Congress·In Committee·S. 3186

Constitutional Accountability Act

Senate Bill Would Make Governments Pay for Police Constitutional Violations, Even Without Official Policy

Nov 18, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

StalledNext up: A senate committeeNo action in 8 months

A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.

Legislative Progress

Senate

No action since November 2025

House

President

Law

Key Points

Makes the U.S. government, states, and local governments easier to sue for money when police violate constitutional rights.
Lets people sue the government employer even if the officer personally has legal immunity, and even if there was no official policy behind the misconduct.
Overrides state immunity rules so states can be taken to court for these claims, not just cities and counties.
Waives the federal government’s immunity for these cases, opening the door to money damages for constitutional violations by federal law enforcement.
Could push departments to improve hiring, training, supervision, and discipline because the government—not just the officer—would face financial consequences.

Criminal JusticeCivil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(1)

Federal Employee

Neutral

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Nov 18, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Nov 18, 2025

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

2 articles

Bloomberg Law·May 18, 2023

Police Misconduct Bill Targets Government Immunity

The Constitutional Accountability Act seeks to eliminate the 'Monell' doctrine, which requires plaintiffs to prove a government policy caused a constitutional violation. It would make governments vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.

Center

The Hill·May 20, 2021

Democrats introduce bill to make it easier to sue for police misconduct

Democrats introduced legislation that would make it easier to sue for police misconduct by allowing individuals to sue government entities for constitutional violations committed by their employees, regardless of whether the officer has immunity.

Center

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.