D.C. Law 25-251. Red-Backed Salamander Official State Amphibian Designation Act of 2024.
AN ACT
To amend Title I of the Fisheries and Wildlife Omnibus Amendment Act of 2016 to designate the Red-backed Salamander as the official state amphibian of the District of Columbia.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "Red-Backed Salamander Official State Amphibian Designation Act of 2024".
Sec. 2. Title I of the Fisheries and Wildlife Omnibus Amendment Act of 2016, effective May 19, 2017 (D.C. Law 21-282; D.C. Official Code § 1-166.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new section 103 to read as follows:
"Sec. 103. Official amphibian of the District of Columbia.
"(a) The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a species of salamander in the class of amphibians found throughout the eastern and Appalachian regions of the United States, including in most wooded areas in the District of Columbia.
"(b) Red-backed salamanders eat insects, which helps control pests and maintain the balance of the ecosystem.
"(c) The red-backed salamander is increasingly recognized as a model organism for a variety of biological subdisciplines, including terrestrial ecology, amphibian ecology, evolutionary biology, regeneration, ecotoxicology, and animal behavior, in part due to its ubiquity and abundance throughout northeastern North America
"(d) The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is hereby designated the official amphibian of the District of Columbia.".
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
Sec. 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)).
