This post was written by reporter Chase Smith.

The D.C. Council voted 11 to 2 in support of a watered down version of what could still be one of the nation’s most generous paid family leave offerings Tuesday evening.

The Council will cast their final vote on the bill on Dec. 20. If the measure passes then, it will go on to Mayor Muriel Bowser to sign it into law.

The Council amended the bill, which was introduced late last year, at a Committee of the Whole session Tuesday morning. Council members voted to reduce the amount of paid time off after a birth or adoption from 11 to eight weeks and provide six weeks of family leave and two weeks of medical leave.

The original 2015 bill would have offered 16 weeks of paid leave, which has been gradually lowered over the course of the past year.

The costs of the bill would be covered by a tax from all District businesses. However, some council members voiced concerns about the bill. Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans, who is also the chair of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, said he is critical of the bill because it will also cover District workers who live in Maryland and Virginia.

“I just cannot justify paying $166 million to people who live in Maryland and Virginia to pay 80 million to our own residents,” he said. “I recognize that our own workers will get paid, but at what cost are we doing that?”

Evans was the only Council member to vote no on the preliminary vote during the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday afternoon. During the legislative meeting later in the evening, Ward 7 Council member Yvette Alexander also voted no, warning that she will not vote for the bill until it addresses her concerns about the bill including non-D.C. residents.

Evans went on to tweet throughout the day about how he supports paid leave, just not this bill.

I support #PaidLeave4DC residents. I don't support $150 million in DC taxes going to MD/VA residents instead of DC families. https://t.co/hREYC1vnVU

— Jack Evans (@JackEvansWard2) December 6, 2016

Leaders at GW and other universities in the District have also been skeptical of the bill, worrying about having to cut budgets and financial aid to pay for the paid leave. Business leaders additionally have been worried and called upon the Council earlier this year to further study the financial impact of the bill.

At-large Council member David Grosso addressed this concern during the meeting this morning, stating that the Council “now knows the fiscal and economic impact” moving forward after spending 14 months studying them.

He added that although the number of paid weeks decreased along with the wage replacement and salary cap, it is a step in the right direction for the District.

“It will be good for our businesses and our economy in the District,” he said. “It will make the District of Columbia a city where people want to work and have children.”

Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau said many voices were heard over the past year.

“Although, I know we have come to a place at which not everyone agrees, I do think we have come to a place where everyone has been heard and every concern has been considered,” Nadeau said. “Just because a piece of legislation does not reflect someone’s specific concern does not mean it hasn’t been heard.”

At the meeting, At-large Council member Elissa Silverman also proposed an amendment adding personal emergencies back to the bill, which was taken out during the many changes to the bill.

Silverman’s amendment unanimously passed the preliminary vote during the Committee of the Whole meeting.

“I met a woman who told me she had to quit her job to make chemo appointments,” she said. “With this amendment, our most vulnerable workers will have help when they need it the most.”

Grosso said “self-care coverage” was an integral part of the original legislation, and adding it back in was the “right thing to do.”

“By adding self-care coverage back into the legislation, we are making this bill more universal and covering more workers who do not want their own care to be pigeon-holed,” Grosso said.

Debra Ness, the president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, released a statement following the vote expressing her pleasure that personal emergencies were added.

“We are especially pleased that the Council amended the Universal Paid Leave Act to include personal medical leave, recognizing that whether workers are caring for a new child, a seriously ill family member or are seriously ill themselves, they need time away from work without jeopardizing their ability to cover their basic expenses,” the release read.