For Immediate Release
Contact: Communications Director, Samantha Graubard
PRESS RELEASE: COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO INTRODUCES HER “PROSPER DC PLAN” TO CATALYZE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN THE DISTRICT
Washington DC — Today, Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety Brooke Pinto introduced her “Prosper DC Plan” to catalyze economic opportunities for District residents and businesses. This comprehensive plan includes the introduction of 23 new bills to provide economic opportunities, increase affordability for residents, support positive youth development, and support and attract businesses in DC. Following the passage of Councilmember Pinto’s Peace DC Plan earlier this year and Secure DC last year, the Prosper DC Plan addresses many of the opportunity gaps that can also help improve public safety in the District by reducing barriers to employment, business growth, housing, and youth development.
"We must create pathways to economic prosperity for all District residents and entrepreneurs to ensure the District remains a place where people want to live, work, grow their business, and create communities that are vibrant.” said Councilmember Pinto. “As I have met with residents across the District, it is clear folks are eager to be part of lifting up the city -- creating pathways to contribute, earn, and grow must be central to the future we are fighting for together. My Prosper DC Plan will help uplift families, residents, and businesses by investing in economic opportunities for residents, competitiveness for businesses, positive youth development, and affordable, healthy, and accessible communities.”
The Prosper DC Plan takes important steps to deliver:
· Economic Opportunities for Residents
· Positive Youth Development
· Supports and Attraction Incentives for Businesses
· Affordable, Healthy and Accessible Housing
Economic Opportunities for Residents:
1. Introducing the Apprenticeships and Credentials as Pathways to Prosperity Act of 2025: This bill supports high school graduates and other DC workers by establishing an apprenticeship and credential program targeting high-demand industries like healthcare, tech, education, hospitality, and construction management that provides on-the-job training, job placement, and zero-interest forgivable loans for tuition and living expenses.
2. Introducing the Equitable Access to Financial Services Act of 2025: This bill supports unbanked and underbanked DC residents by requiring any contract the District enters into with a financial institution that provides prepaid debit cards to require the financial institution to have physical locations in at least five wards and that a preference be given to financial institutions with physical locations in census tracks with a median household income of $50,000 or less.
3. Introducing the Expanding Fertility Treatment Options Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports women and families by requiring health insurers in the District to cover elective egg freezing as a treatment to increase the chance of pregnancy for patients at a later, more advanced age, when they may face age-related fertility decline.
4. Introducing the Park Concessions Amendment Act of 2025: The bill supports our local economy by reinvesting in underutilized recreation centers and parks across the District and establishing a seasonal grant program to support local food and drink vendors operating at recreation sites during peak months.
“The University of the District of Columbia proudly supports innovative strategies that expand opportunity and strengthen the District’s workforce,” said Maurice Edington, President of the University of the District of Columbia. “Dynamic solutions are crucial in helping residents acquire the skills, credentials, and experience necessary for success in high-demand industries. Councilmember Pinto’s plan to enhance apprenticeship and training opportunities aligns directly with UDC’s mission as the public institution of higher learning for the District. This legislation will make a meaningful difference for our residents by opening doors to good-paying careers, creating clear pathways to economic mobility, and building a stronger, more equitable future for the District of Columbia.”
Positive Youth Development:
1. Introducing the Teen Center Establishment Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports teens by addressing gaps in recreational programming by requiring DPR to establish and operate at least four comprehensive teen centers in each quadrant of the District.
2. Introducing the Youth Villages Grant Establishment Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports at-risk youth by establishing a Youth Villages grant program within the Child and Family Services Agency modeled after the Senior Villages program under the Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL) to support creation and operation of neighborhood-based organizations across DC.
3. Introducing the Youth Links App Act of 2025: This bill supports our youth by directing the Deputy Mayor for Education to contract with a third-party developer to create a smartphone application that directly connects youth and young adults in the District to flexible, paid work opportunities in the private sector.
4. Introducing the Youth Employment Program Cohort Expansion Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports our young adults facing barriers in the workforce by extending the maximum age for participation in the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) to 30 years of age.
5. Introducing the Pathways to Prosperity for Young Parents Pilot Amendment Act of 2025: This bill helps reduce barriers into the workforce for young parents by creating a pilot program that provides 100 subsidized employment vouchers to young parents.
6. Introducing the Youth Banking Amendment Act of 2025: This bill empowers young people to take control of their finances by clarifying that financial institutions may provide deposit accounts to minors between the age of 14-18 without parental consent, and that accounts may not provide lines of credit for minors or charge fees or overdraft charges.
7. Introducing the Artificial Intelligence Literacy in Education Act of 2025: This bill supports students and educators by requiring the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to create guidance surrounding the use and instruction of artificial and generative intelligence tools.
Supporting and Attracting Businesses:
1. Introducing the Innovate DC Amendment Act of 2025: This bill grows our local tech economy by providing matching grants to DC universities and hospitals to support the development of tech research and innovation facilities, and it invests in tech commercialization research to launch new businesses.
2. Introducing the Fairness and Accuracy in Real Property Tax Assessments Amendment Act of 2025: This bill implements common-sense improvements to make the real property tax assessment process more accurate, efficient, and timely as we see an office market that is experiencing major vacancy impacts.
3. Introducing the Special Events Permit Process Simplification Act of 2025: This bill supports DC’s cultural vibrancy by streamlining the special event permitting process and creates a one-stop-shop for event permitting by establishing an Office of Special Events under the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development.
4. Introducing the Art Gallery Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports our local arts community by ensuring art galleries that are exempt from property tax may also exempt space used for business purposes that support the cultural mission of the organization.
5. Introducing the Vacant Space Art Activation Program Act of 2025: This bill supports our local arts by utilizing vacant space for arts and cultural organizations at no cost to the organizations and helps address our chronic commercial vacancies. Vibrant space leads to opportunities, activation, and safety.
6. Introducing the Job Growth Incentive Amendment Act of 2025: This bill incentivizes current business owners to grow their businesses here in DC and encourages companies to relocate to DC which is especially important for supporting residents impacted by federal government and contractor layoffs.
“We need to continue positioning the District as a premier destination for business growth and innovation, and Councilmember Pinto’s legislation takes important steps to strengthen that foundation,” said Chinyere Hubbard, President and CEO of DC Chamber of Commerce. “By maintaining investments in our technology industry and implementing smart real estate tax policies, we're creating an environment where companies can scale and thrive. These reforms demonstrate that the District is committed to supporting businesses and remains a place where these firms choose to invest, grow and succeed for the long term.”
Affordable, Healthy, and Accessible Communities:
1. Introducing the Expanding Downtown Affordable Housing Options Act of 2025: This bill supports residents by expanding housing options downtown byreducing barriers for office-to-housing conversions and encouraging new forms of communal housing that will increase supply and drive down housing costs for residents.
2. Introducing the Portable Tenant Screening Report Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports renters by reducing the costs of seeking a residential unit by requiring prospective landlords to accept portable tenant screening reports, which can be used for multiple applications.
3. Introducing the Disabled Veterans Complete Property Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports disabled veterans by amending the homestead deduction to include a complete property tax exemption for qualifying 100% disabled veterans and transferring the deduction to the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran or a surviving spouse of a veteran who died in the line of duty.
4. Introducing the Renter Tax Credit Expansion Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports renters by increasing the tax credit cap to match fair market rent values and creating an option for more regular payments to tenants.
5. Introducing the Ensuring Access and Supporting Engagement (EASE) for DOC Residents Act of 2025: This bill addresses barriers to the Council legislative process for DOC residents by ensuring they can testify before the DC Council and engage with their ANC Commissioner, and it requires that DOC provides access to the technology and internet necessary to facilitate their testimony.
6. Introducing the Rodent Abatement Through Smart Solutions (RATSS) Amendment Act of 2025: This bill supports a clean and healthy DC by addressing the prevalent rodent problem by replacing public trash cans that are in disrepair with rodent-proof bins, establishing a more systematic replacement program for residential trash cans that have evidence of being chewed by rodents, establishing a home trash shed incentive program for the safe storage of trash receptacles, and establishing a trash compactor grant program for businesses.