Councilmember Charles Allen, Chairperson
Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety 

Announces a Public Hearing on 

B23-0501, the “Sanctuary Values Amendment Act of 2019” 

and 

B23-0837, the “Stormiyah Denson-Jackson Race and Gender Economic Damages Equality Amendment Act of 2020”

Thursday, October 1, 2020, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Virtual Hearing via Zoom
To Watch Live:

https://dccouncil.us/council-videos/

http://video.oct.dc.gov/DCC/jw.html

https://www.facebook.com/CMcharlesallen/

On Thursday, October 1, 2020, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, will convene a public hearing to consider Bill 23-0501, the “Sanctuary Values Amendment Act of 2019”, and Bill 23-0837, the “Stormiyah Denson-Jackson Race and Gender Economic Damages Equality Amendment Act of 2020”. The hearing will be conducted virtually via Zoom from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pre-registered public witnesses will testify from 10:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., and government witnesses will testify from 1:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

The stated purpose of B23-0501, the “Sanctuary Values Amendment Act of 2019”, is to amend An Act To create a Department of Corrections in the District of Columbia to limit the District’s cooperation with federal immigration agencies, including by complying with detainer requests, absent a judicial warrant or order.

The stated purpose of B23-0837, the “Stormiyah Denson-Jackson Race and Gender Economic Damages Equality Amendment Act of 2020”, is to amend Title 16 of the District of Columbia Code in actions for personal injury or death caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default, to provide that estimations, measures, or calculations of past, present, or future damages for lost earnings or impaired earning capacity may not be reduced based on race, ethnicity, or gender.

The Committee invites the public to provide oral and/or written testimony. Public witnesses seeking to provide oral testimony at the Committee’s hearing must thoroughly review the following instructions:

• Anyone wishing to provide oral testimony must email the Committee at [email protected] with their name, telephone number, organizational affiliation, and title (if any), by the close of business on Thursday, September 24.
• The Committee will approve witnesses’ registrations based on the total time allotted for public testimony. The Committee will also determine the order of witnesses’ testimony.
• Witnesses who are approved by the Committee to testify will be emailed Zoom registration instructions for the hearing, which they must complete in order to be placed on the final witness list and access their unique Zoom link.
• Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals (and any subsequent representatives of the same organizations) will be allowed a maximum of three minutes.
• Witnesses are not permitted to yield their time to, or substitute their testimony for, the testimony of another individual or organization.
• If possible, witnesses should submit a copy of their testimony electronically in advance to [email protected].
• Witnesses who anticipate needing language interpretation are requested to inform the Committee as soon as possible, but no later than five business days before the hearing. The Committee will make every effort to fulfill timely requests; however, requests received fewer than five business days before the hearing may not be fulfilled.

For witnesses who are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be emailed to the Committee at [email protected] no later than the close of business on Friday, October 9.