United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 25 R cosponsors

HR 503 — Qualified Immunity Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 25 sponsors

    1 primary, 24 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (25 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

HR 503 aims to amend legal procedures in the judiciary.

HR 503 proposes changes to the legal processes within the judicial system. The goal is to improve efficiency and effectiveness in handling cases.

Summary

Qualified Immunity Act of 2025This bill provides statutory authority for qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in civil cases involving constitutional violations.Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors (e.g., law enforcement officers) for violations of constitutional rights, also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. The Supreme Court has also found an implied cause of action against federal law enforcement officers in certain situations (e.g., Fourth Amendment violations), also known as Bivens lawsuits. However, under the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary duties are generally shielded from civil liability, unless their actions violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known.The bill provides statutory authority for these principles with respect to law enforcement officers. Specifically, under the bill, law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity if (1) at the time of the alleged violation, the constitutional right at issue was not clearly established or the state of the law was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable officer would have known that the conduct was unconstitutional; or (2) a court has held that the specific conduct at issue is constitutional.The bill applies to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers. It also specifies that law enforcement agencies and local governments may not be held liable if their officers are entitled to qualified immunity.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill codifies the defense of qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

  • 42 U.S.C. 1983

    (a) In General--

    It introduces a new subsection label for clarity.

  • 42 U.S.C. 1983

    (b) Applicability to Law Enforcement Officers.-- ...

    It adds a new subsection detailing the qualified immunity defense for law enforcement officers.

  • 42 U.S.C. 1983

    (1) A law enforcement officer subject to an action under this section in their individual capacity shall not be found liable if such law enforcement officer establishes that-- ...

    It specifies conditions under which law enforcement officers can claim qualified immunity.

  • 42 U.S.C. 1983

    (2) A law enforcement agency or unit of local government who employed a law enforcement officer subject to an action under subsection (a), shall not be liable for such action if the law enforcement officer is found not liable under paragraph (1) and was acting within the scope of their employment.

    It clarifies that law enforcement agencies are not liable if their officers are not found liable under the new qualified immunity provisions.

  • 42 U.S.C. 1983

    (c) Definitions.-- ...

    It defines key terms such as 'law enforcement officer' and 'law enforcement agency' for the application of the new qualified immunity provisions.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 24 co-sponsors · 522 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (24)

Not signed on (522)

522 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 522 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 503 do?
Qualified Immunity Act of 2025This bill provides statutory authority for qualified immunity for law enforcement officers in civil cases involving constitutional violations.Current law provides a statutory civil cause of action against state and local government actors (e.g., law enforcement officers) for violations of constitutional rights, also known as Section 1983 lawsuits. The Supreme Court has also found an implied cause of action against federal law enforcement officers in certain situations (e.g., Fourth Amendment violations), also known as Bivens lawsuits. However, under the judicial doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary duties are generally shielded from civil liability, unless their actions violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable person would have known.The bill provides statutory authority for these principles with respect to law enforcement officers. Specifically, under the bill, law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity if (1) at the time of the alleged violation, the constitutional right at issue was not clearly established or the state of the law was not sufficiently clear that every reasonable officer would have known that the conduct was unconstitutional; or (2) a court has held that the specific conduct at issue is constitutional.The bill applies to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers. It also specifies that law enforcement agencies and local governments may not be held liable if their officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
Who sponsors HR 503?
HR 503 is sponsored by Foxx, Virginia (Republican), Van Orden, Derrick (Republican), Tenney, Claudia (Republican), Meuser, Daniel (Republican), Van Duyne, Beth (Republican), Bacon, Don (Republican), Finstad, Brad (Republican), Harris, Andy (Republican), Lawler, Michael (Republican), Garbarino, Andrew R. (Republican), Malliotakis, Nicole (Republican), Scott, Austin (Republican), Higgins, Clay (Republican), Jack, Brian (Republican), Nehls, Troy E. (Republican), Shreve, Jefferson (Republican), Van Drew, Jefferson (Republican), Hinson, Ashley (Republican), Gonzales, Tony (Republican), Gosar, Paul A. (Republican), Ezell, Mike (Republican), Bost, Mike (Republican), Calvert, Ken (Republican), Obernolte, Jay (Republican), and Kelly, Mike (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 503?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 503?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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