History and Tradition Protection Act of 2023

Subjects: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, Civil actions and liability, First Amendment rights, Government liability, Legal fees and court costs, Religion, State and local government operations

Summary:  <p> <p><b>History and Tradition Protection Act of 2023</b> <p>This bill limits the types of relief that may be awarded in civil suits that involve violations of the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.</p> <p>Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors for violations of constitutional rights, also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. The bill limits relief for Section 1983 lawsuits that involve violations of the Establishment Clause to injunctive and declaratory relief (i.e., nonmonetary relief) and prohibits the award of attorneys' fees in these cases, including those that involve monuments, public buildings, official seals, and government proceedings. The bill applies the same restrictions to similar lawsuits against federal agencies.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 425 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 425

 To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to prevent the use 
of the legal system in a manner that extorts money from State and local 
governments, and the Federal Government, and inhibits such governments' 
     constitutional actions under the first, tenth, and fourteenth 
                              amendments.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 20, 2023

 Mr. Johnson of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Biggs, and Mr. 
 Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to prevent the use 
of the legal system in a manner that extorts money from State and local 
governments, and the Federal Government, and inhibits such governments' 
     constitutional actions under the first, tenth, and fourteenth 
                              amendments.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``History and Tradition Protection Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST STATE AND LOCAL 
              OFFICIALS.

    (a) Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights.--Section 1979 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before the first sentence; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) The remedies with respect to a claim under this section are 
limited to injunctive and declaratory relief where the deprivation 
consists of a violation of a prohibition in the Constitution against 
the establishment of religion, including, but not limited to, a 
violation resulting from--
            ``(1) any monument, memorial, statue, or other figure 
        containing religious words, imagery, or symbolism;
            ``(2) a public building containing religious words, 
        imagery, or symbolism;
            ``(3) the presence of religious words, imagery, or 
        symbolism in the official seals and flags of the several States 
        and the political subdivision thereof; or
            ``(4) religious expression in the context of the 
        proceedings of any deliberative body or division of any State 
        or deliberative body or division of the several States.''.
    (b) Attorney's Fees.--Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``However, no fees shall be awarded under this subsection 
with respect to a claim described in subsection (b) of section nineteen 
hundred and seventy nine.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AND 
              FEDERAL OFFICIALS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
court shall not award reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys to the 
prevailing party on a claim of injury consisting of the violation of a 
prohibition in the Constitution against the establishment of religion 
brought against the United States or any agency or any official of the 
United States acting in his or her official capacity in any court 
having jurisdiction over such claim, and the remedies with respect to 
such a claim shall be limited to injunctive and declaratory relief.
    (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term ``a claim of 
injury consisting of the violation of a prohibition in the Constitution 
against the establishment of religion'' includes, but is not limited 
to, a claim of injury resulting from--
            (1) any monument, memorial, statue, or other figure 
        containing religious words, imagery, or symbolism;
            (2) a Federal building containing religious words, imagery, 
        or symbolism;
            (3) the presence of religious words, imagery, or symbolism 
        in the official seal of the United States and in its currency 
        and official Pledge; or
            (4) religious expression in the context of the proceedings 
        of any deliberative body or division of the legislative or 
        executive branches of the United States.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on the 
date of the enactment of this Act and apply to any case that--
            (1) is pending on such date of enactment; or
            (2) is commenced on or after such date of enactment.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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