B 26-0241 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Clemency Board Waiver Authority Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2025

This bill (B 26-0241) amends the District of Columbia's Clemency Board Establishment Act to allow the Board to grant waivers for the five-year waiting period required for pardon applicants. It directly affects individuals seeking pardons who have already received a federal waiver under Department of Justice guidelines (§ 9-140.112 of the Justice Manual). Key provisions require the Board to only consider waiver requests if it has official notice of a federal waiver, permits the Board to deny waivers even with that notice, and prohibits waivers for people on probation, parole, or supervised release. The Board must provide written decisions and may request additional applicant information. The bill is an emergency measure intended to take effect quickly but expire after 90 days.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Sub-Topics: Probation & Parole

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

Council Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced May 5, 2025 Signed May 28, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → Enrollment · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was enrolled and finalized for signature, with minor formatting adjustments and a slight update to language describing the waiver authority. The core policy remains unchanged: it allows the Clemency Board to waive the five-year waiting period for pardon applicants when the U.S. Pardon Attorney or President grants a similar waiver, but only under specific conditions.

TECHNICAL

Updated the reference from '5-year waiting period' to '5-year requirement' in the title and subsection (f)(1) for consistency with the Department of Justice Manual language.

Added a new provision in subsection (f)(4) allowing the Board to request additional information from applicants, including a meeting to discuss the waiver request.

Adjusted formatting and layout of the enrolled version, including page numbering and signature lines for the Council Chairman and Mayor.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new provision in subsection (f)(5) requiring the Board to provide written notice to applicants regarding decisions to grant or deny waiver requests.

Floor votes · Council May 6, 2025

How they voted

12–0

Passed

Total votes 12

May 6, 2025

D Democratic10

10 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 6, 2025

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (12-0)

council

May 5, 2025

Introduced

B26-0241 Introduced by Councilmember Pinto at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors