Establishment of an office of restaurant recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the expiration and repeal thereof.

This bill would require the Mayor to create an Office of Restaurant Recovery to facilitate the recovery of restaurants from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office would be led by a director whom the Mayor or, if the Office is within an agency other than the Office of the Mayor, an agency head would appoint no later than 30 days after the bill’s effective date. The director’s responsibilities would include developing and implementing a recovery plan, identifying metrics to assess recovery, advising the Mayor, and promoting recovery. The director would also be required to submit an initial report and subsequent annual reports to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council. The bill would expire in five years unless the Mayor, in consultation with the director, determines sooner that restaurants have stabilized. In addition, this bill would make technical amendments related to the numbering of this new subchapter in the Administrative Code.