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OF Columbia yiiit'ium' n c^- rr ' 40*/LHHiVBRSABY of / Diigitized by the Internet Archive 2014 in https://archive.org/details/govlawdccode012013 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CODE OFFICIAL EDITION 2001 Containing the Laws, general and permanent in their nature, relating to or in force in the District ofColumbia (Except such laws as are ofapplication in the General and Permanent Laws ofthe United States) as ofSeptember 13, 2012. VOLUME 1 History of D.C. Code Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization Acts Relating to Corporation of Georgetown Constitution of the State of New Columbia Constitution of the United States ofAmerica LexisNexis COPYRIGHT © 2001-2012 By The District of Columbia All Rights Reserved. 4632710 ISBN 978-0-7698-6575-1 (Volume 1) ISBN 978-0-7698-6495-2 (Set) Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. 701 East Water Street, Charlottesville, VA22902 www.lexisnexis.com Customer Service: 1-800-833-9844 LexisNexis and the Know^ledge Burst logo are registered trademarks ofReed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under license. Matthew Bender is a registered trademark ofMatthew Bender Properties Inc. (Pub.45948) Foreword to 2013 Commemorative Set LexisNexis presents the 2013 republication of the District of Columbia Official Code, 2001 Edition to the D.C. bench and bar and to the citizens ofthe District ofColumbia in a sincere beliefthat it will prove a material contribu- tion to the orderly and efficient conduct ofthe government ofthe District and to the practice of law. LexisNexis is proud to help commemorate the 40th anniversary ofHome Rule for the District ofColumbia. LexisNexis continues its tradition ofexcellence with its District ofColumbia Official Code, 2001 Edition. This 2013 Volume 1 replaces any existing Volume 1 of the 2001 Edition and its 2012 Supplement, both of which may now be discarded, recycled, or retained for historical reference. Future supplements will be keyed to this 2013 Volume and not to any ofits predecessors. The District ofColumbia Official Code, 2001 Edition, represents the eighth compilation ofthe laws of the District of Columbia and reflects an extensive renumbering ofthe 1981 Edition. Users should consult the historical citations at the end ofeach statute, and corresponding amendment notes, as guides to legislative currency. Research features such as case annotations, section references, effect of legislation notes, editor's notes, and the comprehensive index have been prepared by LexisNexis. Your set is kept up to date through regular supplementation, free access to the on-line Official Code at http:// www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/dccode and the periodic replacement ofvolumes. All case citations are Shepardized for accuracy and continued relevance. LexisNexis also publishes a District ofColumbia Advance Legislative Service (ALS). TheALS givesyouthe latest sessionlaws astheyare passed, alongwith tables showing you which sections ofthe Code are affected. We actively solicit your comments and suggestions. Ifyou have questions or comments about the statutes, or if you have suggestions regarding index improvements, please write to us or call us toll-free at 1-800-833-9844; fax us toll free at 1-800-643-1280; E-mail us at [email protected]; orvisit our website at http://www.lexisnexis.com. By providing us with your informed comments, you will be assured of having a working tool which increases in value each year. LexisNexis June 2013 iii PREFACE TO THE 2001 EDITION The 2001 Edition ofthe District ofColumbia Official Code marks the eighth time that a compilation of the Laws of the District of Columbia has been published by, or under the authority of, the government of the District of Columbia or that ofthe United States. The District ofColumbia Code was first publishedin 1929; elevenyears later, the Second Edition (1940)was published; anotherelevenyears later, theThirdEdition (1951); tenyearslater, theFourth Edition (1961); sixyears later, the Fifth Edition (1967); another sixyears later, the Sixth Edition (1973); and 8 years later, the Seventh Edition (1981) was published. The time between the publication ofthe Seventh Edition and this Eighth Edition represents the longest period, by almost a decade, that the District ofColumbia Code has gone unrevised in its 72 year history. The District's Charter, which in 1973, established the current tripartite government of the District of Columbia, makes it incumbent upon the legislative branchto publish and codifyevery act ofthe Council, as the Council directs, upon becoming law, so that the residents of the District may have ready access to the laws by which they are governed. In 1973, however, the framers of the District's constitution could not have foreseen the incredible technological advances that would occur in the next 25 years nor the impact they would have on the Code. With the close ofthe 20th Century the world has witnessed the triumph of the InformationAge, the rise ofthe WorldWide Web, andthe explosion ofword processing and data storage technology. These phenomena have helped make the reproduction oflegal text and data a fast, easy, and inexpensive enterprise, giving rise to a plethora ofpublishing mediums, and have made it a relatively simple taskto reproduce existinglegal text, includingthe District ofColumbia Code. The rapid rise ofthe ComputerAgehas allowedvirtuallyanyonewith an ordinary personal computer to reproduce and compile the laws ofthe District ofColumbia. The laws of the District, however, are fluid, not stagnant, as they are amended several times eachyear. The quality and accuracy ofpublications not directed by the Council are beyond its control. The Council can only warrant the Code forwhich it has authorized publication. Therefore, in order to ensure that the residents ofthe District may distinguish between the compilation of District laws as produced under the direction of the elected officials of the District of Columbia and those of other persons, we have added the word "Official"tothe title ofthe Code.Alsoto ensurethatthe Council neverloses the right to publish its own laws, the government ofthe District ofColumbia has retained the copyright to the District ofColumbia Official Code. The codified laws of the District of Columbia are created as a result of legislative action on the part of 13 individuals elected by the residents ofthe v vi PREFACE TO THE 2001 EDITION District of Columbia to enact the laws that govern the District, and by the Congress. Once the legislative process is complete, the Council, through its delegation ofauthority to its Office ofthe General Counsel, codifies the laws in the form ofthis Code. In the process ofcodification, the Office ofthe General Counsel interprets any discrepancies in the drafting of the laws using commonly recognized rules of statutory construction. No other entity is authorized by law to make these determinations. As set forth by federal law and recognizedbythe Courts ofthe District ofColumbia, this Code establishes prima facie evidence ofthe laws in force in the District ofColumbia.^ It is this continuity ofauthority, from enactment to codification tojudicial review that gives this Code its authenticity and officiality as the content ofthe laws ofthe District ofColumbia. The 2001 Edition represents a recodification ofthe 1981 Edition in that it contains a reorganization of the presentation of the laws, inclusion of some previously omitted legal provisions, and the omission of non-substantive extraneous provisions. The theory behind the recodification is to purify the organization of the Code which over many decades has seen the haphazard mixing of original ("organic") provisions of laws throughout the Code. In the 2001 Edition, we have established a system of codification that follows the legislative drafting principals established over many years in the Council's Office ofthe General Counsel. The recodification is not an overhaul ofthe Code. Although a cleanup ofthe antiquated, repealed and omitted provisions is long overdue, it is not the province ofthe Office ofthe General Counsel to determine which laws should be expunged as obsolete. Such decisions should be left to a working group commissionedbythe Council torecommendrevisions tothe Code. The Office of the General Counsel has simply separated the organic laws into discrete divisions andtopical categories.As much as is possible, wehavefollowed arule that requires that all organic law remain intact: closely following the layout of the originating act. We have retained notes to repealed sections to aid in legal research and preserved the numbering style that was first introduced in the Second Edition. Thanks to the resourcefulness of the publisher and the Council's Office ofthe General Counsel staff, we have corrected provisions of law erroneously added to, or deleted from, prior editions. The Code is organized into eight Divisions of practical law: government organization; judicial organization; decedent estates; criminal law; business law; education; property; and general laws. Each division is subdivided by subject matter called Titles, organic laws, called Chapters and Subchapters, and finally, individual Sections representing the individual sections oforganic law. Occasionally, Subtitles are used to organize chapters of organic law, Units to organize subchapters, and Parts and Subparts to organize the additional divisions within the organic law. One important change thatthe userwill notice, andhopefully appreciate, is thatthe District's Charter,theHomeRuleAct, is codifiedinits entiretyinonelocationsothatthe 1. See 1 U.S.C. § 204(b) (1994); Sheetz v. District ofColumbia, 629A.2d 515, 519 (D.C. 1993).