New protections passed on June 2 by the DC Council will strengthen bans on abusive practices to ensure bad actors can be held accountable. Through participation in a consumer rights stakeholder group, Tzedek DC helped shape the bill—the Enhancing Consumer Protection Procedures Amendment Act of 2025.
The bill modernizes the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) to better reflect how consumer harm occurs in today’s economy. It expands who can be treated as a “merchant,” ensuring that businesses and individuals involved in any part of a transaction, including those offering related services or operating behind the scenes, cannot avoid responsibility.
The bill also strengthens protections by making clear that abusive practices are prohibited, building on existing bans on unfair and deceptive conduct. It closes legal loopholes that have made it harder for residents to challenge harmful practices and clarifies that violations of District law tied to consumer transactions can be enforced under the CPPA.
The Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection will have more authority to pursue companies and organizations that operate using harmful consumer practices, even if the practices are not explicitly listed in the CPPA. In addition, there are increases to the penalties for violations of the CPPA, which had not been adjusted for inflation for 28 years.
“These updates are critical to ensuring that DC’s consumer protection law keeps pace with the realities facing residents,” said A.J. Hong-Huber, Associate Director at Tzedek DC and member of the working group.
About Tzedek DC
Tzedek DC’s name is drawn from the ancient Jewish teaching “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Headquartered at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and with offices also in Ward 8, Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with lower incomes facing the often-devastating consequences of debt collection and credit-related obstacles. This mission is carried out as anti-racism work in response to the massive wealth gaps tracking race in DC and nationwide. Tzedek DC seeks to serve and empower our client base, which is comprised of 90% Black people, 60% women, and 25% disabled community members. Our strategic approach combines three synergistic activities: (i) free direct services—legal representation and advice and financial counseling; (ii) working in coalition to make systemic change; and (iii) providing bilingual community legal education on debt collection, identity theft, and credit management. Since launching in 2017, Tzedek DC has served over 6,500 households and catalyzed systemic change benefiting hundreds of thousands of DC community members.