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Dear Neighbor,

It’s hard to believe this month marks five years since I first joined the DC Council as your Ward 2 Councilmember! During that time, we have accomplished so much together. A few highlights of achievements thanks to your support, ideas, and engagement:  

• Passed and implemented my Secure DC Omnibus, which helped drive down crime to the lowest levels in DC in decades

• Invested in students and teachers with transformational literacy training

• Revitalized Downtown with conversions, retail grants, safety supports, and a new vision to bring residents and visitors

• Improved our roads and sidewalks with major infrastructure investments

• Passed and funded the BEST Act to streamline licensing process for our businesses  

• Opened and funded renovations for new recreation centers, affordable housing projects, a new bridge housing model for the homeless, and small businesses

• Invested in Capital One Arena and kept the Wizards and Caps here in DC

• Passed my Peace DC Omnibus and critical parts of my Peace DC plan on first reading

Thank you to everyone for your support and engagement over the last five years. Let’s keep working together to ensure all District residents can prosper!

Tomorrow, Council will take its final vote on my Peace DC Omnibus and other parts of my Peace DC plan. These votes will help ensure these measures can be passed and implemented this summer to help make our communities safer and more peaceful. The Council must continue to build on the progress we have made for greater safety and greater peace.

The Peace DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2025 will (1) make permanent the rebuttable presumption for pretrial detention when defendants are charged with crimes of violence, (2) streamline educational credit requirements for the Metropolitan Police Department to bolster the force, (3) ensure that families of Fire & Emergency Medical Services personnel who die due to a performance-of-duty injury or illnesses are eligible for full survivor benefits, and (4)  close a gap in the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 to ensure that individuals can seal their criminal records as the underlying legislation intended and truly get a second chance at housing, gainful employment, and other opportunities in our community.

The Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025 will improve communication and coordination between schools and Safe Passage Ambassadors by requiring bi-annual meetings between the Safe Passage Ambassadors and relevant schools. Additionally, the bill would improve the effectiveness of the Safe Passage program by enhancing, standardizing, and universalizing training for Safe Passage Ambassadors.

The Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025 will prohibit using sound amplifying devices to target a residence for purposes of a demonstration in a residential zone between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., prohibit using unattended sound amplifying devices while targeting a residence for purposes of a demonstration, and prohibit launching or throwing an object onto the residential property of another with the intent to cause fear, intimidate, or harass against any person living or working at that residence. The introduced bill is largely the same as the emergency and temporary legislation that was passed by the Council in the fall of 2024, with the addition that the introduced version includes provisions prohibiting the use of unattended amplified sound amplifying devices used to target a residence for purposes of a demonstration.

My three bills on the agenda that passed in the first reading included:

1. “Peace DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2025”

1. “Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025”

1. “Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025”

Yours in service,

Brooke

Legislative Updates

Peace DC

On June 11, JPS marked up Councilmember Pinto’s Peace DC Omnibus bill, the Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025, and the Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025 and sent them to the full Council for a vote. On June 17, the DC Council voted to advance all three bills for a second and final vote on July 1.  

Budget Recommendations

On June 25, the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety passed Chairwoman Brooke Pinto’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget recommendations for agencies under the committee’s purview. The report was developed after months of hearings, testimony, meetings, and other forms of public engagement. It reflects the Committee’s continued commitment to safety, justice, and sustainable peace throughout all District communities.  

The Committee’s recommendations for the proposed FY 2026 budget include:  

Interrupt Cycles of Violence and Support Underserved Residents by:  

• Merging the District’s violence intervention program, now, under the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement to improve efficiency and efficacy of our VI programs with an investment of $11.1 million in violence interruption in FY 2026.

• Investing $4.9 million in FY 2026 and more than $18 million across the financial plan in the Pathways Program to provide better support and follow-through for job training and permanent job placement for individuals at risk of participating in or being a victim of gun violence.

• Supporting $12.3 million for Access to Justice to provide civil legal support to disadvantaged and vulnerable residents.

• Supporting a $3.9 million enhancement across the financial plan for OAG’s litigation support fund to ensure OAG can protect District interests and residents.

• Supporting $52.7 million for Victim Services grants at the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG) to support victims, survivors, and service providers.

• Funding the Unified Juvenile Justice System plan as required by the Recidivism Reduction, Oversight, and Accountability for DYRS, or “ROAD”, Act of 2024 which will require the Executive to create a plan for a unified juvenile justice system.  

• Investing $19.8 million in Justice Grants at OVSJG to provide support to returning citizens and those at risk of becoming justice-system involved.

• Supporting MPD capacity to implement the Second Chance Amendment Act, which allows for criminal record sealing to provide a clean slate and fair shot at employment, housing, and opportunities to contribute to their communities.

Meet Urgent Public Safety Needs and Supports our Public Safety Workforce by:  

• Funding the total amount of funds requested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) while identifying operating savings and enhancing the capital budget by $2.5 million which includes funding for improvements at the training academy facility to support recruitment and hiring efforts.

• Supporting $2.4 million, including a one-time enhancement of $1 million, for the Police and Fire Clinic to provide occupational and preventative medical services to the District’s more than 6,000 police officers, firefighters, US Park Police officers, and U.S. Secret Service Agents. This investment will also allow the clinic to begin to provide cancer and cardiac screenings.

• Approving $2.3 million for pay raises and bonuses for 911 and 311 call-taker, dispatcher, and staff pay raises in order to remain competitive with the region and compensate for the difficulty of the work performed by these first responders.

• Approving $90.4 million for Fire & EMS facilities, equipment including a new fireboat, vehicle replacement, firefighting safety gear, generator replacement, and station relocation.

• Approving $13.7 million in OUC hardware and software IT improvements in order to ensure the District’s emergency response and communications center maintains state-of-the-art and best-in-class mobile data computer upgrades, 911 call processing, and electrical configurations to ensure accurate, fast, and reliable emergency first response, and

• Supporting former government employees and current public safety agencies, by allowing retired MPD officers and firefighters to get rehired full-time or part-time at OUC or the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) without jeopardizing their retirement benefits.

Bolster Foundational Needs to Provide for Safe and Thriving Communities by:  

• Funding $9.1 million for the Safe Passage program and funding the Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025 to improve training and engagement among ambassadors and schools.

• Increasing the amount of child support that the District passes through to families from $150 to $200 for families currently receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.  

• Allocating $2.03 million for Safe Commercial Corridor grants to provide resources for neighborhood-specific safety interventions and promote public safety along commercial corridors in all eight wards.

• Providing $1 million in Safe and Secure DC Nonprofit grants to provide resources to respond to safety concerns at District non-profit institutions at higher risk of violence or attacks including hate crimes, and

• Supporting access to public restrooms by transferring $200,000 in FY 2026 and $800,000 across the financial plan to the Committee on Public Works and Operations to support public restrooms in Dupont Circle and near Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.

In the Community

Over the last two weeks, Councilmember Pinto and Team Pinto have met with residents, advocacy groups, and District officials in Ward 2 and across the District, including:

• Marching in the World Pride parade with neighbors to celebrate and honor our LGBTQ+ community

• Joining the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Will on the Hill event with local and federal lawmakers

• Joining the Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force meeting to discuss the culmination of work over the last 18 months to invest in this thriving neighborhood for residents and visitors

• Hosting a community day at Nats Park with Ward 2 neighbors to root for the Nationals and to honor Georgetown Law Dean Bill Treanor as he retires

• Joining neighbors at MLK Library to celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month

• Meeting with the Fair Budget Coalition to discuss our ongoing commitment to investing in critical services for District residents, workers, and visitors

• Attending the groundbreaking for the S Street Village in Shaw, which will host 90 new affordable housing units, the New Community Church, and the headquarters of Manna

• Attending a Juneteenth event at Mount Zion and the Female Union Band Society Cemeteries in Georgetown to learn about and honor those interred and toclean up, preserve, and beautify the gravesites at DC’s oldest remaining intact Black cemeteries

• Attending ANC meeting for ANCs 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, and 2G  

In the News

LISTEN TO THE POLITICS HOUR ON 88.5 WAMU:

“D.C. councilmembers broadly agree that the city’s violence interruption programs are in need of changes, following public criticism of the programs and multiple bribery scandals. However, councilmembers are not in agreement on what exactly do to about it.  This week, Ward 2 D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto proposed major reforms as part of the ongoing budget debate. It was met with significant pushback, leading her to pitch a whole new plan. Councilmember Pinto got the behind the mic to explain what happened and what comes next.”

WATCH ABC7: “Councilmember Pinto’s Peace DC crime-fighting bills pass first vote”

“The council passed three bills included in Councilmember Brooke Pinto's Peace DC plan: a bill that aims to improve coordination between schools and the Safe Passage Ambassadors who protect students traveling to and from school, a bill prohibiting using sound amplifying devices overnight to target a residence during demonstrations and protests, and an omnibus combining several bills together of Pinto's Peace DC plan.”

WATCH WUSA9: “DC Council considers a summer youth curfew following massive youth meetups”

“Pinto said the extended juvenile curfew zones would mirror the drug free zones authorized under the District's Secure DC omnibus law. They would be enacted for 90 days and could have earlier curfews that start as early as 8 p.m. "So that large groups of juveniles couldn't be in an area, I think it is important that this is a group," Pinto said. It's not one or two or three young people hanging out and enjoying the city. I also think we need to couple it with increased programming." The U Street Corridor, The Wharf and Navy Yard are among the neighborhoods that are under consideration for these special zones because according to Pinto, "We've had certain areas of the city that have become hot spots for activity in nature."

READ WTOP NEWS: “DC Public Schools introduces bell-to-bell cellphone ban for next school year”

“The new policy, which is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 25, is a bell-to-bell ban. Secondary students won’t be able to use their devices in between classes or at lunch, instead putting them away at the start of the day and retrieving them at the end. The announcement comes months after D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on cellphone use across city schools.”

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