I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 288 

To amend the Revised Statute to codify the defense of qualified immunity 

in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2021 

Mr. BANKS (for himself and Mr. STEUBE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Revised Statute to codify the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 

1979, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Qualified Immunity 

5 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Qualified immunity is intended for all but 

9 the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly vio10 late the law and is meant to give government offiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H288.IH H288

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1 cials breathing room to make reasonable mistakes of 

2 fact and law. 

3 (2) The Supreme Court has observed that 

4 qualified immunity balances two important interests, 

5 the need to hold law enforcement officers account6 able when they exercise power irresponsibly and the 

7 need to shield officers from harassment, distraction, 

8 and liability when they perform their duties reason9 ably. 

10 SEC. 3. CODIFICATION OF QUALIFIED IMMUNITY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1979 of the Revised Stat12 utes (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended— 

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL—’’ before 

14 ‘‘Every person’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI18 CERS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) A law enforcement officer subject to an ac20 tion under this section in their individual capacity 

21 shall not be found liable if such law enforcement of22 ficer establishes that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the right, privilege, or immunity se24 cured by the Constitution or Federal law was 

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1 rivation by the law enforcement officer, or that 

2 at this time, the state of the law was not suffi3 ciently clear that every reasonable law enforce4 ment officer would have understood that the 

5 conduct alleged constituted a violation of the 

6 Constitution or Federal law; or 

7 ‘‘(B) a court of competent jurisdiction had 

8 issued a final decision on the merits holding, 

9 without reversal, vacatur, or preemption, that 

10 the specific conduct alleged to be unlawful was 

11 consistent with the Constitution and Federal 

12 laws. 

13 ‘‘(2) A law enforcement agency or unit of local 

14 government who employed a law enforcement officer 

15 subject to an action under subsection (a), shall not 

16 be liable for such action if the law enforcement offi17 cer is found not liable under paragraph (1) and was 

18 acting within the scope of their employment. 

19 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

21 ‘law enforcement officer’ means any Federal, State, 

22 Tribal, or local official who is authorized by law to 

23 engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, in24 vestigation, or the incarceration of any person for 

25 any violation of law, and has statutory powers of arVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H288.IH H288

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1 rest or apprehension, including police officers and 

2 other agents of a law enforcement agency. 

3 ‘‘(2) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘law enforcement agency’ means any Federal, State, 

5 Tribal, or local public agency engaged in supervision, 

6 prevention, detection, investigation, or the incarcer7 ation of any person for any violation of law, and has 

8 statutory powers of arrest or apprehension.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

10 under subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 

11 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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