who are accompanying federal agents when they shoot or use serious force against someone. Currently footage is released only if D.C. officer shoots.

Updates to the D.C. decoupling drama: CFO Glen Lee says that if Congress has its way and repeals the D.C. Council's tax bill, tax-filing deadlines could be pushed into September and the city would have to pay $5 to $10 million to redo forms, systems, and guidance.

One really interesting wrinkle here: I've heard that there have been some discussions in the D.C. Council about possibly *recoupling* the city's tax code to the Trump tax cuts, essentially walking back out of this fight with Congress. But: there's no consensus on that.

NEW: @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social says in a new legal opinion that the bill passed by the D.C. Council late last year decoupling the local tax code from Republican tax cuts remains the law, regardless of Congress having passed a disapproval resolution this month.

Legal poker and blackjack in D.C. might be... a gamble? In a document submitted to the D.C. Council, the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming says it hasn't gotten any interest around @mayorbowser.dc.gov's proposed bill that would legalize commercial poker and blackjack in the city.

Responding to oversight questions from the D.C. Council, Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll says MPD can't say how many immigration and other arrests were made by federal agents on patrol with D.C. officers from August to December of last year; the data isn't tracked, he says.

Interesting: The range of starting salaries and hiring bonuses for different police forces in the Washington region range pretty widely. But the federal forces generally outpace local ones. Supreme Court Police start at $83k with $50k of hiring bonuses; MPD is $75k and $25k.

Quick update on the Potomac Interceptor sewage pipe break and spill: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers arrived at the site of the break over the weekend, and worked to redirect stormwater cascading down from the Clara Barton Parkway away from the broken pipe.

In an update on the sewage pipe break and spill into the Potomac River, D.C. officials offer some historic and current data on E. coli levels in the water. In short: current levels are lower than what is usually seen in the river. (This is downstream from the break.)

Update: The ACLU of D.C. and other groups say ICE is defying a December order from a federal judge requiring immigration agents in D.C. to get a warrant or have probable cause that a person is a flight risk before making an arrest. They want the judge to enforce the order.

Sewage spill update: Water testing done this week by UMD's School of Public Health shows decreasing levels of E. coli at the spill site and downriver, though they remain elevated closer to spill site. There was a slight jump this week; I'm told that could be linked to rain and snow melt.

As I say in this article, I think the DC government should vindicate its rights here. Any bill Congress tries to pass in response to this would be subject to a Senate filibuster. Every Democrat voted against the disapproval resolution. We have the votes to maintain a filibuster

Watching weather geeks and meteorologists hash out a variety of conflicting models that either show D.C. getting a dusting of snow or the blizzard of the century late this weekend is both fascinating and stressful.

Defy, or defer? There isn't much agreement amongst D.C.'s elected officials over whether they should fight Congress over its resolution repealing a tax bill passed by the D.C. Council last year. Some worry the fight isn't worth the risks. In @51st.news: 51st.news/tax-bill-dc-...

NEWS: @mayorbowser.dc.gov is requesting federal support through a Presidential Emergency Disaster Declaration for the repairs and remediation related to the sewage pipe break last month which led to 243 million gallons of sewage spilling into the Potomac. She's asking for 100% reimbursement.

Today President Trump signed the resolution approved by Congress that repeals a D.C. bill that decoupled the local tax code from some provisions of the federal tax code. It's only the fifth time in the last 50 years that a D.C. bill has been repealed by Congress.

“I do not think we should be raising property taxes,” says @mayorbowser.dc.gov during a budget forum at a senior center in Ward 4. On the proposal in NYC, she adds: “Sometimes these ideas trickle down here, so make sure you talk to your council members” to prevent it.

Interesting: @mayorbowser.dc.gov says she plans to increase per-pupil school spending by 2.55% in the 2027 budget. That’s on top of years of continued increases, and reversing what was initially expected to be a significant cut next year to address budget challenges.

NEWS: For a long time the Housing Production Trust Fund has been D.C.'s main tool to help build and preserve affordable housing. But now a new bill from @robertwhitedc.bsky.social and @brianneknadeau.bsky.social would make some pretty significant changes to how it works.

Staff from the D.C. Board of Elections have started attending ANC meetings, church gatherings, and senior homes as part of the public outreach and education on ranked-choice voting, which will be used for the first time in the June 16 elections.

Some context on the recent D.C. Water pipe break, which led to an estimated 243 million gallons of sewage going into the Potomac River. I'm told 600 million gallons of sewage and runoff flow into the Potomac every year, largely when heavy storms overwhelm D.C.'s aging sewers.

An update to my update: Richard Jackson, the director of @doeedc.bsky.social, is now walking back his statements from this morning where he said he would be OK eating fish from the Potomac River now. He now says D.C. residents should follow official guidance: steer clear of the river.

Sad local news: Longtime D.C. religious leader and civic activist Graylan Hagler has passed away, per his church. He was active in local politics; he ran for D.C. Council and was frequently lobbying lawmakers for progressive causes. He was a force. RIP.

I've been hearing lots of complaints about high Pepco bills recently, and D.C. councilmembers are sharing the pain. "I just got an $1,100 Pepco bill so I am beyond pissed with utilities right now. My house is at 68 degrees," said @robertwhitedc.bsky.social. For @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social: $899.

Lots of updates right now, leading with this: D.C. officials are walking back a statement from the head of @doeedc.bsky.social saying he would feel comfortable eating fish out of the Potomac River right now. They tell me the existing guidance stands: Avoid any contact with the river water.