Dear Neighbors,

And just like that – the first vote on Fiscal Year 2026 budget is done! This edition of the newsletter is just to give you all a brief update on where things stand.

Funding for Initiative 83

Initiative 83 was overwhelming passed by voters in the last election. It would do two things – first, implement ranked choice voting (RCV) in DC and two, allow for registered DC voters not affiliated with a party to be able to vote in primaries. I supported Initiative 83. In fact, in 2021, I introduced the VOICE Amendment Act at the Council on ranked choice voting. Although it had a hearing, it was not able to garner enough votes of support on the Council at the time. Yesterday, things changed.

I was proud to join with Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau (Ward 1) to introduce an amendment to fund the portion of Initiative 83 on ranked choice voting. It was approved 8-4. As DC elections get more and more competitive, we need a new method that allows for voter’s preferences for candidates to truly be realized. RCV is currently used in 52 cities, counties, and states across the country. While we have not yet identified the funding for the entirety of Initiative 83, this is a huge step forward for our local democracy.

What Happened with Initiative 82?

In the Mayor’s proposed Budget Support Act (BSA) there was a subtitle to repeal the “District of Columbia Tip Credit Elimination Act of 2022”, also known as Initiative 82. The BSA that was voted on yesterday removed that subtitle and replaced it with a proposal to change the base wage under the tipped minimum to $8/hour, while setting the overall minimum wage for tipped employees to $20/hr (employers pay the difference if employees wages and combined tips do not equal the minimum wage)–the current minimum wage in DC is $17.95/hr. The proposal would also cap service charges at 10%.  

Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4) then introduced an amendment to remove this proposal from the BSA. I supported that amendment. Let me explain why and what happens next.

I am not what you would call an Initiative “purist.” While I trust voters, I do believe sometimes referendum efforts may not contain all the context necessary on implementation. For example, let’s say there was a successful referendum to eliminate automated traffic enforcement in DC. The additional context I would have to consider as a lawmaker is what do you do with traffic enforcement  –do we want MPD doing routine traffic stops again? How do we pay for infrastructure improvements if that alone is the replacement? What do we cut address the revenue shortfall this may cause? It’s not simple black and white.

That’s how I feel about Initiative 82 today. As I have said before, the economic landscape of the District and this nation has drastically changed since voters weighed in on this matter. Inflation is on the rise, tariff policy seems to change weekly, mass federal employee layoffs have continued impacting disposal incomes for families. I cannot in good conscience simply ignore that reality. That’s why I voted for the pause of the wage increases outlined in Initiative 82 back in May. The proposal before us yesterday was not something I was comfortable supporting. But I don’t want anyone to construe my vote on the amendment by Councilmember Lewis George as a vote to keep Initiative 82 intact as currently written forever. I’m going to be working earnestly with my colleagues over the next two weeks to hopefully get to something that’s good for workers and businesses – a proposal that can be defended and not just tolerated.

Changes in the Committee on Health

The Committee on Health continued to refine budget recommendations for our cluster even after the markup process was complete. Here are some additional changes that were made and approved in yesterday’s vote:

DC Health

Last month, the Committee on Health identified $1.27 million to backfill the loss of an important federal HIV/AIDS prevention grant at DC Health. After our Committee marked up, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notified DC Health that it received the grant through the end of May 2026. Therefore, we were able to repurpose the funding in several ways including 4 FTEs to continue doing contact tracing for likely HIV exposure, and 6 FTEs to continue to perform data and policy analysis for HIV surveillance through the end of the fiscal year, after the federal grant lapses.  

Department of Healthcare Finance

The Committee worked to restore several health benefits cuts in the Mayor’s proposed budget for the Alliance program. After markup, we identified additional funding in order to reverse additional cuts for Alliance:

• Push back the date halting new Alliance enrollees from August 1, 2025 to October 1, 2025;

• Return to annual recertification for adults, instead of every 6 months for FY26;  

• Allow for 26 year-olds to remain covered beyond their birthday for FY26; and

• Ensure a 90-day grace period to complete renewals, and allow for (if deemed eligible) retroactive coverage.

Over the past 47 days, I’ve been focused on maintaining core services and programs essential for health and quality of life. We’re in a better place today than we could have imagined two months ago, which shows the importance of the Council’s budget process, as protracted as it seems. The work continues…

In Service,

Christina Henderson
Councilmember, At-Large
ChristinaHendersonDC.com

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