Two problematic bills that would have greatly expanded liability for cities with police departments failed to pass out to of the House prior to the mid-session House of Origin cutoff on March 8.
Both HB 1025 and HB 1445 are now dead for the remainder of session. Neither bill can be considered again until 2024 unless the legislature takes extraordinary action to revive them this year (which is uncommon, but not unheard of). AWC will keep you up to date on any developments.
As a reminder, HB 1025 would have ended qualified immunity for police and created a new civil cause of action against police and police departments for conduct violating the state Constitution or certain state laws. HB 1445 would
have authorized the Attorney General to investigate and bring actions against police departments for violations of the state Constitution or state law, and also required the AGO to publish model policies on police conduct.
AWC and cities across the state opposed these bills, which would have greatly increased liability exposure for cities, driven up settlement and litigation costs, made liability insurance more expensive, and unfairly punished cities without offering less
adversarial means to actually fix police misconduct. AWC thanks all the cities that contacted their legislators to oppose these bills. Your engagement was an important part of why the House set aside these policies and is once again an example of
how when cities speak, legislators listen.