[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5798 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5798

To restore the right to negotiate matters pertaining to the discipline 
    of law enforcement officers of the District of Columbia through 
   collective bargaining, to restore the statute of limitations for 
 bringing disciplinary cases against members or civilian employees of 
the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 28, 2023

Mr. Garbarino (for himself and Mr. D'Esposito) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                             Accountability

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To restore the right to negotiate matters pertaining to the discipline 
    of law enforcement officers of the District of Columbia through 
   collective bargaining, to restore the statute of limitations for 
 bringing disciplinary cases against members or civilian employees of 
the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Our Nation's Capital 
Emergency Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of September 25, 2023, Washington, DC, had recorded 
        24,996 crimes committed within the city limits, up 30 percent 
        or almost 5,400 crimes from the same date in 2022.
            (2) As of September 25, 2023, 197 homicides had been 
        committed in Washington, DC, up 29 percent from the same date 
        in 2022 and nearly twice the total number of homicides in 2012.
            (3) As of September 25, 2023, violent crime incidents in 
        Washington, DC, are up over 37 percent from the same time in 
        2022, including 120 reports of sexual abuse (up 1 percent) and 
        2,545 reports of robberies (up 65 percent).
            (4) As of September 25, 2023, there have been 5,262 reports 
        of motor vehicle thefts in Washington, DC, up 107 percent from 
        the same date in 2022.
            (5) The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of 
        Columbia has lost over 1,200 members since 2020. The total 
        number of members is down 478 since 2020 and the staffing 
        levels at the Department are the lowest they have been in over 
        50 years.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to combat the rise in 
violent crime in our Nation's Capital by eliminating policies which 
place law enforcement personnel of the District of Columbia at risk and 
discourage them from serving, ensuring that such personnel will be 
treated equitably and fairly and the recruitment and retention of such 
personnel shall be increased.

SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF EQUITABLE AND FAIR TREATMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT 
              PERSONNEL OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

    (a) Restoration of Right To Negotiate Matters Pertaining to 
Discipline of District of Columbia Law Enforcement Officers Through 
Collective Bargaining.--Section 1708 of the District of Columbia 
Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 (sec. 1-617.08, 
D.C. Official Code), as amended by section 116(b) of the Comprehensive 
Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345), is 
amended by striking subsection (c).
    (b) Restoration of Statute of Limitations for Claims Against 
Members or Civilian Employees of Metropolitan Police Department.--
Subtitle M of title I of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform 
Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345) is repealed, and any provision 
of law amended or repealed by such subtitle is restored or revived as 
if such subtitle had not been enacted into law.
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