Bill

H.R. 4922 (119th): DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act or the DC CRIMES Act

DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act or the DC CRIMES Act This bill limits the authority of the District of Columbia (DC) government over its criminal sentencing laws. The bill eliminates the DC government’s authority to enact any act, resolution, or rule to change any criminal liability sentence in effect on the date of the bill's enactment. The bill also (1) reduces the maximum age of a youth offender from 24 years to 18 years, and (2) repeals a provision that allows a DC criminal court to issue a sentence to a youth offender that is less than the mandatory minimum term otherwise required by law. A DC criminal court currently has the discretion to reduce or modify certain criminal sentences for a youth offender under specified circumstances. For example, a DC court may sentence a youth offender to probation in lieu of confinement. (However, this discretion does not apply to several specified violent crimes.) Additionally, the bill directs the Office of the Attorney General for DC to publish, and update monthly, certain youth offender crime data on a publicly accessible website.

house · Substantive

Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026
Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out.

Official source

Summary

Recorded summary

The DC CRIMES Act limits the District of Columbia government's authority over criminal sentencing. It bars DC from enacting any act, resolution, or rule that changes a criminal liability or sentence in effect on the enactment date. It lowers the maximum youth offender age from 24 to 18, repeals the court's discretion to sentence a youth offender below a mandatory minimum, and requires the DC Attorney General to publish and monthly update youth offender crime data on a public website. The existing discretion, such as probation in lieu of confinement, excludes several specified violent crimes.

crime_data_transparencycriminal_justicedc_governancejusticelaw_enforcementpublic_safetysentencingyouth_offenders

Theological note: This bill raises issues of civil authority and general equity in punishment: whether sentences are proportionate, whether youth offenders are given room for rehabilitation, whether public safety is protected, and whether a national legislature should override a local government's sentencing choices. Scripture grounds civil justice in order and the protection of the innocent, and it also calls for mercy and measured punishment. These considerations are prudential and contested rather than a clear case of direct moral evil or a clear defense of justice.

Scoring

How this bill is scored

Debt and war Cloture and Tier 1 Procedural votes Scoring mechanics

Roll

Recorded votes

Roll 270 · 16-Sep-2025 5:01 PM · On Passage · Passed

Yea 240 · Nay 179 · Other 13

Yea

Nay

Other

All bills · Markdown