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The Council of the District of Columbia approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget Support Act of 2025 (D.C. Act 26-148). It was signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser and enacted on Sept. 4, 2025, and is currently pending congressional review. The legislation includes many significant provisions designed to support and enhance economic development in the District of Columbia.
Specifically, the legislation enables key components of the mayor's growth agenda, which is focused on investing in Downtown D.C., along with growing sports, entertainment and technology industries and reducing barriers to business growth. The following are key provisions of the legislation:
- establishes the Chinatown Long-Term Lease Grant program, which will provide grants to support small businesses that sign long-term leases of at least five years in the Chinatown neighborhood and maintain or enhance the cultural heritage of the neighborhood
- creates grant opportunities for entities that support entrepreneurs in establishing, developing and growing early-stage technology companies within the city or provide training to city residents to work in the technology sector
- enables the creation of a Rhode Island Avenue Support Grant program for businesses and commercial property owners on the Rhode Island Avenue, NE corridor
- provides grant opportunities for businesses in the Gallery Place and Chinatown neighborhoods while the Capital One Arena redevelopment project is under construction
- provides grant opportunities to support retail, reduce commercial vacancies and generate foot traffic across the city by supporting street-level and storefront activations
- expands the boundaries of the Housing in Downtown program, which supports new residential development through commercial-to-residential conversions via a 20-year tax abatement
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