Congress demands police misconduct data be public—finally.
H.R. 7278 — Cost of Police Misconduct Act of 2026 · Filed by Donald Beyer (D-VA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires federal law enforcement agencies and state/local agencies receiving federal grant funding to collect and publicly report detailed data on civil judgments and settlements arising from police misconduct allegations—including the race, ethnicity, and sex of officers and civilians involved, the type of misconduct, personnel actions taken, and the total amount paid. The Attorney General must publish this data in a searchable public database, and the Government Accountability Office must study the data after two years to identify trends and recommend reforms. States and localities that fail to comply face up to a 10% reduction in federal law enforcement grant funding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is mandatory data collection and public disclosure of police misconduct settlements and judgments. It is a transparency and accountability measure, not a regulatory or enforcement action—it creates no new legal liability, only visibility into existing civil outcomes.
What the text implies
- Public database may reveal disparities in misconduct allegations and settlements by race/ethnicity of officers and civilians, potentially fueling both reform advocacy and defensive narratives from law enforcement.
- Compliance burden on state and local agencies may be significant, especially smaller jurisdictions with limited data infrastructure; the 10% grant penalty creates strong incentive but may strain resources.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens gain transparency into police misconduct costs and patterns—previously hidden or fragmented data—enabling public scrutiny, informed voting, and accountability. The bill creates no new liability for officers or agencies; it only mandates disclosure of existing judgments and settlements.