District Appropriation Bill Clears Conference Committee
Good news from the Capitol, the District’s annual appropriation bill has cleared the conference committee with many of the egregious riders being stripped off. The District’s long-standing prohibitions on spending city funds on medical marijuana, needle-exchange programs and abortion will finally be lifted.
Directly from the Senate Appropriation Committee’s web site:
Removing Special Restrictions on the District of Columbia: Eliminates a prohibition on the use of local tax funds for abortion, thereby putting the District in the same position as the 50 states. Also allows the District to implement a referendum on use of marijuana for medical purposes as has been done in other states, allows use of Federal funds for needle exchange programs except in locations considered inappropriate by District authorities, and discontinues a ban on the use of funds in the bill for domestic partnership registration and benefits.
This is good news, but it will better news when the District has full budgetary and legislative autonomy, like every other city and state in the country.
