The D.C. Council gave final approval to three bills Tuesday, Oct. 6, covering disability identification, parking enforcement and ballot initiative rules.
The headline measure, Eric's ID Amendment Act, lets residents with nonapparent disabilities opt to add a butterfly symbol to their D.C.-issued driver's license or ID card. The symbol alerts police and emergency responders to developmental, intellectual or immunodeficiency conditions that aren't immediately visible. It passed unanimously.
The law is named for Eric Carpenter-Grantham, a 21-year-old autism advocate who began pushing for the change in 2023, motivated partly by the murder of George Floyd. "Now that the District of Columbia is about to have the butterfly on their driver's license and ID too, this is a victory for the disability community …" he told the Washington Informer.
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker introduced the bill in March after hearing Carpenter-Grantham speak at a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday event. Maryland passed a similar law more than a year earlier, and nearly 31,000 people there applied for the butterfly logo in its first year, Maryland Matters reported.
The parking enforcement bill drew the most opposition. The Strategic Parking Enforcement Act, introduced by Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, creates a program where private businesses, universities and Business Improvement Districts pay overtime costs for parking enforcement officers. It also extends ticketing authority to university campus police in limited circumstances. Howard, George Washington and Georgetown universities have expressed support, WUSA9 reported.
At-large Councilmember Robert White voted no and proposed a failed amendment to cut parking fines 50%. He cited $59.5 million the city collected from more than 1 million parking citations in fiscal year 2025. Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White also voted against the bill. Lewis George, Parker, Councilmember Felder and at-large Councilmember Christina Henderson voted "present."
The amendment failed.
The Department of Public Works has 260 parking enforcement officers but lacks budget authority for the overtime the program requires, according to WJLA's reporting on earlier testimony. DPW's Parking Enforcement Management Administration had warned that tying enforcement to organizations' ability to pay could create inequities across neighborhoods.
The third bill, the Fair Initiatives Lend Transparency to Every Resident Amendment Act, tightens rules for ballot initiatives. It requires a fiscal impact statement from the chief financial officer before the Board of Elections accepts a proposed measure, limits each initiative to one subject and extends advisory opinion timelines. At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds introduced the legislation.
Parker and at-large Councilmember Elissa Silverman voted against it. Lewis George voted "present." Parker called the bill "an attempt to undermine our initiative process," arguing it makes citizen-led measures harder to advance.
All three bills now face mayoral review and a congressional review period before taking effect. Lewis George, who won the Democratic mayoral primary, is the heavy favorite in the Nov. 3 general election. Nadeau and Bonds will not return to the council next term.
