Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act of 2025
This bill prohibits the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) from signing or renewing e-book licensing agreements with publishers that include terms restricting public access. It specifically bans contracts that limit how many times a book can be lent, inflate prices beyond what the public pays, or prevent libraries from preserving digital materials. The law takes effect only after 10 other jurisdictions with at least 50 million combined residents pass similar laws, aiming to create a national strategy for fairer pricing. This directly affects DCPL and its patrons, who face longer wait times (36 days for e-books) and rising costs (e-book prices jumped from $60 to $75 per license in FY24).
Bill status
signed
all 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Council Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Aug 2026
Introduced Nov 17, 2025
Signed Aug 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossment
→
Enrollment
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was finalized as 'Enrolled' after being 'Engrossed', resulting in minor formatting cleanup and the removal of an incomplete subsection (e) regarding contract exceptions. The core policy restricting the library from signing unfair e-book licensing deals remains unchanged.
TECHNICAL
Removed an incomplete subsection (e) that appeared in the draft but was not finished, leaving the bill's operative text intact.
Standardized the text formatting to match the official enrolled version, including consistent line breaks and punctuation.
Changed the population threshold wording from '50,000,000 people' to '50 million people' for readability.
Floor votes · Council May 5, 2026
How they voted
13–0
Passed
Total votes 13
May 5, 2026
D
Democratic11
100% Yea
I
Independent2
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
16
Key actions
2
Committee
2
May 5, 2026
Council · Passed
Council Vote: pass (13-0)
council
Mar 24, 2026
Legislature · Passed
Committee Mark-up of B26-0490 by the Human Services Committee
legislature
Dec 2, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Human Services
legislature
Nov 17, 2025
Introduced
B26-0490 Introduced by Councilmember Frumin at Office of the Secretary
legislature
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Matt Frumin
DDemocratic
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