District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority Independence Preservation Act
Public Law 110-273 · H.R. 5778 · 110th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Jul 15, 2008 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-8)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Tom Davis
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
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.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority Independence Preservation Act - Amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to declare that the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia does not have authority over the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority's personnel.
Requires the financial management, personnel, and procurement functions and responsibilities of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority to be: (1) established exclusively pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by its Board of Directors; and (2) consistent with the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, as in effect as of January 1, 2008.
Repeals the amendment to the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996 made by D.C. Act 17-172 (Jobs for D.C. Residents Amendment Act of 2007) that requires: (1) the Authority's General Manager to be a D.C. resident throughout his or her employment; (2) a 10-point preference be granted to a qualified D.C. resident applicant over a qualified non-resident applicant for all positions within the Authority; (3) all persons hired after the effective date of such Act to submit proof of residency; (5) an applicant claiming the hiring preference to agree in writing to maintain bona fide D.C. residency for a consecutive seven-year period; and (6) forfeiture of such employment if D.C. residency is not maintained.
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.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Jul 15, 2008Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 110-273.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jul 7, 2008FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Jun 17, 2008FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Jun 16, 2008FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Jun 10, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
- Jun 9, 2008FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5778.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Davis (IL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Apr 10, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.