H.R. 7951 · 116th Congress
Qualified Immunity Act of 2020
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
BanksSponsor2 cosponsors · 2 R
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill codifies the defense of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in any case under provisions regarding civil actions for deprivation of rights under color of law.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Aug 7, 2020
Qualified Immunity Act of 2020
This bill codifies the defense of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in any case under provisions regarding civil actions for deprivation of rights under color of law.
Specifically, a law enforcement officer subject to such an action in his or her individual capacity shall not be found liable if the officer establishes that
- the right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or federal law was not clearly established at the time of the deprivation, or that at this time, the state of the law was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable law enforcement officer would have understood that the conduct alleged constituted a violation of the Constitution or federal law; or
- a court of competent jurisdiction had issued a final decision on the merits holding, without reversal, vacatur, or preemption, that the specific conduct alleged to be unlawful was consistent with the Constitution and federal laws.
A law enforcement agency or unit of local government that employed a law enforcement officer subject to such an action shall not be liable if the officer is found not liable and to have been acting within the scope of his or her employment.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Qualified Immunity Act of 2020
Latest action (Aug 7, 2020): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Origin: House · Introduced: Aug 7, 2020
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.