History of Initiative & Referendum in Washington, D.C.
From Ballotpedia
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As of July 2009 there are no initiatives circulating to be placed on the 2009 ballot. The last referendums approved for circulation in the District of Columbia were in 2004.
D.C. Bill 65 for 2004[1]would have created a new hospital to serve the needs of D.C. citizens. D.C. Bill 66 for 2004[2] would have amended the current no smoking laws. Neither Bill was approved as a Ballot Measure. In 1980, voters approved an measure placed by the D.C. Council calling for a state constitutional convention to write a constitution, and two years later approved the constitution for the state of "New Columbia". District voters elected two Statehood senators and one representative to lobby Congress. All subsequent bills have failed in the House and Senate who still have veto power over D.C. legislation.
With the exception of ratification of the Home Rule Act of 1973 (actually placed on the ballot by an act of Congress), no citizen initiatives have been placed on the ballot in the District of Columbia since it's inception. Ballotpedia wonders if the citizens of D.C. are aware of their right to this basic form of democracy?
History of Self-Government
The District of Columbia became a self governing entity by the Home Rule Act of 1973 enacted by Congress and ratified by the citizens of the District in 1974. This act set up a D.C. Council as a legislative body, and allowed voters to elect their first Mayor and Council in the fall of 1974. For a complete history of the stuggle for self-rule in the District of Columbia, see the D.C. Council's web site [3]. The Constitution developed by the Statehood Constitutional Convention, entitled the "Constitution of the State of New Columbia", was submitted to the electors of the District of Columbia for ratification on November 2, 1982. The full text of the Constitution of the proposed State of New Columbia is available online [4] .
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