AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 22, 2026
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 5, 2026
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2025
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2025
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2025
SENATE BILL No. 747
Introduced by Senators Wiener and Wahab
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Mark González)
(Coauthors: Senators Becker, Caballero, Cortese, Durazo, Gonzalez, McNerney, Pérez, and Rubio)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ahrens, Á vila Farías, Bryan, Connolly, Elhawary, Garcia, Haney, Jackson, Ortega, Quirk-Silva, and Rogers) February 21, 2025
An act to add Section 53.8 to the Civil Code, relating to civil rights, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. rights. legislative counsel’s digest
SB 747, as amended, Wiener. Civil rights: depri vation of federal constitutional rights, privileges, and immunities.
Under existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (act), if a person or persons, whether or not acting under color of la w, interferes or attempts to interfere, by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or la ws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney, is authorized to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the
94 people of the State of California, in order to protect the e xercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured.
Under that act, an individual may also institute and prosecute in their own name and on their o wn behalf a ci vil action for damages, as described, for an y resulting interference or attempt at interference of the indi vidual’s e xercise or enjo yment of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States or this state. That act requires the aforementioned actions to be filed in either the superior court for the county in which the conduct complained of occurred or in the superior court for the county in which a person whose conduct complained of resides or has their place of business (venue requirement).
The act authorizes the court to a ward the petitioner or plaintif f reasonable attorney’s fees in addition to an y damages, injunction, or other equitable relief a warded in these ci vil actions (attorne y’s fees authorization).
Existing federal law provides that every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, re gulation, custom, or usage, of an y state, territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected any United States citizen or other person within the jurisdiction to the deprivation of an y rights, pri vileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, is liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as provided.
This bill would also provide that every person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, re gulation, custom, or usage, as defined, subjects or causes to be subjected any citizen of this state or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the United States Constitution, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at la w, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, e xcept as specified. The bill w ould apply the aforementioned venue requirement and attorne y’s fees authorization, except as specified, to any action brought under these provisions. The bill would authorize a court, in its discretion, to also award costs, except as specified, and e xpert fees to the pre vailing plaintiff in an y action brought under these provisions.
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This bill would authorize a defendant in an action brought under these provisions to assert a defense of absolute or qualified immunity to the same extent as a person sued under certain federal provisions under like circumstances, as specified, and w ould specify that nothing in these provisions is to be construed to w aive or abrog ate an y defense of 94 — 2 — SB 747
sovereign immunity otherwise a vailable to a party , as specified. The bill would prohibit any civil action brought under these provisions from being commenced later than 2 years after the date that the cause of action accrues. The bill would make its provisions severable. The bill would specify that these pro visions apply retroacti vely to March 1, 2025. 2025, as provided.
This bill w ould declare that it is to tak e effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3 majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. Section 53.8 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
line 2 53.8. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the line 3 No Kings Act.
line 4 (b) Every person who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, line 5 regulation, custom, or usage, subjects, or causes to be subjected, line 6 any citizen of this state or any person within the jurisdiction thereof line 7 to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured line 8 by the United States Constitution, shall be liable to the party injured line 9 in an action at la w, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for line 10 redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer line 11 for an act or omission tak en in the officer’ s judicial capacity , line 12 injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree line 13 was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. line 14 (c) An action brought pursuant to subdivision (b) may be filed line 15 either in the superior court for the county in which the conduct line 16 complained of occurred or in the superior court for the county in line 17 which a person whose conduct complained of resides or has their line 18 place of business.
line 19 (d) A defendant in an action brought under subdivision (b) may line 20 assert a defense of absolute or qualified immunity to the same line 21 extent as a person sued under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United line 22 States Code under lik e circumstances. This subdivision applies line 23 only to proceedings brought under subdi vision (b), and does not line 24 alter, amend, create, or support a qualified or absolute immunity line 25 defense in any other action or proceeding brought under any other line 26 provision of California law.
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line 1 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to w aive or line 2 abrogate any defense of sovereign immunity otherwise available line 3 to a party. This subdivision applies only to proceedings brought line 4 under subdivision (b), and does not alter, amend, create, or support line 5 a sovereign immunity defense in an y other action or proceeding line 6 brought under any other provision of California law. line 7 (f) In any action or proceeding brought under this section, the line 8 court, in its discretion, may award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable line 9 attorney’s fees and costs, except that in any action brought against line 10 a judicial officer for an act or omission tak en in the officer’ s line 11 judicial capacity, the officer shall not be held liable for an y fees line 12 or costs, except if the officer’s action was clearly in excess of the line 13 officer’s jurisdiction. In an y action or proceeding brought under line 14 this section, the court, in its discretion, may a ward expert fees to line 15 the prevailing plaintiff.
line 16 (g) A civil action brought under subdi vision (b) shall not be line 17 commenced later than tw o years after the date that the cause of line 18 action accrues.
line 19 (h) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision line 20 of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall line 21 not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect line 22 without the invalid provision or application.
line 23 (i) This section shall apply retroactively to March 1, 2025. 2025, line 24 provided that, for any claim for a violation of the United States line 25 Constitution that occurr ed between Mar ch 1, 2025, and the line 26 effective date of this section, the only monetary damages that shall line 27 be available pur suant to this section for that constitutional line 28 violation are nominal and compensatory damages. line 29 (j) For purposes of this section, “color of an y la w, statute, line 30 ordinance, re gulation, custom, or usage” includes color of an y line 31 statute, ordinance, re gulation, custom, or usage, of the United line 32 States and of any state or territory or the District of Columbia. line 33 SEC. 2. This act is an ur gency statute necessary for the line 34 immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within line 35 the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall line 36 go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
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line 1 In order to provide sufficient redress for the infringement of the line 2 civil liberties of all persons in the state as soon as possible, it is line 3 necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
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