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District of Columbia Justice Reform Act of 1994

Public Law 103-303 · H.R. 1631 · 103rd Congress · began in the House

Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Aug 23, 1994 · Law

Sponsor: Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC)

Cosponsors: None

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

District of Columbia Justice Reform Act of 1994 - Amends the District of Columbia Code to increase to $5,000 (currently $2,000) the maximum amount in controversy permitted for cases under the jurisdiction of the Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 17 actions.

  1. Aug 23, 1994Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 103-303.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Aug 11, 1994PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Aug 8, 1994Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection.
  6. Resolving differencesResolving differences · Ms. Norton asked unanimous consent that the House agree to the Senate amendment.
  7. May 25, 1994FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  8. May 18, 1994CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  9. Mar 24, 1994CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  10. Jul 20, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
  11. Jul 19, 1993FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  13. FloorFloor · Mr. Stark moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  14. Jul 13, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House District of Columbia Committee
  15. Jun 9, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House District of Columbia Committee
  16. Apr 1, 1993CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House District of Columbia Committee
  17. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.