D.C. Code § 6-211
Additional Board provisions.
- (a) Repealed.
- (b) Repealed.
(c)
- (1) An individual seeking to serve as a Commissioner identified under § 6-203.01(c)(1), (2), and (3)(B) and (C) shall have 5 or more years of professional experience in a relevant leadership role out of the last 10 years.
- (2) No officer or employee of the federal or District government may serve as a Commissioner.
- (d) All Commissioners, at time of appointment, shall be residents of the District of Columbia and shall remain residents throughout the term of the appointment.
- (e) Repealed.
- (f) Repealed.
- (g) Repealed.
(h)
(1) Within 90 days after each Commissioner's appointment or election, the Commissioner shall complete training covering the following topics:
- (A) The role of a public housing agency board;
- (B) Ethics for public housing agencies and board members or commissioners;
- (C) Background on major housing authority programs, including public housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration;
- (D) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations;
- (E) Public housing authority budgets, financial oversight, and financial reporting; and
- (F) Federal procurement requirements.
- (2) Repealed.
- (3) In addition to the training required in paragraph (1) of this subsection, each Commissioner shall spend at least 4 hours per quarter in training or educational seminars on corporate governance, public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program law and regulations, the Moving to Work program, resident opportunity such as HUD's Section 3 requirements for economic and employment opportunities, HUD reporting requirements, public housing performance monitoring and risk management, federal or local language access guidelines, labor and personnel, real estate and construction, or other subjects related to housing authority operation, and management. The maximum reimbursable cost, if any, of this training shall be established by the Board and paid by the Authority.
- (4) The Board shall monitor Commissioners' compliance with the training requirements of this subsection and provide a Commissioner a warning notice if the Commissioner is out of compliance with the requirements.
- (5) If a Commissioner has not completed the training requirements within 15 days after the conclusion of the timeline specified in the applicable paragraph in this subsection, the Commissioner shall be automatically suspended until the Commissioner demonstrates compliance with this subsection or is removed by the Board for noncompliance.
- (6) Repealed.
- (i) The elected Commissioners shall be public housing residents at the time of election; provided, that an elected Commissioner who ceases to reside in public housing may complete their term unless removed pursuant to subsection (t) of this section.
- (j) Repealed.
(k)
- (1) Elections of Commissioners by Housing Property residents shall be conducted in accordance with rules and procedures established by the Board, and shall be held no sooner than 5 months and no later than 2 months prior to the expiration of the then current 3-year term. All elections shall be held under the supervision of an independent expert in election monitoring, to be selected by the Board.
(2) The results of each election shall be retained until the elected Commissioner begins their term pursuant to the next scheduled election. If the elected Commissioner becomes unable to serve or is removed from the Board as hereinafter provided, that Commissioner's seat for the remaining term shall be filled as follows:
- (A) If the remaining term is less than 180 days, a new Commissioner shall be appointed by the City-Wide Resident Advisory Board; or
- (B) If the remaining term is 180 days or more, a special election shall be held in accordance with the procedures established under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
- (l) Each vacancy in an unexpired term of an appointed Commissioner shall be filled by appointment within no more than 90 days of the vacancy in the same manner as the appointment was made, and shall be for the duration of the unexpired term.
- (m) The Board shall elect a Chairperson from among its members. The Chairperson shall conduct the meetings of the Board in accordance with procedures established by the Board.
- (n) The Commissioners may select a Vice Chairperson from among themselves, with a term and functions to be determined by them.
- (o) Repealed.
- (p) Repealed.
- (q) No person shall serve as a Commissioner who is an employee of the Authority or of the District government; a member of any District board or commission (including those that are purely advisory, except for Advisory Neighborhood Commissions); a spouse or domestic partner of the head of a District department or agency; a spouse or domestic partner of an Authority employee; a spouse or domestic partner of an elected official; or a parent or child of any of the above persons.
- (r) No Commissioner may be held personally liable for any action taken in accordance with, and in furtherance of, his or her official duties and responsibilities as set forth in this chapter.
- (s) Commissioners shall be entitled to compensation as provided in § 1-611.08.
- (t) The Board may, by majority vote, remove any Commissioner for official misconduct, conflict of interest violations, neglect of duty, incompetence, or personal misconduct, but only after the Commissioner shall have been given a copy of the charges and an opportunity to answer those charges in accordance with a procedure established in the by-laws or other rules of the Board. The Chairperson shall suspend a Commissioner pending the Board’s consideration of the charges. If the Chairperson is the Commissioner against whom charges have been made, the Mayor shall suspend the Chairperson pending such consideration.
- (u) The Board may, by majority vote, require that any Commissioner or Executive Director resolve actual or potential conflicts of interest by reporting the actual or potential conflict of interest to the general counsel and ethics officer of the Authority for consideration and determination of required steps, which may include public disclosure of the conflict of interest and recusal from the decision-making process involving the conflict, divestiture, or any other manner which complies with federal and District law.
(v) In addition to those powers conferred elsewhere in this chapter, the Board is charged with the duty to govern all the affairs of the Authority and shall have all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including the following:
- (1) To review and approve all contracts for goods or services having a value of more than $250,000;
- (2) To make and implement rules, by-laws, and policies and regulations necessary or appropriate for the effective administration of the Authority and the fulfillment of the purposes of this chapter;
- (3) To promulgate rules and procedures for the election of the elected Commissioners, and to conduct such elections;
- (4) To evaluate the Executive Director’s job performance from time to time; and
- (5) To perform such other functions as are needed to ensure the provision of quality services to the residents of the Housing Properties.
- (w) The Board shall meet regularly at least 10 times each calendar year. Each meeting shall provide for a period for public comments, which shall not be limited in time, except that the time allowed each individual speaker may be reasonably limited. To allow the Board to meet and entertain any proposed action, there must be a quorum present, which shall consist of 5 Commissioners. Meetings of the Board shall be subject to subchapter IV of Chapter 5 of Title 2.
History
May 9, 2000, D.C. Law 13-105, § 12, 47 DCR 1325
Apr. 12, 2005, D.C. Law 15-337, § 2(c), 52 DCR 2278
Sept. 12, 2008, D.C. Law 17-231, § 15(b), 55 DCR 6758
Mar. 23, 2010, D.C. Law 18-131, § 2, 57 DCR 1193
Mar. 31, 2011, D.C. Law 18-334, § 2, 58 DCR 30
May 2, 2015, D.C. Law 20-271, § 254(b), 62 DCR 1884
Nov. 13, 2021, D.C. Law 24-45, § 2162
Sept. 6, 2023, D.C. Law 25-50, § 2132(b)(1)
Dec. 31, 2025, D.C. Law 26-80, § 601(f)
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 254(b) of the New Columbia Statehood Initiative, Omnibus Boards and Commissions, and Election Transition Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-481, Nov. 18, 2014, 61 DCR 12133, 20 STAT 4405).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 254(b) of the New Columbia Statehood Initiative, Omnibus Boards and Commissions, and Election Transition Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-7, Feb. 26, 2015, 62 DCR 2646, 21 STAT 807).
For temporary (90-day) addition of section, see notes following § 6-201.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of Housing Authority Accountability Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 24-12, Feb. 26, 2021, 68 DCR 2551).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of District of Columbia Housing Authority Resident Commissioners Election Deadline Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-252, Dec. 22, 2021, 68 DCR 014067).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-629, Nov. 3, 2022, 69 DCR 014026).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columba Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-702, Dec. 22, 2022, 70 DCR 164).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-232, Oct. 11, 2023, 70 DCR 13776).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-345, Jan. 4, 2024, 71 DCR 650).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-545, July 26, 2024, 71 DCR 9975).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-584, Oct. 18, 2024, 71 DCR 12843).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-89, June 25, 2025, 72 DCR 7544).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(f) of Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-145, Sept. 4, 2025, 72 DCR 9614).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(f) of Housing Authority Resident Empowerment Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-239, Dec. 19, 2025, 73 DCR 72).
Effect of Amendments
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-271 substituted “Executive Director” for “Advisory Committee” in (b)(1) and (c); and rewrote (s).
D.C. Law 18-334, in subsec. (a)(2A), substituted “housing choice voucher program recipient” for “recipient”.
D.C. Law 18-131, in subsec. (a), substituted “11” for “9” in the lead in language, added pars. (2A) and (5), deleted “; and” from the end of par. (3), and substituted “; and” for a period at the end of par. (4); in subsec. (b), inserted “pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section”; in subsec. (m), inserted “nominated pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section”; and, in subsec. (l), substituted “Elected” for “Resident”, “a resident” for “an elected”, and “the resident” for “the elected”.
D.C. Law 17-231, in subsec. (q), substituted “spouse or domestic partner” for “spouse”.
D.C. Law 15-337, in subsec. (q), substituted “(including those that are purely advisory, except for Advisory Neighborhood Commissions)” for “(including those that are purely advisory)”; rewrote subsec. (s); and rewrote the first three sentences of subsec. (w) which had read: “The Board shall meet at least once each month. All meetings of the Board shall be conducted in public after publication of notice of the date, time, and location of the meeting, at least one week prior thereto, in the District of Columbia Register. Each meeting shall commence with a period for public comments, which shall not be limited in time, except that the time allowed each individual speaker may be reasonably limited.” Prior to amendment, subsec. (s) read as follows: “(s) Each Commissioner shall be entitled to compensation at the hourly rate of $25 per meeting, not to exceed $3,000 for each board member per year; provided, that each Commissioner shall be entitled to reimbursement of actual travel and other expenses reasonably related to the Commissioner’s attendance at Board meetings and fulfillment of official duties.”
Section References
This section is referenced in § 1-523.01.
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2 of District of Columbia Housing Authority Resident Commissioners Election Deadline Extension Temporary Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Law 24-101, Mar. 15, 2022, 69 DCR 000597).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(b) of Housing Authority Accountability Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-273, Feb. 23, 2023, 69 DCR 14762).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-329, Mar. 10, 2023, 70 DCR 1029).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-92, Dec. 19, 2023, 70 DCR 14439).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Law 25-229, Nov. 27, 2024, 71 DCR 12358).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(d) of District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2025 (D.C. Law 26-32, Aug. 23, 2025, 72 DCR 7676).
Applicability
Section 4 of D.C. Act 24-702 provided that the amendments made to this section by D.C. Law 24-702 shall apply on the date that the Stabilization and Reform Board assumes authority for the governance of the Authority, as provided in § 6-210.01|(i).
Section 4 of D.C. Law 24-329 provided that the amendments made to this section by D.C. Law 24-329 shall apply on the date that the Stabilization and Reform Board assumes authority for the governance of the Authority, as provided in § 6-210.01(i).