PR 26-0757 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Language Access Rulemaking Authority Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

This bill grants the Mayor of Washington, D.C. the authority to create and update rules necessary to enforce the Language Access Act of 2004. By declaring an emergency, the legislation allows the Office of Human Rights to immediately adopt regulations that ensure fair and effective language access for residents and visitors. The measures are designed to streamline the implementation of existing laws without requiring a lengthy legislative review process.

Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jul 2026

Committee Review

Jul 2026

Council Passage

Jul 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jul 1, 2026 Signed Jul 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → Enrollment · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was cleaned up to remove formatting errors and typos while retaining the same core policy. The document was converted from a 'Proposed Resolution' to an 'Enrolled Original' (officially passed version), and the text was corrected to accurately reflect that the legislation amends the Language Access Act to authorize the Mayor to issue rules, rather than just declaring an emergency.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope; the policy intent remains identical to the previous version.

TECHNICAL

Corrected numerous typos, spacing errors, and garbled text (e.g., 'OOUNCIL' to 'COUNCIL', 'Ruman Rights' to 'Human Rights') to ensure the official text is readable and legally precise.

Removed the cover letter and signature block from the Mayor, as this is now the final enrolled version of the resolution itself.

Changed the header from 'A PROPOSED RESOLUTION' to 'A RESOLUTION' and added 'ENROLLED ORIGINAL' to indicate the bill has been officially adopted.

Floor votes · Council Jul 14, 2026

How they voted

13–0

Passed

Total votes 13

Jul 14, 2026

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

Jul 14, 2026

Council · Passed

Council Vote: pass (13-0)

council

Jul 14, 2026

Committee

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

legislature

Jul 1, 2026

Introduced

PR26-0757 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary

legislature

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors