District of Columbia Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in District of Columbia, with full citations and the original source on every page.
After Congress passed and the President signed a late disapproval resolution against DC's 2025 tax-conformity legislation, did DC taxpayers have to refile their 2025 returns under the older, less-favorable rules?
No. House Joint Resolution 142 (signed February 18, 2026) did not retroactively alter 2025 tax liabilities and did not repeal the underlying DC tax laws. Two reasons. First, the federal saving statute…
When U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued Order 6370-2025 in August 2025 vesting DEA Administrator Terry Cole with all powers of the DC Chief of Police, did MPD officers have to start obeying Cole?
No. The Bondi Order was unlawful. Section 740 of the Home Rule Act lets the President direct the Mayor to provide MPD services for federal purposes during emergencies; it does not let the President or…
If DC's CFO disagrees with the Council's decision not to fully replenish the Fiscal Stabilization Reserve in the FY 2025 budget, can he refuse to certify the budget or refuse to release funds from a duly enacted budget?
No on both counts. The CFO is not required by law to certify the District's budget at all. His routine practice of attaching a 'balanced' certification letter is not legally required, and his refusal …
Once the 60-day congressional review window for a DC criminal-law amendment runs out, can the U.S. Senate still kill the amendment with a late disapproval resolution?
No. Section 602(c)(2) of the Home Rule Act starts the clock on the day the Council Chairman transmits the act to the Speaker and the Senate President, not on the day either chamber notes the transmiss…
Did DC need a technical-amendment act before the Mayor could sign the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate Compact, given that the DC, Maryland, and Virginia enabling statutes had small wording differences?
No. Interstate compacts are valid when member-state enabling statutes are substantially similar, even if not word-for-word identical. The 28 small variances among the DC, Maryland, and Virginia versio…
Did DC voters legally win budget autonomy through the 2012 Charter amendment, or does Congress still have to appropriate the District's local funds before the Mayor can spend them?
AG Irvin Nathan concluded that the Local Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 was a nullity. The Council and DC voters used the Charter amendment process under § 303 of the Home Rule Act to try to remove DC lo…
Can DC's elected Chief Financial Officer hire, fire, and direct the financial staff at the DC Housing Authority, even though DCHA is technically an independent agency that gets most of its money from federal HUD?
Yes. Congress has repeatedly amended the Home Rule Act since 1995 to give the DC CFO control over financial personnel at all DC agencies, including independent ones. DCHA is part of the DC government …
Could DC's CFO release $191 million in supplemental FY 2008 funds for schools and early childhood programs, where the Mayor had submitted reprogramming requests but the Council had not yet approved them?
Yes. The 2008 Temporary Act, as amended by the Clarification Emergency Act, made fund release contingent on the Council's receipt of three specific reprogramming requests, not on Council approval of t…
When the DC quasi-public economic-development corporation (NCRC) borrowed $6.7 million from Bank of America in 2002 with a deed of trust on property it owned, was that loan properly authorized under DC law? Did the Anti-Deficiency Acts apply?
The loan was not properly authorized. The NCRC is part of the DC government, and is subject to both the federal and DC Anti-Deficiency Acts. NCRC's only authority to borrow money is through revenue bo…
If DC tried to ban the sale of M-rated and AO-rated video games to minors based on the ESRB rating system, would that violate the First Amendment?
Yes. Then-Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti concluded the bill could not survive First Amendment review. Video games are protected speech, and the bill restricted that speech based on content. Ty…
When DC's Corporation Counsel and the head of the Child and Family Services Agency disagree about whether to file or dismiss a child-abuse-and-neglect petition, who has the final say?
It depends on the reason for the decision. If the question is whether the evidence is sufficient to win the case, only Corporation Counsel attorneys can make the call (because that decision involves l…
When DC General Hospital was reorganized into the Public Benefit Corporation in 1997, did an arbitration award issued to nurses days before the transition transfer to the PBC, or stay with the disappearing hospital?
It transferred. Section 207(a)(4) of the 1996 Public Benefit Corporation Act transferred all 'functions, assets, property, records and obligations' from DCGH to the PBC. 'Obligations' includes contrac…
Could the DC Board of Education remove its own sitting President mid-term by a simple majority vote at a meeting, with no advance written charges and no hearing?
No. The Board's enabling statute is silent on removal, but Board Rule 108.1 incorporates Robert's Rules of Order for debate and proceedings. Under Robert's Rule § 60, an officer with a defined term ca…
Does the head of the DC Department of Health, or a deputy who runs a public-health program, need a DC medical license to do their job?
Only if the official actually practices medicine as part of the job. The DC Health Occupations Act defines the 'practice of medicine' as preventing, diagnosing, or treating individual patients' condit…
Could the 1720 Club, a grandfathered DC nude-dancing nightclub at 1720 H Street NW, transfer its liquor license to a new location and continue offering nude dancing under the 1994 Act?
No. The Corporation Counsel concluded that 'establishment' in 23 DCMR § 904.6 means the licensee's specific physical location at the time the 1994 Act took effect. A grandfathered nude-dancing license…
Could the DC Inspector General force the DC Housing Authority and its employees to turn over documents and testify, even though DCHA was an independent agency under federal-court receivership and was statutorily exempt from the Procurement Practices Act?
Yes. The Inspector General's subpoena and audit authority did not depend on whether the audited agency was inside the Procurement Practices Act. The 1995 FRMA amendments and the 1996 Procurement Refor…
Does the DC Council have the legal authority to review and approve large real-estate leases (over one million dollars per year) signed by the District government, the same way it reviews large procurement contracts?
Yes, but the source of authority changed in 1995. A 1991 Council law (D.C. Code § 1-336(c)) that purported to give the Council lease-approval power was probably invalid under Wilson v. Kelly. But the …
After Congress took over the DC court system in the 1997 Revitalization Act, did DC's Corporation Counsel still defend DC judges and court employees in lawsuits, and did the DC Settlement and Judgment Fund still pay any judgments?
Yes to both. The 1997 Act federalized the funding of the DC Courts but left their legal status as the District's judicial branch intact. The Office of Corporation Counsel could keep defending DC Court…
Did the Council have to approve contracts over one million dollars for the Washington Convention Center Authority and other DC independent agencies, or only contracts run through the Mayor's office?
Yes, all of them. Section 451(b) of the DC charter (added by the 1995 federal control-board law) covers every contract by any DC government entity over one million dollars in a 12-month period, includ…
Can a private company that contracts with the federal government to guard federal buildings in DC license its guards as DC Special Police Officers, so they can lawfully carry firearms while moving between protected federal sites?
Yes. The DC Special Police Officer statute lets any 'corporation or individual' apply, and a private contractor responsible for guarding federal property qualifies. Earlier Corporation Counsel opinion…
Could the District tap the Convention Center Fund, the Starplex Fund, or the Rainy Day Fund in 1995 to pay consultants studying whether to build a new convention center and a new MCI-style sports arena?
Yes. The Corporation Counsel concluded that feasibility and preconstruction studies were a necessary expense of constructing those facilities, and that all three funding sources, when combined with th…
Can a private security company in DC use one Special Police Officer commission to cover several separately owned buildings, and have that officer walk or drive between them on public sidewalks?
Yes. Both armed and unarmed Special Police Officers can patrol several separately owned residential and commercial buildings under one commission, and they can travel across public space between those…
If DC has been overpaying retired judges by miscomputing their disability pensions, can DC sue to recover the overpayments years later, and can the judges raise estoppel as a defense?
Yes, DC can sue to recover overpayments and there is no statute of limitations because suits to recover public funds vindicate public rights. The retired judges cannot use equitable estoppel as a defe…
If I get a housing code violation ticket in DC, can I skip the hearing examiner and appeal straight to the Board of Appeals and Review?
No. You have to go to a DCRA hearing examiner first under the 1985 Civil Infractions Act. The Board of Appeals and Review only has jurisdiction over final orders the hearing examiner already issued. T…
Can the DC Council pass a law setting term limits on the DC Mayor by ordinary legislation, or does it require a Charter amendment?
It requires a Charter amendment. DC's Charter (Title IV of the Self-Government Act) sets the qualifications for Mayor: registered voter, one year DC resident, and no other paid employment or public of…
Does DC have to get 90% of neighbors to sign off before licensing a street festival like Adams Morgan Day?
No, not for events on public streets. The 90% neighbor consent rule only applies to events held on private property. If a festival is on public streets and sidewalks, that consent rule does not apply.…
If my out-of-state charity wants to ask DC residents for donations, what does DC require us to do first?
Two registrations are required. First, file as a domestic or foreign nonprofit corporation with the DC Superintendent of Corporations. Second, complete the charitable solicitation application with the…
Can DC's consumer protection agency write tickets and impose fines on other DC government agencies (or their contractors) when those agencies break DC regulations?
No. One DC government agency cannot compel another to comply with the law without express statutory authority. The DCRA Civil Infractions Act gives the Mayor authority to fine private parties, but it …
If a DC zoning, liquor licensing, or other agency decision affects neighborhoods on both sides of an ANC boundary, do both Advisory Neighborhood Commissions get formal notice and the right to weigh in?
Yes. More than one ANC can be 'affected' by a single DC agency action and both must get the 30-day notice. An ANC is 'affected' when the action would have a substantial and predictable effect on peopl…
When I close on a DC mortgage in the middle of the month, can the lender still charge me interest at closing for the days between closing and the start of the next full month?
Yes. DC's 1987 Wet Settlement Act does not prohibit 'odd-days' interest at closing once the loan documents are signed and the funds are delivered to the settlement agent. The Act stops a lender from c…
When does the DC Mayor have to follow notice-and-comment rulemaking, and when can the Mayor just issue an internal directive?
The Mayor must use the DC Administrative Procedure Act's rulemaking process when an order applies to the public, affects rights or benefits, or imposes sanctions. The Mayor can issue an internal Mayor…
Does the World Bank have to pay DC real property tax on the buildings it owns in Washington, and if not, does the exemption start when the bank bought the property or only later?
No. The World Bank is exempt from DC real property tax under the federal International Organizations Immunities Act because the President has designated it as a covered international organization. The…
Can the DC Auditor demand to see the Public Service Commission's internal deliberations on a utility rate case?
Yes for procedures, no for deliberations. The DC Auditor can audit the Public Service Commission's accounts, operations, rules, and the legal authority for its work. The Auditor cannot demand to see t…
If a DC police officer or firefighter is hurt in a crash while driving a District vehicle on duty, can they collect no-fault PIP benefits from DC on top of their regular disability and salary benefits?
No, not from DC. On-duty DC police and firefighters injured in District vehicles are limited to disability and salary benefits under the Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act (and the older Police/Fire Re…
Can DC claim the contents of unclaimed safe deposit boxes that the federal Comptroller of the Currency took over from defunct national banks?
Yes. Under the 1982 Garn-St. Germain Act, states (including DC) can claim contents of safe deposit boxes from closed national banks held by the Comptroller of the Currency. DC's Uniform Disposition of…
Does the DC Auditor have power to audit the DC Retirement Board, or does the federal Retirement Reform Act block that?
Yes, the DC Auditor can audit the Retirement Board's accounts and operations. The 1973 Home Rule Act gave the DC Auditor broad authority to audit every agency of the DC government, and the 1979 federa…
If the DC Office of Human Rights dismisses my private-sector discrimination complaint for no probable cause, can I appeal to the DC Commission on Human Rights for review?
No. After 1973, the Commission on Human Rights lost its authority to review no-probable-cause dismissals by the Office of Human Rights. Your only path to challenge a no-probable-cause dismissal is to …
When can DC parking enforcement officers (not police) write tickets, and what kinds of violations can they ticket?
DC Department of Transportation enforcement officers can ticket only parking-style infractions, defined as violations of laws regulating the parking, stopping, or standing of a vehicle. They can issue…
Does DC's no-fault auto insurance law apply to cars owned by foreign diplomats, the DC government, WMATA, or the federal government?
Yes for all four. Each must show insurance or self-insurance to register their vehicles in DC. But for WMATA and the federal government, DC cannot demand more than a statement that they are self-insur…
If a DC government employee wins a discrimination claim at the Office of Human Rights, can the OHR order the District to pay attorneys' fees and compensatory damages?
No. The Office of Human Rights cannot award attorneys' fees or compensatory damages in claims brought by DC employees against DC agencies. The Mayor's Order that governs those public-sector claims aut…
Can the DC Mayor agree to pay interest on emergency unemployment-trust-fund loans from the federal government, and where does the interest money come from?
Yes. The Mayor can borrow from the federal unemployment account when DC's own unemployment fund runs short and can agree to pay the federally required interest on those advances. The interest just can…
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Attorney general opinions in District of Columbia are written by the District of Columbia Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.