D.C. Code § 1-204.51

This is the official text of D.C. Code § 1-204.51, part of District of Columbia’s Code — part of the compiled statutory law of District of Columbia, published by the state as "Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 1-204.51. Special rules regarding certain contracts.

Official statutory text

(a) Contracts extending beyond one year. — No contract involving expenditures out of an appropriation which is available for more than 1 year shall be made for a period of more than 5 years unless, with respect to a particular contract, the Council, by a two-thirds vote of its members present and voting, authorizes the extension of such period for such contract. Such contracts shall be made pursuant to criteria established by act of the Council.
(b) Contracts exceeding certain amount. — (1) In general. — No contract involving expenditures in excess of $1,000,000 during a 12-month period may be made unless the Mayor submits the contract to the Council for its approval and the Council approves the contract (in accordance with criteria established by act of the Council).
(2) Deemed approval. — For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Council shall be deemed to approve a contract if —
(A) during the 10-day period beginning on the date the Mayor submits the contract to the Council, no member of the Council introduces a resolution approving or disapproving the contract; or
(B) during the 45-calendar day period beginning on the date the Mayor submits the contract to the Council, the Council does not disapprove the contract.
(c) Multiyear contracts. — (1) The District may enter into multiyear contracts to obtain goods and services for which funds would otherwise be available for obligation only within the fiscal year for which appropriated.
(2) If the funds are not made available for the continuation of such a contract into a subsequent fiscal year, the contract shall be cancelled or terminated, and the cost of cancellation or termination may be paid from —
(A) appropriations originally available for the performance of the contract concerned;
(B) appropriations currently available for procurement of the type of acquisition covered by the contract, and not otherwise obligated; or
(C) funds appropriated for those payments.
cal year, the contract shall be cancelled or terminated, and the cost of cancellation or termination may be paid from —
(A) appropriations originally available for the performance of the contract concerned;
(B) appropriations currently available for procurement of the type of acquisition covered by the contract, and not otherwise obligated; or
(C) funds appropriated for those payments.
(3) No contract entered into under this subsection shall be valid unless the Mayor submits the contract to the Council for its approval and the Council approves the contract (in accordance with criteria established by act of the Council). The Council shall be required to take affirmative action to approve the contract within 45 days. If no action is taken to approve the contract within 45 calendar days, the contract shall be deemed disapproved.
(d) Exemption for certain contracts. — The requirements of this section shall not apply with respect to any of the following contracts:
(1) Any contract entered into by the Washington Convention Center Authority for preconstruction activities, project management, design, or construction.
(2) Any contract entered into by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority established pursuant to the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996 [ D.C. Law 11-111 ], other than contracts for the sale or lease of the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant.
(3) At the option of the Council, any contract for a highway improvement project carried out under title 23, United States Code.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in District of Columbia?

Find a District of Columbia lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.