H.R. 7290

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7290 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7290

To amend title 18, United States Code, to revise the applicable 
standards regarding death resulting from a deprivation of rights under 
color of law.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 30, 2026

Ms. Johnson of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary

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A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to revise the applicable 
standards regarding death resulting from a deprivation of rights under 
color of law.

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 ``Qualified Immunity Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER COLOR OF LAW.

Section 242 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``willfully'' and inserting ``knowingly or 
recklessly'';
(2) by striking ``, or may be sentenced to death''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of 
this section, an act shall be considered to have resulted in 
death if the act was a substantial factor contributing to the 
death of the person.''.

SEC. 3. QUALIFIED IMMUNITY REFORM.

Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 
U.S.C. 1983) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``It shall not be a defense or immunity in any action brought under 
this section against a local law enforcement officer (as such term is 
defined in section 2 of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 
2025), or in any action under any source of law against a Federal 
investigative or law enforcement officer (as such term is defined in 
section 2680(h) of title 28, United States Code), that--
``(1) the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the 
defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that his or her 
conduct was lawful at the time when the conduct was committed; 
or
``(2) the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the 
Constitution and laws were not clearly established at the time 
of their deprivation by the defendant, or that at such time, 
the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant 
could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or 
her conduct was lawful.''.
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