ceases to exist, by the Board of Elections created by section 901. If the charter is not accepted under this title, such function shall be exercised, after such Board ceases to exist, by the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia.

REGISTRATION

SEC. 1503. (a) The Charter Referendum Board shall conduct within the District of Columbia a registration of the qualified electors of the District, commencing as soon as practicable after the enactment of this Act (but in no event later than June 15, 1957) and continuing until July 15, 1957.

(b) Prior to the commencement of such registration, the Charter Referendum Board shall publish, in daily newspapers of general circulation published in the District of Columbia, a list of the registration places and the dates and hours of registration.

(c) No qualified elector may vote in the charter referendum unless he is registered in the District of Columbia.

(d) No person shall be registered unless

(1) he is a qualified elector; and

(2) he executes a registration affidavit (unless prevented by physical disability) showing

(A) that he meets each of the requirements specified in section 1501 (b) for a qualified elector; and

(B) that he has no intention of doing any act which would prevent him from being a qualified elector on August 3, 1957.

(e). In any case where a person is not permitted to register, such person may appeal to the Charter Referendum Board, but not later than July 18, 1957. The Board shall decide within seven days after the appeal is perfected whether the challenged elector is entitled to register. If the appeal is denied, the appellant may, within three days after such denial, appeal to the Municipal Court for the District of Columbia. The court shall decide the issue not later than August 1, 1957. If the appeal is upheld by either the Board or the court, the challenged elector shall be allowed to register immediately.

CHARTER REFERENDUM BALLOT; NOTICE OF VOTING

SEC. 1504. (a) The charter referendum ballot shall contain the following, with the blank space appropriately filled:

"The District of Columbia Charter Act, enacted

proposes to establish a new charter for the District of Columbia, but provides that the charter shall take effect only if it is accepted by the registered qualified electors of the District in this referendum.

"By marking a cross (X) in one of the squares provided below, show whether you are for or against the charter.

For the charter

Against the charter"

(b) Voting may be by paper ballot or by voting machine. The Board of Elections may make such changes in the second paragraph of the charter referendum ballot as it determines to be necessary to permit the use of voting machines if such machines are used.

(c) Not later than July 29, 1957, the Charter Referendum Board shall mail to each person registered (1) a sample of the charter referendum ballot, and (2) information showing the polling place of such person and the date and hours of voting.

(d) Not later than August 1, 1957, the Charter Referendum Board shall publish, in daily newspapers of general circulation published in the District of Columbia, a list of the polling places and the date and hours of voting.

METHOD OF VOTING

SEC. 1505. The applicable provisions of section 911, with respect to method of voting, notwithstanding the fact that such section does not otherwise take effect unless the charter is accepted under this title shall govern the conduct of voting in the charter referendum, except that for such purpose

(1) references therein to the Board of Elections shall be considered to apply to the Charter Referendum Board; and

(2) the Charter Referendum Board shall appoint suitable watchers at each polling place.

ACCEPTANCE OR NON ACCEPTANCE OF CHARTER

SEC. 1506. (a) If a majority of the registered qualified electors voting in the charter referendum vote for the charter, the charter shall be considered accepted as of the time the Charter Referendum Board certifies the result of the charter referendum to the President of the United States, as provided in subsection (b).

(b) The Charter Referendum Board shall, within a reasonable time, but in no event later than August 19, 1957, certify the result of the charter referendum to the President of the United States and to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

INTERFERENCE WITH REGISTRATION OR VOTING

SEC. 1507. (a) No one shall interfere with the registration or voting of another person except as it may be reasonably necessary in the performance of a duty imposed by law. No person performing such a duty shall interfere with the registration or voting of another person because of his race, color, sex, or religious belief, or his want of property or income.

(b) No registered voter shall be required to perform a military duty on the day of the charter referendum which would prevent him from voting except in time of war or public danger or unless he is away from the District of Columbia in military service. No registered voter may be arrested while voting or going to vote except for a breach of the peace then committed or for treason or felony.

VIOLATIONS

SEC. 1508. Whoever willfully violates any provision of this title, or of any regulation prescribed and published by the Charter Referendum Board under authority of this title, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

TITLE XVI-DELEGATE

DISTRICT DELEGATE

SEC. 1601. (a) Until a constitutional amendment and subsequent congressional action otherwise provide, the people of the District shall be represented in the House of Representatives of the United States by a Delegate, to be known as the "Delegate from the District of Columbia", who shall be elected as provided in this Act. The Delegate shall have a seat in the House of Representatives, with the right of debate, but not of voting. The Delegate shall be a member of the House Committee on the District of Columbia and shall possess in such committee the same powers and privileges as in the House of Representatives, and may make any motion except to reconsider. His term of office shall be for two years.

(b) No person shall hold the office of District Delegate unless he (1) is a qualified elector, (2) is at least twenty-five years old, (3) holds no other public office, and (4) is domiciled and resides in the District and has during the three years next preceding his nomination been resident in and domiciled in the District. He shall forfeit his office upon failure to maintain the qualifications required by this subsection.

(c) (1) Subsections (a) and (b) of section 601 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended, are hereby amended by striking out "from the Territories".

(2) Paragraph (10 of section 3A of the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 29, 1930, as amended (U.S.C., 1946 edition, title 54, sec. 693-1), is hereby amended by striking out "from a Territory".

(3) The second paragraph under the heading "House of Representatives" in the Act of July 16, 1914 (U.S.C., 1946 edition, title 2, sec. 37), is hereby amended by striking out "from Territories".

(4) Paragraph (i) of section 302 of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, 1925, as amended (U.S.C., 1946 edition, title 2, sec. 241), is hereby amended by inserting after "United States" the following: "and the District of Columbia".

(5) Section 591 of title 18, United States Code, is hereby amended by inserting "and the District of Columbia" before the period at the end thereof. Section 594 of such title is hereby amended by inserting after "Territories and possessions" the following: "or the District of Columbia". The first paragraph of

section 595 of such title is hereby amended by inserting after "from any Territory or possession" the following: "or the District of Columbia".

TITLE XVII-REFERENDUM

POWER OF REFERENDUM

SEC. 1701. (a) The qualified electors (as defined in section 906) shall have power, pursuant to the procedure provided by this title, to approve or reject in a referendum any act of the District Council which has become law, whether or not such Act is yet operative. This power shall not extend, however, to acts authorizing the issuance of bonds, which shall be subject to the referendum provisions contained in section 602, or to acts continuing existing taxes or making appropriations not in excess of those for the preceding fiscal years. Within forty-five days after an act subject to this title has become law, a petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 10 per centum of the registered voters at the last preceding general election may be filed with the Secretary of the District Council requesting that any such act be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors.

(b) The Disrict Council is authorized to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate with respect to the form, filing, examination, amendment, and certification of petitions for referenda. The Board of Elections is authorized to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate with respect to the conduct of a referendum held under this title.

EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION OF REFERENDUM PETITION

SEC. 1702. When a referendum petition has been certified as sufficient by the Secretary, the act specified in the petition shall not become operative, or further action thereunder shall be suspended if it shall have become operative, until and unless approved by the electors, as provided in this title.

SUBMISSION TO ELECTORS

SEC. 1703. An Act with respect to which a petition for a referendum has been filed and certified as sufficient shall be submitted to the qualified electors at a referendum to be held in connection with the first general election which occurs not less than thirty days nor more than one year from the date on which the Secretary files his certificate of the sufficiency of the petition. The District Council shall, if no general election is to be held within such period, provide for a special election for the purpose of conducting the referendum.

AVAILABILITY OF LIST OF QUALIFIED ELECTORS

SEC. 1704. If any organization or group requests it for the purpose of circulating descriptive matter relating to the Act to be voted on at a referendum, the Board of Elections shall either permit such organization or group to copy the names and addresses of the qualified electors or furnish it with a list thereof.

RESULTS OF REFERENDUM

SEC. 1705. An Act which is submitted to a referendum which is not approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon shall thereupon be deemed repealed. If a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon approve the Act, it shall become operative on the day following the day on which the Board of Elections certifies the results of the referendum. If conflicting Acts are approved by the electors at the same referendum, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.

[H.R. 2321, 86th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide an elected commission form of government for the District of Columbia, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subject to the retention by Congress of the ultimate legislative authority over the Nation's Capital which is granted by the Constitution, it is the intent of Congress to restore to the

inhabitants of the District of Columbia the powers of local self-government which are a basic privilege of all American citizens; to reaffirm through such action the confidence of the American people in the strengthened validity of principles of local self-government by the elective process; to promote among the inhabitants of the District the sense of responsibility for the development and well-being of their community which will result from the enjoyment of such powers of self-government; to provide for the more effective participation in the development of the District and in the solution of its local problems by those persons who are most closely concerned; and to relieve the National Legislature of the burden of legislating upon purely local District matters. It is the further intention of Congress to exercise its retained ultimate legislative authority over the District only insofar as such action shall be necessary or desirable in the interest of the Nation. Finally, it is recognized that the restoration of the powers of local self-government to the inhabitants of the District by this Act will in no way change the need, which arises from the unique character of the District as the Nation's Capital, for the payment by the Federal Government of a share of the expenses of the District government; and it is intended that such restoration shall not affect the continuance of the established policy of paying such a share.

TABLE OF CONTENTS BY TITLES

Title I. Definitions.

Title II. Status of the District.

Title III. The District of Columbia Commission.

Title

IV. Action by the Congress and the President on Acts.

Title V. The District Budget.

Title VI. Borrowing.

Title VII. Financial Affairs of the District.

Title VIII. Elections in the District.

Title IX. Miscellaneous.

Title

X. Succession in Government.

Title XI. Separability of Provisions.

Title XII. Temporary Provisions.

Title XIII. Effective Dates.

Title XIV. Submission of Charter for Referendum.

Title XV. Title of Act.

TITLE I-DEFINITIONS

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 101. For the purposes of this Act

(1) The term "District" means the District of Columbia.

(2) The term "Commission" means the District of Columbia Commission provided for by title III.

(3) The term "Mayor" means the Mayor provided for by section 331.

(4) The term "qualified elector" means a qualified elector of the District as specified in section 806, except as otherwise specifically provided.

(5) The term "act" includes any legislation adopted by the Commission, except where the term "Act" is used to refer to this Act or other Acts of Congress herein specified.

(6) The term "expenditure”, when applied to any period of time, includes an obligation to expend incurred during such period, but does not include a disbursement made in such period if the obligation to make such disbursement was incurred in a prior period.

(7) The term "person" includes an individual, partnership, association, jointstock company, trust, or corporation.

(8) The term "capital project", or "project", means (A) any physical public betterment or improvement and any preliminary studies and surveys relative thereto; (B) the acquisition of property of a permanent nature; or (C) the purchase of equipment for any public betterment or improvement when first erected or acquired.

(9) The term "pending", when applied to any capital project, means authorized but not yet completed.

TITLE II-STATUS OF THE DISTRICT

STATUS OF THE DISTRICT

SEC. 201. (a) All the territory constituting the permanent seat of the Government of the United States shall continue to be designated as the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is hereby declared to be a body politic and

corporate in perpetuity for governmental purposes and as such may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, and have a corporate seal. Such body politic and corporate is the successor of the District of Columbia created by section 2 of the Revised Statutes relating to the District of Columbia and continued by the first section of the Act of June 11, 1878 (D.C. Code, 1951 edition, sec. 1-102). So far as is consistent with the provisions of this Act, all powers, rights, privileges, immunities, duties, obligations, assets, and liabilities of the District of Columbia created by such section 2 are hereby transferred to, vested in, and imposed upon the body politic and corporate created by this section. (b) Section 1 of the Act of February 21, 1871 (16 Stat. 419), and section 1 of the Act of June 11, 1878 (20 Stat. 102), are hereby repealed.

(c) Nothing contained in this section shall affect the boundary line between the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia as the same was established or may be subsequently established under the provisions of title I of the Act of October 31, 1945 (59 Stat. 552).

TITLE III-THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMISSION

PART I-CREATION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMISSION

CREATION AND MEMBERSHIP

SEC. 301. There is hereby created the District of Columbia Commission consisting of five members elected as provided in title VIII.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR HOLDING OFFICE

SEC. 302. No person shall hold the office of member of the Commission unless he (1) is a qualified elector, (2) is domiciled in the District and has, during the three years next preceding his nomination resided and been domiciled in the District, (3) holds no other elective public office, (4) holds no appointive office for which compenstion is provided out of District funds, and (5) is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government. A member of the Commission shall forfeit his office upon failure to maintain the qualifications required by this section.

COMPENSATION

SEC. 303. Each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at a rate of $19,000 per annum, payable in equal monthly installments.

PART 2-PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMISSION

FUNCTIONS HERETOFORE EXERCISED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

SEC. 321. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all functions granted to or imposed upon the Board of Commissioners of the District are hereby transferred to the Commission.

(b) The Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia established by section 2 of the Act of June 11, 1878, as amended (D.C. Code, sec. 1-201 et seq.), is hereby abolished.

FUNCTIONS RELATING TO ZONING

SEC. 322. The Zoning Commission created by the first section of the Act of March 1, 1920, creating a Zoning Commission for the District of Columbia, as amended (D.C. Code, 1951 edition, sec. 5-412), is hereby abolished, and its functions are transferred to the Commission.

CERTAIN DELEGATED FUNCTIONS

SEC. 323. No function of the Board of Commissioners of the District which such Board has delegated to an officer or agency of the District shall be considered as a function transferred to the Commission by section 321. Each such function is hereby transferred to the officer or agency to whom or to which it was delegated, until the Commission, pursuant to the powers herein granted, shall revoke, modify, or transfer such delegation.