S. 3186 — Constitutional Accountability Act

This section states 15 congressional findings on the history and purpose of 42 U.S.C. 1983 (i.e., a remedy for constitutional violations by persons acting under color of state law); Supreme Court decisions limiting municipal liability to policies or customs (Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)) and barring state liability (Will v. Michigan Department of State Police, 491 U.S. 58 (1989)); criticisms of the Monell doctrine as complex and inadequate; concerns over federal officials' liability and police training; and Congress's authority under section 5 of the 14th Amendment to enforce constitutional rights against states.

This section revises 42 U.S.C. 1983, which authorizes civil suits for damages against persons acting under color of state or local law who deprive individuals of federal rights, by (1) adding subsection (a) to define "person" to expressly include the United States, states, territories, the District of Columbia, local governments, their agencies and subdivisions, private entities, and individuals and to define "law enforcement officer" as any federal, state, local, or combined-entity officer empowered to execute searches, seize evidence, or make arrests; (2) redesignating the original text as subsection (b) and inserting "the United States" before "any State"; and (3) adding subsections (c) through (f) to hold any "person" (as defined) liable for constitutional violations committed by its law enforcement employee or contractor regardless of the employee's immunity or whether the violation followed a policy or custom, to abrogate state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment (pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment) for such claims, to waive U.S. sovereign immunity for such claims, and to preserve all other rights of action.