Sponsors
The bill empowers state attorneys general to seek injunctions and damages to stop police misconduct and compensate victims, improving accountability and remedies but increasing litigation exposure, costs for localities, and risks of politically driven or duplicative enforcement.
State attorneys general can bring civil suits to stop or remedy police misconduct and obtain injunctions (temporary, preliminary, permanent) to halt ongoing deprivations of rights, giving residents — especially racial-ethnic minorities and people with disabilities — a state-level path to immediate relief.
Residents harmed by rights violations can recover monetary compensation (including punitive damages for malicious or reckless conduct), which may aid victims' financial recovery and provide stronger deterrence against misconduct.
Local governments and law enforcement agencies could face increased litigation costs and financial exposure from more state-initiated civil suits, potentially raising burdens on taxpayers and municipal budgets.
State-initiated suits could be used for political purposes or be overbroad, imposing oversight-like constraints on local policing without clear standards and creating friction between state and local officials.
Parallel or duplicative enforcement (State AG suits alongside Department of Justice criminal or civil actions) risks conflicting remedies, procedural complications, and strained prosecutorial resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows state attorneys general to bring federal civil lawsuits under 18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242 on behalf of state residents, with injunctive relief and possible punitive damages.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress February 10, 2026
Adds explicit authority for State attorneys general to bring federal civil lawsuits on behalf of state residents under the federal civil-rights criminal statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 242). State AGs may file in federal district court when there is reasonable cause to believe residents were injured (or may be injured) by conduct that violates those statutes, and courts may order injunctive relief or award compensatory and, in certain cases, punitive damages.