Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2025 (now known as "Youth Curfew Amendment Act of 2026")
The Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2025 establishes a uniform curfew for youth in the District of Columbia, starting at 11 p.m. daily (including weekends and summer) and extending to cover 17-year-olds (previously limited to ages 16 and under). It authorizes the Chief of Police to create "extended curfew zones" in specific areas where the curfew begins at 8 p.m. and runs until 6 a.m. for up to four consecutive days, with community groups able to petition for these zones. The bill also allows the Mayor to declare emergency curfews for public safety in response to immediate threats. These changes aim to enhance enforcement flexibility while protecting both youth and public safety.
Bill status
signed
all 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
Council Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jul 2026
Introduced Oct 31, 2025
Signed Jul 10, 2026
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What changed between versions
Engrossment
→
Enrollment
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was finalized as the 'Youth Curfew Amendment Act of 2026' (changed from 2025) and underwent significant simplification. The most critical change is the removal of a lengthy list of specific criminal codes that police must review before declaring an emergency curfew, replacing it with broader categories like 'disturbances of the public peace' and 'crimes of violence.' Additionally, the definition of 'curfew hours' was cleaned up to remove a confusing exception for Sundays and Mondays, and the enforcement notice definition was slightly shortened to remove the explicit mention of arrest as a consequence.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding who is affected remains the same (youth under 18), but the criteria for declaring emergency curfew zones were broadened by removing specific statutory references in favor of general crime categories.
TIMELINE
The act's citation year was updated from 2025 to 2026.
REQUIREMENT
The list of specific crimes police must investigate before declaring an emergency curfew was removed and replaced with broader categories like 'disturbances of the public peace' and 'crimes of violence' to streamline the process.
DEFINITION
The definition of 'curfew hours' was revised to remove a confusing clause that previously created an exception for Sundays and Mondays.
ENFORCEMENT
The definition of a 'notice of violation' was simplified by removing the explicit instruction to inform minors they may be arrested, focusing instead on the warning and available steps to avoid arrest.
Floor votes · Council May 5, 2026
How they voted
8–5
Passed
Total votes 13
May 5, 2026
D
Democratic11
54% Yea
I
Independent2
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
22
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Amendments
4
May 5, 2026
Council · Passed
Council Vote: pass (8-5)
council
May 5, 2026
Introduced
Nadeau (Amendment #2)
legislature
May 5, 2026
Introduced
Agendized; not considered at the request of Parker (Amendment)
legislature
May 5, 2026
Introduced
Nadeau (Amendment #1)
legislature
Apr 21, 2026
Introduced
Crawford (Amendment)
legislature
Apr 9, 2026
Legislature · Passed
Committee Mark-up of B26-0461 by the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee
legislature
Nov 4, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety
legislature
Oct 31, 2025
Introduced
B26-0461 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary
legislature
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Phil Mendelson
DDemocratic
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