D.C. Statehood & Home Rule ANC Resolution

If you are interested in considering a supportive D.C. Statehood and Home Rule resolution in your ANC, please feel free to copy/paste the recommended language below and/or download the template here.

Government of the District of Columbia

Advisory Neighborhood Commission [INSERT]

Resolution #[INSERT]

Proclaiming that ANC [INSERT] supports admitting Washington, D.C. 

into the Union as a state of the United States of America

WHEREAS, Since the ratification of the Constitution of the United States on June 21, 1788, the Congress of the United States has had the power “To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States;”[1] and,

WHEREAS, The Seat of the Government of the United States was accepted by the Congress of the United States on July 16, 1790 and transferred from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the District on December 1, 1800 in accordance with the Residence Act of 1790,[2] and was organized into the District of Columbia under the entire control of the Congress of the United States for every purpose of Government[3] on February 27, 1801 in accordance with the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801,[4] through which the residents ceased to be considered citizens of a state,[5] no longer entitled to all the rights, guaranties, and immunities of the Constitution of the United States including, but not limited to: the right to appoint at least three Electors in the Electoral College for President and Vice President of the United States, the right to elect two Senators and at least one Representative in the Congress of the United States, and the right to self-govern and ratify proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United States, despite continuing to pay federal taxes, serve in the military, and share all other responsibilities of citizenship of the United States; and,

WHEREAS, A Twenty-Third Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed by the Congress of the United States on June 16, 1960[6] and ratified by a sufficient number of states on March 29, 1961 granting “The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States” the right to appoint “A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State;”[7] and,

WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States granted a Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, who “shall have a seat in the House of Representatives, with the right of debate, but not of voting,” on September 22, 1970 in accordance with the District of Columbia Delegate Act,[8] (after previously establishing the position on February 21, 1871[9] and repealing the position on June 20, 1874);[10] and,

WHEREAS, Enactment of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act by the Congress of the United States on December 24, 1973[11] and ratification of the Charter Referendum by a majority of the voters of the District of Columbia on May 7, 1974,[12] re-organized the District of Columbia by granting limited powers of local self-government to an elected thirteen-member Council of the District of Columbia and an elected Mayor of the District of Columbia to “relieve Congress of the burden of legislating upon essentially local District matters,” and established Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (known then as Advisory Neighborhood Councils) to “advise the District government on matters of public policy” with elected Commissioners who serve in best interest of the District of Columbia as a whole; however, the Congress of the United States granted no local control over the judiciary and reserved “the right, at any time, to exercise its constitutional authority as legislature for the District, by enacting legislation for the District on any subject, whether within or without the scope of legislative power granted to the Council… including legislation to amend or repeal any law in force in the District;”[13] and,

WHEREAS, Historically, the Congress of the United States and the President of the United States have interfered with the District of Columbia’s local self-government and Home Rule by enacting resolutions disapproving, amending, or repealing actions of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia – including cases concerning the location of chanceries on December 20, 1979,[14] sexual assault reform on October 1, 1981,[15] schedule of heights on March 12, 1991,[16] and a revised criminal code on March 20, 2023[17] – and by imposing budget riders that control and limit the use of locally-raised tax revenue – including cases concerning reproductive health services, cannabis use, and statehood advocacy;[18] and,

WHEREAS, On multiple occasions, a majority of the voters of the District of Columbia have approved initiatives and referendums expressing their desire for statehood, most recently on November 8, 2016, through which 85.69%[19] of voters 1) agreed that the District should be admitted to the union as the State of Washington, D.C., 2) approved the Constitution of the State of Washington, D.C.,[20] 3) approved the proposed boundaries between the State of Washington, D.C. and the federal enclave,[21] and 4) agreed that the State of Washington, D.C. shall guarantee an elected representative form of government[22] – which a majority of the voters of this Ward favored;[23] and,

WHEREAS, Other Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have introduced, debated, and passed resolutions that support admitting Washington, D.C. into the Union as a state of the United States of America, and other Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners and candidates have pledged to support admitting Washington, D.C. into the Union as a state of the United States of America; and,

WHEREAS, Despite the Constitution of the United States establishing that “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union,”[24] and despite the United States House of Representatives passing the Washington, D.C. Admission Act on June 26, 2020[25] and again on April 22, 2021,[26] which would declare Washington, D.C. to be “a State of the United States of America, and is declared admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States in all respects whatever,” the Congress of the United States has yet to grant full statehood to the approximately 700,000[27] people of Washington, D.C.; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That ANC [INSERT] supports admitting Washington, D.C. into the Union as a state of the United States of America.

RESOLVED, That ANC [INSERT] opposes efforts by the Congress of the United States and the President of the United States that interfere with local self-government and Home Rule – including federal laws disapproving, amending, and repealing actions of the Council of the District of Columbia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia as well as federal budget riders that control and limit the use of locally-raised tax revenue – and calls on the Congress of the United States and the President of the United States to enact federal legislation granting statehood to the people of Washington, D.C.

RESOLVED, That ANC [INSERT] advises the Council of the District of Columbia and the Mayor of the District of Columbia to actively petition the Congress of the United States and the President of the United States to enact federal legislation granting statehood to the people of Washington, D.C. in accordance with the Advisory Referendum approved by a majority of the voters of the District of Columbia and by a majority of the voters of this Ward on November 8, 2016.

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States in their capacity as President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, and all Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners of the District of Columbia.

__________

[1] U.S. Constitution, art. 1, sec. 8, cl. 17.

[2] U.S. Congress, An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States (Residence Act of 1790), 1 Stat. 130 (Chapter 28), 1st Cong., 2nd sess., July 16, 1790, https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llsl/llsl-c1/llsl-c1.pdf.

[3] Kendall v. United States, 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) 524, 526 (1838).

[4] U.S. Congress, An Act concerning the District of Columbia (District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801), 2 Stat. 103 (Chapter 15), 6th Cong., 2nd sess., February 27, 1801, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=002/llsl002.db&recNum=140.

[5] Reily v. Lamar, 6 U.S. (2 Cranch) 344, 356-357 (1805).

[6] U.S. Congress, Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States granting representation in the electoral college to the District of Columbia (Twenty-Third Amendment), SJRes 39, 86th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record Vol. 106, No. 10: 12752-12899, 12858, June 16, 1960, https://www.congress.gov/86/crecb/1960/06/16/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt10-3-1.pdf.

[7] U.S. Constitution, amend. 23, sec. 1.

[8] U.S. Congress, AN ACT To establish a Commission on the Organization of the Government of the District of Columbia and to provide for a Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia (District of Columbia Delegate Act), 84 Stat. 845 (Pub. Law 91-405), 91st Cong., 2nd sess., September 22, 1970, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-84/pdf/STATUTE-84-Pg845-2.pdf#page=1.

[9] U.S. Congress, An Act to provide a Government for the District of Columbia, 16 Stat. 419, 426 (Chapter 62), 41st Cong., 3rd sess., February 21, 1871, https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/16/STATUTE-16-Pg419.pdf.

[10] U.S. Congress, An act for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, 18 Stat. 116 (Chapter 337), 43rd Cong., 1st sess., June 20, 1874, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Statutes_at_Large_the_United_States/cEAFAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22An+Act+For+the+Government+of+the+District+of+Columbia,+and+for+Other+Purposes%22+18+Stat.+116,+ch.+337&pg=116&printsec=frontcover.

[11] U.S. Congress, AN ACT To reorganize the governmental structure of the District of Columbia, to provide a charter for local government in the District of Columbia subject to acceptance by a majority of the registered qualified electors in the District of Columbia, to delegate certain legislative powers to the local government, to implement certain recommendations of the Commission on the Organization of the Government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes (District of Columbia Home Rule Act), 87 Stat. 774 (Pub. Law 93-198), 93rd Cong., 1st sess., December 24, 1973, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-87/pdf/STATUTE-87-Pg774.pdf.

[12] Code of the District of Columbia, “Acceptance or nonacceptance of Charter,” §1–207.04 (see Editor's Notes), https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/1-207.04.

[13] U.S. Congress, AN ACT To reorganize the governmental structure of the District of Columbia, to provide a charter for local government in the District of Columbia subject to acceptance by a majority of the registered qualified electors in the District of Columbia, to delegate certain legislative powers to the local government, to implement certain recommendations of the Commission on the Organization of the Government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes (District of Columbia Home Rule Act), 87 Stat. 774 (Pub. Law 93-198), 93rd Cong., 1st sess., December 24, 1973, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-87/pdf/STATUTE-87-Pg774.pdf.

[14] U.S. Congress, A concurrent resolution to disapprove the location of Chanceries Amendment Act of 1979 passed by the City Council of the District of Columbia, S.Con.Res.63, 96th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record Vol. 125, No. 28: 37299-37307, December 20, 1979, https://www.congress.gov/96/crecb/1979/12/20/GPO-CRECB-1979-pt28-4-1.pdf.

[15] U.S. Congress, A resolution disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the District of Columbia Sexual Assault Reform Act of 1981, H.Res.208, 97th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record Vol. 127, No. 17: 22752-22779, October 1, 1981, https://www.congress.gov/97/crecb/1981/10/01/GPO-CRECB-1981-pt17-6-2.pdf.

[16] U.S. Congress, A joint resolution disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Schedule of Heights Amendment Act of 1990, 105 Stat. 33 (Pub. Law 102-11), 102nd Cong., 1st sess., March 12, 1991, https://www.congress.gov/102/statute/STATUTE-105/STATUTE-105-Pg33.pdf.

[17]  U.S. Congress, Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022, 137 Stat. 3 (Pub. Law 118-1), 118th Cong., 1st sess., March 20, 2023, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-joint-resolution/26/text.

[18] Congressional Research Services, “FY2022 District of Columbia Budget and Appropriations,” June 14, 2022, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47156/3.

[19] District of Columbia Board of Elections, “General Election 2016 – Certified Results,” Advisory Referendum B District of Columbia, November 8th 2016, https://electionresults.dcboe.org/election_results/2016-General-Election.

[20] The Constitution of the State of Washington, D.C., 2016, https://statehood.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/statehood/publication/attachments/Constitution-of-the-State-of-Washington-DC.pdf.

[21] Government of the District of Columbia Office of Planning, “Proposed State of Washington DC,” October 19, 2016, https://statehood.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/statehood/publication/attachments/Map-of-the-State-of-Washington-DC.pdf.

[22] Council of the District of Columbia, Advisory Referendum on the State of New Columbia Admission Act Resolution of 2016, July 12, 2016, https://lims.dccouncil.gov/downloads/LIMS/36165/Introduction/PR21-0839-Introduction.pdf.

[23] District of Columbia Board of Elections, “General Election 2016 – Certified Results,” Advisory Referendum B District of Columbia, November 8, 2016, https://electionresults.dcboe.org/election_results/2016-General-Election.

[24] U.S. Constitution, art. 4, sec. 3, cl. 1.

[25] U.S. Congress, House, An Act to provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union (Washington, D.C. Admission Act), H.R.51, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 118: H2521-H2557, H2557, June 26, 2020, https://www.congress.gov/116/crec/2020/06/26/CREC-2020-06-26.pdf.

[26] U.S. Congress, House, An Act to provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union (Washington, D.C. Admission Act), H.R.51, 117th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record Vol.167, No. 70: H2061-H2089, H2089, April 22, 2021, https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/04/22/167/70/CREC-2021-04-22.pdf.

[27] United States Census Bureau, “Quick Facts: District of Columbia,” https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/DC.