HR 7085 · 116th Congress 2019–2021, ended

Ending Qualified Immunity Act

Introduced Jun 4, 2020 Originated House Sponsor Justin Amash I-MI

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Jun 4, 2020 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJun 4, 2020
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Ending Qualified Immunity Act

This bill eliminates the defense of qualified immunity in civil actions for deprivation of rights. Qualified immunity is a judicially created doctrine that protects government employees or those acting with state authority from being held personally liable for constitutional violations.

The bill provides that under the statute allowing a civil action alleging deprivation of rights under color of law, it shall not be a defense or immunity to any such action that (1) the defendant was acting in good faith or believed that his or her conduct was lawful at the time it was committed; (2) the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation; or (3) the state of the law was such that the defendant could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or her conduct was lawful.

Cosponsors 66

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 4, 2020 to Aug 22, 2020; 17 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-NYAdriano EspaillatOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-NYAlexandria Ocasio-CortezOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-INAndré CarsonOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-MAAyanna PressleyOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-CODiana DeGetteOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-OREarl BlumenauerOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-NYGregory W. MeeksOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-MNIlhan OmarOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-MAJames P. McGovernOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-ILJesús G. "Chuy" GarcíaOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-MAJoseph P. Kennedy IIIOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-CAMark TakanoOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-NYNydia M. VelázquezOriginalJun 4, 2020
D-VAA. Donald McEachinJun 8, 2020
D-TXAl GreenJun 8, 2020
D-NCAlma S. AdamsJun 8, 2020
D-CAAnna G. EshooJun 8, 2020
D-ILBobby L. RushJun 8, 2020
D-MIDebbie DingellJun 8, 2020
D-CTJahana HayesJun 8, 2020
D-CAJared HuffmanJun 8, 2020
D-OHJoyce BeattyJun 8, 2020
D-MALori TrahanJun 8, 2020
D-OHMarcy KapturJun 8, 2020
D-CAMark DeSaulnierJun 8, 2020
D-WIMark PocanJun 8, 2020
D-NJMikie SherrillJun 8, 2020
D-WAPramila JayapalJun 8, 2020
D-MIRashida TlaibJun 8, 2020
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaJun 8, 2020
D-CARo KhannaJun 8, 2020
D-NVSteven HorsfordJun 8, 2020
D-ORSuzanne BonamiciJun 8, 2020
D-MOWm. Lacy ClayJun 8, 2020
D-NYYvette D. ClarkeJun 8, 2020
D-WAAdam SmithJun 11, 2020
D-FLAlcee L. HastingsJun 11, 2020
D-MIAndy LevinJun 11, 2020
D-FLDarren SotoJun 11, 2020
D-CAGrace F. NapolitanoJun 11, 2020
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskyJun 11, 2020
D-CTJohn B. LarsonJun 11, 2020
D-CAJudy ChuJun 11, 2020
D-CAKatie PorterJun 11, 2020
D-TXLloyd DoggettJun 11, 2020
D-ILMike QuigleyJun 11, 2020
D-MARichard E. NealJun 11, 2020
D-ILSean CastenJun 11, 2020
D-WASuzan K. DelBeneJun 11, 2020
R-CATom McClintockJun 11, 2020
D-AZAnn KirkpatrickJun 15, 2020
D-ILDanny K. DavisJun 15, 2020
D-GADavid ScottJun 15, 2020
D-VADonald S. Beyer, Jr.Jun 15, 2020
D-MAKatherine M. ClarkJun 15, 2020
D-MDJamie RaskinJun 18, 2020
D-NYJose E. SerranoJun 18, 2020
D-DELisa Blunt RochesterJun 22, 2020
D-FLFrederica S. WilsonJun 25, 2020
D-CAAlan S. LowenthalJun 30, 2020
D-LACedric L. RichmondJul 16, 2020
D-MASeth MoultonAug 22, 2020

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseJudiciary Committee
Referred Jun 4, 2020

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jun 4, 2020Introduced in House
  2. Jun 4, 2020Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
HouseLists H2367–H2369H.R. 7085–7119—Jun 4, 2020

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Fourteenth Amendment, Section 5.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 104, June 4, 2020, page H2367.

CRS reports 3

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 3

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Related bills 3

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 4036Reforming Qualified Immunity ActRelated billJun 23, 2020
S 4142Ending Qualified Immunity ActIdentical billJul 1, 2020
HR 8979Qualified Immunity Abolition ActRelated billDec 16, 2020

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To amend the Revised Statutes to remove the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
Ending Qualified Immunity Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jun 4, 2020Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.