H.R. 5140 · 119th Congress

To lower the age at which a minor may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the District of Columbia to 14 years of age.

Introduced on Sep 4, 2025 by Brandon Gill (R-TX-26). 6 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Sep 17, 2025): Received in the Senate.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Sep 4, 2025
Cosponsors
6
0 from the other party
Policy area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Subjects

  • Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
  • District of Columbia
  • Juvenile crime and gang violence
  • Violent crime

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Sep 4, 2025). Public domain.

This bill lowers the age at which an individual may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the District of Columbia (DC) to 14 years of age.

Under current DC law, an individual who is under 18 years of age is tried as a juvenile in family court. However, an individual who is 16 years of age or older may be tried as an adult if the individual is charged with murder, first-degree sexual abuse, burglary in the first degree, robbery while armed, or assault with intent to commit any such offense. Additionally, an individual who is 15 years of age or older may be tried as an adult if the individual is alleged to have committed a felony and it is determined that (1) it is in the interest of the public welfare to try the individual as an adult, and (2) there are no reasonable prospects for the individual's rehabilitation.

The bill lowers the minimum age to be tried as an adult in these cases to 14 years of age.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Brandon GillR-TX-26Sponsor

Republicans · 6

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Passage
    Sep 16, 2025· House· Passage· Passed 225–203

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Sep 4, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Sep 4, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Sep 4, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
  4. Sep 10, 2025 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  5. Sep 10, 2025 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 26 - 19.
  6. Sep 15, 2025 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 707 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  7. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 707. (consideration: CR H4339)
  8. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015 and H.R. 3062. The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. 5140, H.R. 5125, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3015, and H.R. 3062 under a closed rule, and provides for a motion to recommit on each measure.
  9. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 5140.
  10. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  11. Sep 16, 2025 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 5140, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill, and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Garcia (CA) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  12. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4346)
  13. Sep 16, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 225 - 203 (Roll no. 271). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4339)House · Roll call 271
  14. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 225 - 203 (Roll no. 271). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H4339)House · Roll call 271
  15. Sep 16, 2025 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  16. Sep 17, 2025 · SenateReceived in the Senate.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. The Sentencing Project6 reports
    $117.5K reported (all issues)
  2. Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence4 reports
    $160K reported (all issues)
  3. DUE PROCESS INSTITUTE4 reports
    $80K reported (all issues)
  4. SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, INC.3 reports
    $3.4M reported (all issues)
  5. American Civil Liberties Union2 reports
    $920K reported (all issues)
  6. Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights2 reports
    $700K reported (all issues)
  7. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE U.S.1 report
    $140K reported (all issues)
  8. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)1 report
    $15K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.