B 26-0559 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Soul of the City Business Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2026

This bill creates a new Business Improvement District (BID) called "Soul of the City" in a specific area of Washington, D.C. It authorizes property owners within the defined geographic boundary (detailed by hundreds of specific lots across multiple city squares) to pay BID taxes to fund local services. The boundary is fixed as of a prior committee-approved map (from Bill 26-421), meaning it won't change with future property record updates. The BID taxes will be imposed until the district is dissolved or the bill expires. This is a procedural bill establishing a new local funding mechanism for the designated area.

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Council Passage

Jan 2026

Signed into Law

Jan 2026

Introduced Jan 5, 2026 Signed Jan 22, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → Enrollment · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a draft introduction to an enrolled, final version. The primary substantive change is the update of the effective date for tax collection to the half-tax year beginning April 1, 2026, and the citation of the bill's approval date as January 6, 2026. The list of properties included in the district boundary remains unchanged.

Scope change

The scope of the district boundary is unchanged; however, the operational timeline for the new Business Improvement District was adjusted to begin in April 2026.

TIMELINE

The effective date for imposing BID taxes was updated to the half-tax year beginning April 1, 2026.

The reference to the bill's approval date was changed from a future committee date to the actual emergency approval date of January 6, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was formatted from a draft introduction to an enrolled original, including minor updates to section references.

Floor votes · Council Jan 6, 2026

How they voted

12–0

Passed

Total votes 12

Jan 6, 2026

D Democratic11

11 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jan 6, 2026

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (12-0)

council

Jan 6, 2026

Introduced

AMENDMENT (Mendelson)

legislature

Jan 5, 2026

Introduced

B26-0559 Introduced by Councilmember T. White at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors