LegiStorm

Summary:

On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration released its detailed budget request for FY2013. The Administration’s proposed budget included $677.8 million in special federal payments to the District of Columbia, which was $12.2 million more than the District’s FY2012 appropriation of $665.6 million in special federal payments. Approximately 78% ($526.7 million) of the President’s proposed budget request for the District would have been targeted to the courts and criminal justice system. The President’s budget request also included $95.6 million in support of education initiatives. This represented 14% of the Administration’s federal payment budget request for the District of Columbia. On May 15, 2012, the District of Columbia Council approved a FY2013 budget that included $11.4 billion in operating funds and $1.1 billion in capital outlays. The mayor signed the measure (A19-0381) on June 15, 2012. Included in the act was a provision that would have granted the District some level of budget autonomy in the expenditure of local funds, if Congress failed to pass and the President failed to sign a District of Columbia appropriations act before the beginning of the 2013 fiscal year on October 1, 2012. On June 14, 2012, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 3301, its version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for FY2013 (FSGG), with an accompanying report (S.Rept. 112-177). As reported, the bill recommended $676.2 million in special federal payments to the District. This was $10.6 million more than appropriated for FY2012, and $1.6 million less than requested by the Administration. On June 26, 2012, a House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2013, H.R. 6020, with an accompanying report (H.Rept. 112- 550). The bill included $673.7 million in special federal payments to the District. This was $8.1 million more than appropriated for FY2012, $4.1 million less than requested by the Administration and $2.5 million less than recommended by the Senate bill. The Senate bill, S. 3301, included changes in two provisions that city officials had sought to eliminate or modify. The bill would have lifted the prohibition on the use of District funds to provide abortion services, but would have continued the prohibition against the use of federal funds. The House bill would have restricted the use of District and federal funds for abortion services to instances involving rape, incest, or a health threat to the life of the pregnant woman. Both the House and Senate bills would have continued to prohibit the use of federal funds to regulate and decriminalize the medical use of marijuana and would have provided funding for a school voucher program, which was not funded in FY2012. The private school voucher program was opposed by some city leaders, but supported by others. The Administration did not include funding for school vouchers in its budget submission to Congress. Unable to reach agreement on appropriation measures, including the FSGG, before the beginning of FY2013, the 112th Congress passed H.J.Res. 117 extending funding at an annualized rate of 0.6% above the FY2012 funding levels through March 27, 2013. The act, which was signed into law as P.L. 112-175 by the President on September 28, 2012, (1) allowed the District to spend its local funds as outlined in the District of Columbia Budget Request Act of 2012 and (2) appropriated $9.8 million for expenses associated with the Presidential Inauguration. On March 26, 2013, the President signed into law P.L. 113-6, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, which superseded P.L. 112-175. P.L. 113-6 funded special federal payments to the District at the FY2012 funding levels, except for emergency planning and security, which was funded at $24.7 million. The act also continued the prohibition on the use of federal funds for abortion services and needle exchange programs.