Qualified Immunity Act of 2025
Latest action · Jan 16, 2025 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.
- IntroducedJan 16, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Qualified Immunity Act of 2025
This bill provides statutory authority for qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in civil cases involving constitutional violations.
Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors (e.g., law enforcement officers) for violations of constitutional rights, also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. The Supreme Court has also found an implied cause of action against federal law enforcement officers in certain situations (e.g., Fourth Amendment violations), also known as Bivens lawsuits. However, under the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary duties are generally shielded from civil liability, unless their actions violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
The bill provides statutory authority for these principles with respect to law enforcement officers. Specifically, under the bill, law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity if (1) at the time of the alleged violation, the constitutional right at issue was not clearly established or the state of the law was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable officer would have known that the conduct was unconstitutional; or (2) a court has held that the specific conduct at issue is constitutional.
The bill applies to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers. It also specifies that law enforcement agencies and local governments may not be held liable if their officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
Cosponsors 24
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 16, 2025 to Oct 24, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-WI | Derrick Van Orden | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| R-NY | Andrew R. Garbarino | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-MD | Andy Harris | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Beth Van Duyne | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-MN | Brad Finstad | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NY | Claudia Tenney | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-PA | Daniel Meuser | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NY | Michael Lawler | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-NY | Nicole Malliotakis | Jan 21, 2025 | |
| R-GA | Austin Scott | Jan 22, 2025 | |
| R-LA | Clay Higgins | Feb 11, 2025 | |
| R-GA | Brian Jack | Apr 7, 2025 | |
| R-IN | Jefferson Shreve | Apr 7, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Troy E. Nehls | Apr 7, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 16, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in House
- Jan 16, 2025Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 9, January 16, 2025, page H222.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 122 | Qualified Immunity Act of 2025 | Related bill | Jan 16, 2025 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Qualified Immunity Act of 2025
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.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in House
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.
