On July 1st, the DC City Council voted unanimously to pass the Clean and Affordable Energy Act out of first reading! In practical terms, this means that the bill is not yet a law – it still has to get voted through the council twice more, and then signed by Mayor Fenty.

More info can be found in this press release from Friends of the Earth. (this also includes links to the legislation itself, for all the policy wonks out there)

The City Council broadcasts its meetings live, so I managed to catch the tail-end of the debate on the bill. The “debate” I saw consisted of Councilmember Jim Graham holding up petition signatures he had received in support of the bill – a petition that someone with the Mt Pleasant Solar Coop had left on their own front porch, and had their neighbors come over to sign at their leisure. He was particularly impressed with the fact that people had exerted the extra effort of walking to visit a neighbor to show support for the legislation – so major props to grassroots climate action taking hold in DC!