D.C. Council committee to hear domestic violence bills from Bowser and Pinto on Tuesday

By Marcus Tillery

WASHINGTON — Two bills that would change how the District handles domestic violence cases, one from Mayor Muriel Bowser and one from Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, get a public hearing Tuesday before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 27 in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. Pinto chairs the committee.

On the agenda are the Protecting Victims Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0671), which Council Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced at the mayor’s request on April 27, and Pinto’s Supporting Survivors of Domestic Violence and Abuse Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0835), introduced Sept. 29.

The mayor’s bill

Bowser’s office says the Protecting Victims Amendment Act would “strengthen enforcement of court orders designed to protect victims, bolster pretrial detention provisions for domestic violence offenders, enhance offender accountability, and protect victim and survivor privacy.” That description comes from an Oct. 14 release, which said the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants would testify in support on Tuesday.

“We’re focused on making sure we have the right policies in place, that we’re making the right investments, and building the best partnerships to keep people safe and help survivors heal,” Bowser said in the release. It said the District has awarded more than $41 million in fiscal 2027 across 45 grants for survivor services, and that MPD has held more than 250 outreach events this year under its “kNOw DV” campaign.

Pinto’s bill

Pinto’s bill has eight co-introducers: Mendelson and Council members Charles Allen, Matthew Frumin, Brianne Nadeau, Anita Bonds, Christina Henderson, Elissa Silverman and Zachary Parker. In a constituent newsletter, Pinto wrote that “domestic-violence related incidents are increasing in our communities.” She said the bill would:

• Create a Domestic Violence Response Unit within MPD;
• Clarify how firearms must be surrendered when a civil protection order is violated;
• Allow judges to treat violations of protective and anti-stalking orders, and prior domestic violence convictions, as high-risk factors in pretrial detention decisions;
• Exempt MPD body-worn camera footage of domestic violence and human trafficking offenses from public release;
• Require the District’s domestic violence hotline to assist victims of economic abuse.

A summary of the bill text by the nonpartisan Civics Project says the MPD unit would have a director supervising six officers assigned to serve civil protection orders. It would also include a specialized prosecutor who could be detailed from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Under the bill, a person who peaceably surrenders firearms or ammunition under a civil protection order could not be arrested or prosecuted under specified firearm laws for the items turned in. The bill would add a definition of economic or financial abuse to the hotline law, covering conduct such as restricting access to money, interfering with work or school and withholding necessities.

The summary notes that the bill does not specify funding for the new unit, and that the body-camera change would narrow public access to some police footage.

“In DC, around 41 percent of women will have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking in their lifetimes,” Pinto wrote.

Why it matters now

Both bills deal with pretrial detention and protective orders, questions that also arise in recent prosecutions. Earlier Sunday, The Inquisitor reported on a 20-year sentence for a man who killed his girlfriend while under a court stay-away order.

The hearing is open to the public. Witnesses register through the Council’s hearing process, and written testimony can be submitted for the record.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from Pinto’s office, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the D.C. Open Government Coalition, the last on the proposed body-camera exemption.

Help is available: the DC Victim Hotline is open around the clock at 1-844-443-5732, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.