To amend section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States to clarify that States are persons for purposes of liability under that section, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9060 To amend section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States to clarify that States are persons for purposes of liability under that section, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 31, 2020 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States to clarify that States are persons for purposes of liability under that section, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) The United States Supreme Court has held 5 that the Eleventh Amendment grants sovereign im- 6 munity to States in Federal court absent a waiver 7 by the State or congressional action. 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9060.IH H9060 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9060 IH (2) The United States Supreme Court has fur- 1 ther held that a lawsuit brought under section 1979 2 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 3 U.S.C. 1983) against a government official for ac- 4 tions taken in their official capacity is to be treated 5 as a lawsuit against the entity of which the officer 6 is an agent. 7 (3) Due to sovereign immunity, lawsuits for ac- 8 tions brought under such section may be filed 9 against a State government official in their personal 10 capacity but not in their official capacity. 11 (4) This Act does not increase liability for gov- 12 ernment officials in personal capacity cases in any 13 way, but helps to ensure equitable and monetary re- 14 lief for victims of civil rights violations. 15 SEC. 2. LIABILITY OF STATES FOR ACTIONS UNDER COLOR 16 OF LAW. 17 Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United 18 States (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by adding at the end 19 the following: ‘‘For purposes of this section, the term ‘per- 20 son’ includes a State or Commonwealth, and a depart- 21 ment, office, or officer acting in their official capacity, 22 thereof.’’ 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H9060.IH H9060 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS