FY 2026 Budget and Financial Plan
KEY DOCUMENTS
FY 2026 Budget Oversight Hearings
Each Council committee holds budget oversight hearings with the agencies under their purview. View the most recent FY 2026 Budget Oversight Hearing Schedule. Sign up to testify through the Council’s Hearing Management System. Watch live or archived hearings via DC Granicus.
FY 2026 budget legislation
Proposed FY 2026 Budget and Financial Plan. The proposed budget is published by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer in multiple volumes:
Volume 1 is the Executive Summary, which has detailed information on revenue, expenditures, and other components of the budget.
Volume 2 includes agency chapters in the Government Direction and Support, Economic Development and Regulation, and Public Safety and Justice clusters.
Volume 3 contains agency chapters in the Education cluster.
Volume 4 holds agency chapters in the Human Support Services, Operations and Infrastructure, and Financing and Other clusters.
Volume 5 is the Capital Improvements Plan for FY 2026 - FY 2031.
Volume 6 includes all the Operating Appendices for the agency budget chapters.
Individual agency budget chapters are also available, organized by cluster.
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The Local Budget Act (LBA) is the District’s appropriations bill. It sets the appropriation for each agency and provides the legal authority necessary to spend those funds. Official legislative history.
Second reading Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) (July 27, 2025): summary memo, operating budget changes since 1st reading, capital budget changes since 1st reading, and all operating and capital changes from the Mayor’s proposed budget.
Circulated Emergency LBA ANS to Bill 26-262 and accompanying Emergency Declaration ANS to PR 26-210. (July 27, 2025)
Draft committee print and report packet (July 13, 2025). The Committee of the Whole packet for consideration on July 14, 2025.
Introduced Version of Bill 26-260 (May 27, 2025). The bill as proposed by the Mayor.
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The Budget Support Act (BSA) includes statutory changes that are necessary to implement the budget, such as the legal authority for specific revenue changes. Official legislative history.
The fiscal impact statement issued by the CFO for second reading.
Second reading circulation (July 27, 2025): Mendelson Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) and summary of changes since 1st reading and accompanying emergency legislation with emergency declaration.
Draft committee print and report packet (July 13, 2025). The Committee of the Whole packet for consideration on July 14, 2025.
Introduced Version of Bill 26-265 (May 27, 2025). The bill as proposed by the Mayor, the subtitle referral memo, and the fiscal impact statement issued by the Chief Financial officer for the Mayor’s proposed BSA.
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The District’s budget includes several federal payments provided by Congress to the District for a specific purpose. Those federal funds are still subject to the federal appropriations process. Each year, as part of the budget process, the Mayor transmits to the Council her proposal for federal payments. As part of the Council budget process, the Council approves this Federal Portion Budget Request Act and appropriates the funds in the LBA. Following Council approval, the act is submitted by the Mayor to the President for inclusion in a federal appropriations act approved by Congress. Official legislative history.
FY 2025 Revised Local Budget Legislation
This legislation revises the current fiscal year’s budget act. Typically, it adjusts the appropriation levels for specified funding types and the top-line budget appropriation for specified clusters and agencies. A revision may be necessary to provide budget authority for additional revenue or to address budget shortfalls or expenditure changes in specific agencies.
This package of legislation is also referred to as the “supplemental budget.”
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Mendelson Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) and accompanying summary memo for consideration at the July 28, 2025 legislative meeting (July 27, 2025).
Mendelson ANS to the accompanying emergency declaration for consideration at the July 28, 2025 legislative meeting (July 27, 2025).
Introduced version of Bill 26-263 (May 27, 2025). The bill as proposed by the Mayor and its accompanying emergency declaration resolution
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Mendelson Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) for consideration at the July 28, 2025 legislative meeting (July 27, 2025).
Introduced version of Bill 26-264 (May 27, 2025). The bill as proposed by the Mayor.
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Mayor’s narrative of the supplemental budget. (May 27, 2025)
Chart showing attributes for budget adjustments taken in the supplemental budget.
COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS
Once the Mayor’s proposed budget and financial plan is submitted to the Council, each Council committee reviews the request for the agencies under its purview, receives agency responses to common budget questions, and holds budget oversight hearings. When the hearing period concludes, each committee chair prepares a budget report of recommendations that is then marked up and approved by the full committee. The committee report includes recommendations for funding and personnel levels for each agency, policy proposals, legislation necessary to implement the recommendations, and any other budget-related analysis that the committee deems appropriate.
After all committees approve their reports, the Council’s Office of the Budget Director, under the Chairman’s direction, incorporates the committees’ recommendations and additional Council-wide recommendations into a single unified budget, which will be shared in the key documents section, above.
OTHER DOCUMENTS
Additional legislative actions and other documents that inform the budget process
FY 2026 Budget Tool Kit. The budget tool kit features resources to help Council committees during the annual budget process.
Mayor’s Budget Presentation (May 27, 2025).
Fiscal Year 2026 Council Budget Work Session Presentation (July 2, 2025). Following the markup by each standing committee on their recommendations for the budgets of the agencies under their purview, the full Council meets in a budget work session to discuss each committee’s recommendations. This presentation summarizes the actions of each committee and is used to guide the discussion during the work session.
Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Submission Requirements Resolution of 2025. Each year, the Council passes a budget submission requirements resolution to establishes the date by which the Mayor must submit the proposed budget for the next fiscal year; the resolution also states what information and documentation must be submitted with the proposed budget.
Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (2/1/25). The ACFR is the District’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The ACFR is prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for state and local governments as promulgated by the Government Accounting Standards Board. Some of the principal users of the ACFR are credit or bond rating agencies, institutions that buy and sell bonds, and those charged with managing and governing the state or local government.