§ 1–204.41. Fiscal year.

(a) In general. — Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the fiscal year of the District shall, beginning on October 1, 1976, commence on the first day of October of each year and shall end on the 30th day of September of the succeeding calendar year. Such fiscal year shall also constitute the budget and accounting year. The District may change the fiscal year of the District by an act of the Council. If a change occurs, such fiscal year shall also constitute the budget and accounting year.

(b) Exceptions. —

(1) Armory Board. — The fiscal year for the Armory Board shall begin on the first day of January and shall end on the thirty-first day of December of each calendar year.

(2) Schools. — Effective with respect to fiscal year 2007 and each succeeding fiscal year, the fiscal year for the District of Columbia Public Schools (including public charter schools) and the University of the District of Columbia may begin on the first day of July and end on the thirtieth day of June of each calendar year.

(Dec. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 798, Pub. L. 93-198, title IV, § 441; Aug. 29, 1974, 88 Stat. 793, Pub. L. 93-395, § 1(3); Nov. 15, 1977, 91 Stat. 1383, Pub. L. 95-185, § 1; Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2230, Pub. L. 108-386, § 4; Oct. 16, 2006, 120 Stat. 2029, Pub. L. 109-356, § 124; July 25, 2013, D.C. Law 19-321, § 2(d), 60 DCR 1724.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 47-101.

1973 Ed., § 47-101.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 1-301.86, § 1-301.115a, § 1-1162.07, § 47-317.03a, and § 47-392.01.

Effect of Amendments

Pub. L. 108-386, in the first sentence, substituted “(a) In general—Except as provided in subsection (b), the fiscal year” for “The fiscal year”; deleted the third sentence which had read “Such fiscal year shall also constitute the budget and accounting year.”; and added subsec. (b).

Pub. L. 109-356, in subsec. (b)(2), substituted “may begin” for “shall begin”.

D.C. Law 19-321 added “The District may change the fiscal year of the District by an act of the Council. If a change occurs, such fiscal year shall also constitute the budget and accounting year” to the end of (a).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary amendment of (a), see § 2(d) of the Local Budget Autonomy Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-566, January 7, 2013, 59 DCR 15061, applicable as of January 1, 2014, and effective as provided in § 1-203.03.

Effective Dates

Section 9 of Pub. L. 108-386, 118 Stat. 2228, the 2004 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act, provided: “The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act Oct. 30, 2004.”

Section 5 of D.C. Law 19-321 provided that the act shall take effect as provided in § 1-203.03.

Editor's Notes

Temporary Commission on Financial Oversight of the District of Columbia: Sections 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 of the Act of September 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1205, Pub. L. 94-399, as amended by the Act of September 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 750, Pub. L. 95-386 and the Act of June 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 75, Pub. L. 96-27, provided for the establishment of the Temporary Commission on Finance Oversight of the District of Columbia for the purpose of improving the financial planning, reporting, and control systems of the District government. 31 U.S.C. § 715 sets up audit of accounts in D.C. on a permanent basis as of 1982 in § 1-207.36.

Enactment upon adoption of federal legislation: Section 4 of D.C. Law 11-254 provided that “§§ 47-101, 47-117, 47-130, 47-301, 47-302, 47-303, 47-304, 47-304.1, 47-305, 47-310, 47-312, 47-317.1 through 47-317.6, 47-321 through 47-325, 47-327 through 47-331, and 47-332 through 47-334 of Title 47 §§ 1-204.41, 1-204.55, 1-204.50, 1-204.42, 1-204.43, 1-204.44, 1-204.46, 1-204.53, 1-204.47, 1-204.48, 1-204.49, 1-204.24a through 1-204.24e, 47-317.06, 1-204.61 through 1-204.65, 1-204.71 through 1-204.75, 1-204.81, 1-204.85, 1-204.86 and 1-204.90, 2001 Ed. of the District of Columbia Code shall be enacted as part of Title 47 upon the adoption by Congress of legislation so enacting these sections.”

Definitions applicable: The definitions in § 1-201.03 apply to this section.

Applicability of D.C. Law 19-321: Section 3 of D.C. Law 19-321 provided that section 2 of the act shall apply as of January 1, 2014.

D.C. Law 19-321 was declared invalid by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in a memorandum opinion dated May 19, 2014, Civil Action No. 2014-0655. The court held that although the Council of the District of Columbia, the Mayor, and United States District Court for the District of Columbia are powerless to grant to the residents of the District of Columbia full budget autonomy, the United States Congress and the President of the United States are empowered to do so; and concluded that the Budget Autonomy Act was unlawful. See Council of the Dist. of Columbia v. Gray, 42 F. Supp. 3d 134, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68055 (2014).

On May 27, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued Order No. 14-7067, vacating the lower court’s judgment, dismissing the appeal, and remanding the case to the District Court with instructions to remand the case to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. See Council of the Dist. of Columbia v. Bowser, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 8881 (2015). The amendments contained in D.C. Law 19-321 are codified in this section.