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Councilmember At-Large Christina Henderson is behind one of the bills that seeks to suspend licenses and registration before a conviction in certain situations. "This is happening across the region. I think this is just a small slice, but I think it's something that we can tighten up, and also double down on the idea and belief that driving is a privilege," Henderson told WUSA9. Under current D.C. laws, a driver's license is suspended following a conviction of certain traffic violations. "Knowing what the backlog at the courts look like, it could be several months until someone could have a case adjudicated, and technically during that time, an individual that is not detained pretrial can continue to drive; and I thought that was a loop hole in the system," Henderson added. "The Department of Motor Vehicles is showing far less convictions then what DC Superior courts processed. So what they are going through, DMV, is an audit process going back ten years to check every record to make sure they are accurate and up to date," Henderson said.

Henderson wants to immediately suspend licenses for people who negligently kill someone with a car, leave the scene of a crash, or drive under the influence. She says the bill streamlines the process and promotes accountability and safe driving in the District. Current law mandates that a driver’s license be suspended following conviction of certain traffic violations, but Henderson says that the court procedures take too long and “certain traffic violations are so egregious and devastating that a scofflaw driver should not be allowed to operate a vehicle while waiting for a conviction to be handed down.” “If someone is driving under the influence and seriously injures another person as a result of their negligence, they shouldn’t be able to continue with their driving privileges for untold months while a case is being adjudicated. This is a gap in the law we should address,” Henderson said. Another bill from Henderson would assign points to your driving record for camera tickets. Currently, you can only be fined for camera tickets since they are not written by a law enforcement officer, and speed and red light tickets don’t usually capture the face of the driver, just the vehicle and license plate. “Moving violations should be treated as moving violations regardless of if they were detected by a camera or a law enforcement officer,” Henderson said. “If we are moving away from having law enforcement conducted routine traffic stops, then we must strengthen the other accountability tools at our disposal. “If this isn’t the solution, I look forward to a robust discussion of what we should do next.”

At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson presented legislation that would suspend the license and registration of vehicles owned by drivers who are arrested for violations, and keep them off the road during what can be a lengthy court process. Currently in the District, a driver’s license can only be suspended after a conviction for certain serious traffic violations. “If someone is driving under the influence and seriously injures another person as a result of their negligence, they shouldn’t be able to continue with their driving privileges for untold months while a case is being adjudicated,” Henderson said in a news release. “This is a gap in the law we should address.”

This week, Councilmember Christina Henderson introduced a bill to suspend the license and registration of all vehicles owned by or registered to any person charged with negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident where there’s personal injury or driving while intoxicated. “If someone is driving under the influence and seriously injures another person as a result of their negligence, they shouldn’t be able to continue with their driving privileges for untold months while a case is being adjudicated,” Henderson said. “This is a gap in the law we should address.” The second bill would create a point system so if a violator is caught by speed cameras, it will start tallying points, instead of just a ticket to the owner of the car. “If we are moving away from having law enforcement conducted routine traffic stops, then we must strengthen the other accountability tools at our disposal,” Henderson said. “If this isn’t the solution, I look forward to a robust discussion of what we should do next.”

This month, District council passed the Expanding Access to Fertility Treatment Amendment Act that requires private insurance companies, Medicaid and DC Healthcare Alliance to cover fertility diagnosis and treatment. DC News Now’s Mark Hall speaks to At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, the sponsor of the bill, on how it would help DC couples through an often costly and burdensome process.

“This is something I wish we had done sooner, to be honest,” said D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), who since authoring the bill has heard from friends as well as strangers who have struggled with infertility. “It is an emotional burden. It is a physical burden — you know, we see the needles and all various things — and I hope that this legislation can take a little bit of the financial burden off of someone as they pursue this option.” “I think anything the District is doing right now has the potential for Congress to meddle,” Henderson said in an interview Friday. “But I’m hopeful that [they don’t] because … it is very hard to be engaged with people and not know someone who has had to use help in order to start their family, including in Republican circles.”

Two others — Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large) and Christina Henderson (I-At Large) — referenced the mass incarceration of the 1980s and 1990s and said the bill could repeat mistakes of the past.

On the measure that would repeal D.C.’s law protecting workers from discrimination based on their reproductive health choices, council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) tweeted: “It’s been law for EIGHT years. Why do they hate women?”

“People have waited years just to save up enough money to go through the process and then you hope that it works,” At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson, said. “Infertility is a health diagnosis and your health insurance should provide coverage to treat it.” Henderson is hopeful this will be a game changer when it comes to addressing equity issues, both in terms of LGBTQ couples and minorities. “From a racial equity standpoint a lot of people when they think about IVF it’s synonymous with rich and white,” Henderson said. “Often in the past, insurance companies have denied this coverage for [LGBTQ+ couples] because laws and regulations have defined infertility in heterosexual terms.”

“The timing of the release of this investigation summary speaks volumes regarding the handling of this matter by the Bowser Administration,” said Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large) in a statement. “From the beginning, when the public was told that the former deputy mayor was simply resigning to pursue opportunities in the private sector, to the release of this report late on the Saturday night of a three-day holiday weekend, it has been difficult to trust in the thoroughness of this internal investigation.”

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced the bill on Thursday; it was co-introduced by At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson and Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker.

At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson emphasizes that these changes have been planned for several years, and the CDA program can be completed in roughly six months if a participant goes part-time. She says the regulations were the decision “of the early childcare community in an effort to gain increased wages and to improve the quality of readiness as [the kids] transition into school.” “As a government, we have not always done well in following through and building trust,” Henderson says. “But with the Pay Equity Fund, I hope we’re moving in the right direction and proving that we can do this.”