B 26-0363 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Revised Business Licensing Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2025

This bill temporarily amends District of Columbia business licensing rules to take effect October 1, 2025. It restores the four-year business license (priced at $198) that would have been eliminated by the BEST Act, directly benefiting residential property owners and apartment complexes. The bill also allows businesses with licenses expired for more than nine months to renew by paying a fine, and changes entertainment venue license requirements to notify neighborhood commissions instead of holding public hearings. Additionally, it reinstates the Mayor's authority to refund erroneously paid license fees.

Tags: Licensing

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Sep 2025

Committee Review

Oct 2025

Council Passage

Oct 2025

Signed into Law

Jan 2026

Introduced Sep 22, 2025 Signed Jan 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossment → Enrollment · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and enrolled after passing through the legislative process, with several substantive changes to the text. The most significant changes involve clarifying the applicability of the new 4-year license fee structure and modifying the expiration timeline language. The bill now explicitly references Subchapter I-A of Chapter 28 for the business license amendments and adds a fiscal impact statement adoption clause.

Scope change

The bill's scope was slightly clarified by explicitly referencing 'Subchapter I-A of Chapter 28' in Section 3, providing more precise legal context for the amendments. The applicability date remains October 1, 2025, but the effective date section was expanded to include the 225-day expiration provision more clearly.

TECHNICAL

Section 3 was modified to explicitly reference 'Subchapter I-A of Chapter 28' instead of just 'Chapter 28', providing more precise legal context for the amendments.

Minor formatting and punctuation changes were made throughout the document, including adjustments to paragraph numbering and semicolon usage in the fee schedule sections.

REQUIREMENT

A new fiscal impact statement adoption clause was added in Section 5, formally adopting the Chief Financial Officer's fiscal impact statement as required by the General Legislative Procedures Act.

TIMELINE

Section 6 was expanded to include the 225-day expiration provision in subsection (b) with clearer formatting, ensuring the temporary nature of the act is properly documented.

Floor votes · Council Oct 21, 2025

How they voted

13–0

Passed

Total votes 13

Oct 21, 2025

D Democratic11

11 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

Oct 21, 2025

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (13-0)

council

Oct 7, 2025

Committee

Retained by the Council with comments from the Committee on Public Works and Operations

legislature

Sep 22, 2025

Introduced

B26-0363 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors