“Deadline for public testimony re: protests to official record of Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety is June 16.”

Photo by Victoria Pickering

Thanks to all who passed on from Council Member Charles Allen’s website:

“Due to the importance of the protests around the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, is rescheduling [the] virtual Committee budget oversight hearing on the Metropolitan Police Department’s FY 2021 proposed budget. The remaining, scheduled agency hearings for tomorrow will take place as announced.

Originally, given the limited time available for committees to hold virtual budget oversight hearings, MPD’s hearing was scheduled for 90 minutes and restricted to government witnesses, with public opportunities to submit testimony via phone, email, video, and Facebook Live.

From Councilmember Allen:

“I am rescheduling the hearing for two reasons. First, tomorrow morning, MPD leadership will be engaged in real-time response to the First Amendment assemblies taking place today and tomorrow. In order to have a productive and meaningful oversight hearing with Chief Newsham and his team, a delay is necessary.

And second, thousands of District residents are calling out injustice, racism, and police brutality against Black Americans. It is clear to me the public needs more opportunities to testify directly before the Council on the issues of policing communities of color, excessive force, freedom of speech, and public funding for law enforcement agencies and violence prevention.

Our budget is a document that reflects our values, including around law enforcement and how to improve public safety. I welcome our residents to share their recommendations for change and their budget priorities with the Council, and I will find an additional time for District residents to testify on MPD’s budget with the Committee.”

MPD’s FY21 proposed budget documents are available here: https://cfo.dc.gov/node/1462961

How DC residents can submit testimony to the Committee

The deadline for receiving public witness testimony for the official record is June 16, 2020. Public witnesses can currently testify on the FY21 proposed budget by:

1. Submitting oral testimony by calling the Committee’s GoogleVoice number at (202) 350-1362. These voicemails will be transcribed, shared with Councilmembers and Committee staff, and uploaded to the Committee’s website here;
2. Emailing any written testimony to judiciary[at]dccouncil.us; and
3. Uploading a 3-minute video of your testimony to the Committee’s Dropbox folder. Click here to upload your file (this link works for mobile or desktop devices).

A few tips for your testimony:

1. Please be sure to include your first and last names, and if you’re submitting your testimony via video or GoogleVoice, please also spell your name. If you’re representing an organization, please also include your title and organization’s name.
2. Please limit spoken audio or video testimony to three minutes.
3. Keep in mind the Committee will make testimony available to the general public, as it does all its hearing records. If you need special considerations, please contact [email protected] to discuss your specific situation.”