D.C. bill would waive all city fees for ride parade, festival

D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) on June 29 introduced a bill that would waive all city fees for the annual D.C. Capital ride parade, festival, and block party that are organized by the Capital ride lliance.

The bill, the Support for the Capital ride arade mendment ct of 2023, calls for the D.C. mayor to waive all fees for the costs incurred by the city such as street closings and police support services related to the Pride parade, festival, and block party if the mayor s office does not on its own waive those fees.

yan Bos, e ecutive director of Capital ride lliance, said up until Capital ride lliance has had to pay as much as 95 percent of the city fees related to the three events, which were well over , . Bos said D.C. ayor uriel Bowser beginning in arranged for the waiver of the fees in her effort to bring people back to the city following the C ID pandemic. into spokesperson oe de told the Washington Blade that Pinto introduced the legislation to ensure that the fees pertaining to the Pride parade, festival, and block party, which draw hundreds of thousands of participants, are waived in coming years if a future mayor may not choose to waive the fees.

Si other Council members signed on as co-introducers for into s bill, indicating that the bill likely has at least sev-