LegiStorm

Summary:

On April 10, 2013, the Obama Administration released its budget request for FY2014. The Administration's proposed budget included $676.3 million in special federal payments to the District of Columbia. Approximately 80% ($543.4 million) of the President's proposed budget request for the District would be targeted to the courts and criminal justice system. The President's budget request also includes $87.2 million in support of education initiatives. On May 22, 2013, the District of Columbia Council approved an FY2014 budget that included $12.1 billion in total operating funds and $2.1 billion in capital outlays. The mayor signed the measure (A20-0127) on July 24, 2013. Included in the act were provisions that would have granted the District significant autonomy over its budgetary and legislative affairs. Specifically, the act would have repealed portions of the District's code governing congressional review of all acts passed by the District of Columbia Council. On July 25, 2013, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 1371, its version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for FY2014. The bill recommended $674.8 million in special federal payments to the District. This was $700,000 more than appropriated for FY2013. On July 17, 2013, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2014, H.R. 2786. The bill included $635.8 million in special federal payments to the District. The Senate and House committee bills included several general provisions that city officials had sought to eliminate or modify. The Senate committee 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 for the same services. The House committee bill would have restricted the use of both 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 committee bills would have (1) continued to prohibit the use of federal funds to regulate and decriminalize the medical use of marijuana, (2) continued to prohibit the District from using federal funds for a needle exchange program to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, and (3) provided funding for a school voucher program. The Senate committee measure included provisions that would have granted the city budget autonomy over the expenditure of locally raised funds. In an effort to mitigate the impact of a federal shutdown because of a failure to pass FY2014 appropriations for the District of Columbia, the House approved H. J. Res., 71, a measure that would have allowed the District to spend its local tax revenues to fund District operations through December 15, 2013. The Senate did not taken up consideration of the bill. Congress was unable to reach agreement on any of the 12 regular appropriations, including FSGG, before the beginning of the 2014 federal fiscal year, resulting in a 16-day government shutdown. On October 16, 2013, Congress passed an amended version of H.R. 2775, a bill providing continuing appropriations through January 15, 2014, with some exceptions. One of those exceptions—Section 127—released the District‘s operating budget for FY2014 from further congressional review and allowed the District to expend locally raised revenues as outlined in the city's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-0127). The bill was signed into law as P.L. 113-46 on October 17, 2013. Before the expiration of P.L. 113-46 on January 15, 2014, Congress approved a short-term appropriation act, P.L. 113-73, before approving the Consolidated Appropriations Act, P.L. 113-76, appropriating funds for the remainder the 2014 fiscal year. In addition to $673 million in special federal payments for the District, P.L. 113-76 also prohibited the use of District and federal funds for abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the pregnant woman is jeopardized. This report will be updated as events warrant.