Bill > S122

This bill, known as the Qualified Immunity Act of 2025, seeks to codify the legal doctrine of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers into federal law. The bill defines qualified immunity as a protection for government officials that allows them to make reasonable mistakes of fact and law without facing personal liability, while still maintaining a mechanism to hold truly incompetent or intentionally unlawful officers accountable. Specifically, the bill amends Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes to establish that law enforcement officers cannot be found liable in individual civil rights lawsuits if they can prove either that the legal right in question was not clearly established at the time of the alleged violation, or that a court has previously ruled the specific conduct was consistent with constitutional and federal laws. The bill also extends this protection to law enforcement agencies and local government units if the officer is found not liable and was acting within the scope of their employment. The legislation defines law enforcement officers broadly, including federal, state, tribal, and local officials with statutory arrest powers, and includes provisions that balance the need to protect officers from harassment with the imperative of holding them accountable for irresponsible uses of power. The amendments will take effect 180 days after the bill's enactment.

Justice

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/122/all-info