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119-hr-6092119th Congress

Constitutional Accountability Act

Sponsored By: Representative Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]

Introduced

Summary

Broad expansion of civil liability for constitutional violations by law enforcement. This bill would rewrite 42 U.S.C. 1983 to let private people sue a wider set of governments, agencies, and private entities for constitutional violations by people who perform law enforcement work.

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  • Victims and families: Would let private plaintiffs sue the United States, a State, Territory, the District of Columbia, local governments, agencies, and private entities when an employee or contractor doing law enforcement work violates constitutional rights.
  • Governments and agencies: Would create direct liability for harms committed by employed or contracted law enforcement personnel without requiring a showing that the harm came from an official policy or custom and without regard to the individual officer's immunity.
  • Federal exposure: Would expressly waive the United States' sovereign immunity for claims under the new subsection and clarify that states can be sued for these claims.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

More ways to sue governments and contractors

If enacted, this bill would let people sue many more public and private actors for constitutional violations. It would treat the United States, States, Territories, D.C., local governments, agencies, and private entities as "persons" for these suits. It would define law enforcement officers broadly and make any employer or contractor liable for violations by someone they hired to do law‑enforcement work, even if that person would otherwise be immune or was not following an employer policy. The bill would also waive sovereign immunity for the United States and limit state sovereign immunity for these claims. If passed, this could raise the number and size of lawsuits, settlements, and insurance costs and could put fiscal pressure on governments and taxpayers.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]

GA • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 6/15/2026

  • Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 6/15/2026

  • Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 6/15/2026

  • Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 8/10/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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