(a) Creation. The County Executive must appoint, subject to confirmation by the County Council, a Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs.
(b) Composition.
(1) The Commission has 12 members and 3 alternate members. Each member must be a County resident.
(2) Four members and one alternate member each must be:
(A) an owner of rental housing located in the County;
(B) a manager, or an employee of a manager, of rental housing located in the County; or an attorney who primarily represents owners or managers of rental housing; or
(C) nominated by an organization that represents owners or managers of rental housing located in the County.
(3) Four members and one alternate member each must be:
(A) a tenant of rental housing in the County, or
(B) an attorney who primarily represents tenants of rental housing; or
(C) nominated by an organization that represents tenants of rental housing located in the County.
A member appointed under this paragraph must not derive a substantial portion of his or her income from rental housing.
(4) Four members and one alternate member must be selected from the public at large. A member appointed to represent the public at large must not be qualified for appointment under subparagraph (2)(A), (2)(B), (3)(A), or (3)(B), or otherwise derive a substantial portion of his or her income from rental housing or tenants of rental housing.
(5) As used in this subsection, an attorney primarily represents either owners and managers of rental housing, or tenants of rental housing, if at the time of appointment the attorney appeared in 10 or more landlord-tenant cases in any jurisdiction, and represented that type of client in more than 60% of the attorney's landlord-tenant cases, in the preceding 12 months. As used in this subsection, a "substantial portion" of a person's income means, measured at the time of appointment, either:
(A) $10,000 or more of that person's family income during the preceding calendar year, or
(B) the ownership of more than 5% of any rental housing unit, or any ownership interest in any business that owns or manages rental housing.
The Director must adjust the $10,000 amount in the preceding sentence each year by the increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA), as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the preceding calendar year, rounded to the nearest multiple of $10.
(c) Member disclosure.
Each member of the Commission must submit the financial disclosure statement required under Chapter 19A within 15 days after the Council confirms the member.
(d) Term. The term of each member of the Commission is 3 years. Each member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and confirmed.
(e) Compensation. Members of the Commission serve without compensation, except reimbursement for expenses as appropriated.
(f) Termination of Term. The term of a member terminates immediately if the member no longer qualifies to serve under subsection (b). In that case, the alternate for the category under which a member was appointed automatically succeeds to the remainder of that member’s term.
(g) Vacancy. The Executive must appoint a qualified person to fill each vacancy on the Commission within 30 days after the vacancy occurs. The Council must decide whether to confirm the person that the Executive appoints within 30 days after the Executive submits the appointment to the Council. A vacancy occurs when a member's term expires or a member resigns, dies, or is removed from office. (1972 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 1975 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 1; 1977 L.M.C., ch. 28, § 11; 1977 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; FY 1991 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 1995 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 20, § 1; 2005 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1; 2018 L.M.C., ch. 3, §1 .)
Editor's note—2001 L.M.C., ch. 20, § 3, states: Transition. Any amendment to County Code Section 29-9 made by Section 1 of this Act applies only to a member of the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs appointed or reappointed after this Act becomes law [August 8, 2001].