Sponsors (5)
The bill expands victims' ability to sue and hold governments, employers, and contractors accountable—strengthening remedies and incentives for reform—while increasing litigation exposure and costs that could raise taxes, strain courts, and alter policing practices.
Victims of alleged constitutional violations (including by police, contractors, and government actors) gain expanded private causes of action and clearer avenues to sue for compensation and accountability.
Communities and people who interact with police may see reduced misconduct over time because stronger municipal, employer, and contractor liability creates incentives for improved hiring, training, supervision, and discipline.
Plaintiffs who were previously blocked by sovereign immunity (against States or the federal government) can now pursue remedies, broadening access to federal standards of equal protection and due process.
Taxpayers and state, local, and federal governments face substantially higher litigation and damages exposure, which could raise local taxes or force cuts/diversion of funds from public services.
Employers, contractors, and public providers of policing services may incur greater liability (even where individual officers are immune), increasing compliance and insurance costs and potentially reducing availability of contracted law‑enforcement services.
Officers and communities could experience more defensive or risk‑averse policing practices as jurisdictions respond to greater liability risk, which may complicate split‑second decisions and harm public safety outcomes.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Makes governments and contractors directly liable under § 1983 for constitutional or statutory violations by law-enforcement personnel and waives federal and State sovereign immunity for those claims.
Official title: To ensure that the United States, States, and local governments are liable for monetary damages for constitutional violations by law enforcement officers.
Introduced November 18, 2025 by Hank Johnson · Last progress November 18, 2025
Amends 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to broaden who counts as a “person” and to create direct vicarious liability for governments, agencies, and private contractors that employ people performing law-enforcement functions. It waives federal and state sovereign immunity for these claims and preserves other causes of action under existing law. The change is intended to make it easier for individuals to sue for constitutional or statutory rights violations by law-enforcement personnel by making employers (including States, localities, federal entities, and private contractors) directly liable regardless of prior immunities or whether the officer acted pursuant to a policy or custom.