# District of Columbia Home Rule Act The **District of Columbia Home Rule Act** (Pub. L. 93-198, 1973) delegated limited self-government to the District — an elected mayor and council — while reserving to Congress the constitutional authority over the seat of government under Art. I, § 8, cl. 17. Congress retains a review period over District legislation and control of the District's budget. Its emergency provision is **§ 740**, which permits the President, upon determining that "special conditions of an emergency nature exist," to direct the Mayor to provide the services of the Metropolitan Police Department for federal purposes. The section is time-limited: **48 hours** unless the President notifies designated congressional committees, and **30 days** maximum absent a joint resolution of Congress authorizing an extension. That 30-day ceiling makes § 740 one of the few emergency authorities in American law with a hard statutory expiration that Congress must affirmatively act to extend rather than affirmatively act to end. Stub — expand with the 2025 invocation and litigation, the budget-autonomy fight, and the standing repeal proposals. ## See also - [[Emergency Powers Crosswalk]] - [[Muriel Bowser]]