DC Council to Vote on First Source Bill on November 1

On October 14, 2011, the Council's Committee on Housing and Workforce Development, chaired by Councilmember Michael Brown, voted out of committee Bill 19-50, the "District of Columbia Workforce Intermediary Establishment and Reform of First Source Act of 2011." The bill now goes to the full Council for first reading on November 1. This legislation will amend the First Source Employment law as follows:

• Requires that the Department of Employment Services (DOES) receive advance notice prior to any new First Source project moving forward;
• Increases the base subsidy level that triggers First Source agreements to $300,000;
• Requires that each construction project receiving government assistance totaling $5 million or more adhere to enhanced First Source work hour hiring requirements of:
  • At least 20% of journey worker hours by trade shall be performed by District residents;
  • At least 60% of apprentice hours by trade shall be performed by District residents;
  • At least 51% of the skilled laborer hours by trade shall be performed by District residents;
  • At least 60% of common laborer hours shall be performed by District residents;
• Allows beneficiaries to double-count hours worked by District residents who are hard to employ, clarifies the duration of time beneficiaries are subject to First Source requirements, and allow beneficiaries to count hours that exceeded past hiring requirements towards their current requirements;
• Requires beneficiaries with projects receiving government assistance totaling $5 million or more to submit employment plans that identify specific details regarding associated jobs and strategies to meet their hiring requirement;
• Provides for additional pro-rated fines for failing to reach specific hiring requirements;
• Establishes a workforce intermediary program;
• Establishes a workforce trust fund in which contributions and monetary fines for breach of First Source employment agreements shall be deposited for the purposes of establishing and operating a workforce intermediary program in the District; and
• Mandates online public access to executed First Source employment agreements and the current compliance status of each project.

Click here to view the full Committee Print of Bill 19-50.

Bill 19-371, "Recordation Tax on Refinances of Security Interest Instruments Clarification Act of 2011"

Bill 19-371 was introduced by Councilmember Jack Evans to clarify ambiguities in the current law as to the correct tax to be paid on the recordation of refinances of security interest instruments. The bill would provide - if an existing debt is refinanced - that the recordation tax be applied to the excess of the principal balance of the new debt over the principal balance of the existing debt, which was either previously taxed or was exempt from recordation. During the first public hearing on this bill on October 13, the Attorney General stated that it was the Administration's position that the full amount of the balance on refinances should be taxed. Simply put, this would amount to a new tax on residents and owners of real property in the District of Columbia. Councilmember Evans called for a continuation hearing on October 20 where attorney Jeff Gelman of Saul Ewing testified in behalf of DCBIA. It is the position of DCBIA that the District should not create any additional taxes on residents or the development community. Currently, the FY 2012 budget calls for expenditures of more than $10 billion (all revenue sources), which works out to a jaw-dropping $17,000 and more per resident -- an unsustainable amount. DCBIA will keep a close eye on this legislation and update you as the process unfolds.

Testimony on Bill 19-371 found here.

David L. Goldblatt, Principal, The Goldblatt Group PLLC Legislative Consultant, DCBIA

MS4 PERMIT REGULATIONS COMING SOON

At the October 18, 2011 meeting of DCBIA's Environmental Committee, Jeff Seltzer, DDOE's point man on stormwater issues, reviewed highlights of forthcoming District regulations related to the terms of EPA's recently issued MS4 Permit for the separate sewer system. The regulations are currently under review by the OAG and are expected to be issued by DDOE as a proposed rulemaking with a sixty-day public comment period sometime later this winter. His review noted the required on-site stormwater retention standards (1.2"), with off-site mitigation and fee-in-lieu payment alternatives; planted area incentive programs to supplement new green area ratio (GAR) zoning regulations; District-wide impervious surface area reduction requirements; green roof and tree canopy goals; and DDOE's development of a consolidated TMDL implementation plan. Responding to the MS4 Permit regulations with their extensive reach are expected to be a major challenge for DCBIA over the coming months.

Amy L Edwards, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Chair, DCBIA Committee on the Environment

David Tuchmann, Development Manager, Akridge
Vice Chair, DCBIA Committee on the Environment

UPDATE ON TRANSITION TO REAL PROPERTY TAX APPEALS COMMISSION

On January 28, 2011, the Mayor signed legislation abolishing the Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals (BORPAA) and establishing the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission (RPTAC). The RPTAC was to have gone into effect on October 1, 2011. There have been multiple delays in the implementation of the new law. As a result, emergency legislation was passed on October 4, 2011 that delayed the effective date until January 2012.

Although new office space has been secured, no RPTAC commissioners have been named. The RPTAC is to be composed of six full-time and six part-time commissioners. The full-time commissioners will include a chairperson who is required to be a DC certified general appraiser and a vice chairperson who is required to be an attorney with at least five years of experience. The full-time commissioners will hear commercial property appeals and the part-time commissioners will hear residential appeals. DCBIA has been working with AOBA, the Mayor, and Councilmember Jack Evans' staff over the last several months on the transition. We determined that a delay in the implementation of the RPTAC in the absence of commissioners was the best interim solution. The delay until January 2012 will allow the Mayor to appoint, and the Council to confirm, the new RPTAC members. In the interim, the BORPAA will continue to operate with a reduced membership as only two members of BORPAA have unexpired terms and a handful more are on hold-over status. The Mayor may make interim appointments to the BORPAA to increase its capacity to hear cases. It is anticipated that BORPAA will focus on residential appeals first and that commercial appeals will be handled by the new RPTAC. As a result, it is likely that commercial appeals will be delayed well into 2012.

During the 90-day life of the emergency law, the Mayor has committed to identifying and nominating qualified candidates. The new RPTAC can be effective only if it has qualified commissioners. If you know of a potential candidate for either a full-time or part-time position on the RPTAC, contact the Office of Boards and Commissions or me at tanja.castro@hklaw.com.

Tanja Castro, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Co-Chair, DCBIA Committee on Taxes and Imposition