An amendment backed by Attorney General Phil Weiser and his counterparts nationwide to empower state attorneys general to investigate patterns and practices of law enforcement misconduct has made it into the policing reform bill that passed a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday.

“At a time when the federal government is failing to provide leadership on civil rights issues, states must step up to hold lawless law enforcement agencies and police officers accountable, particularly as communities demand greater transparency and accountability,” Weiser said.

In Colorado, the General Assembly granted Weiser that authority for investigating violations of state law in Senate Bill 217, the far-reaching accountability bill that passed in the wake of continued racial justice protests in Denver and worldwide. Federal law gives the U.S. Department of Justice the ability to investigate and resolve patterns of unconstitutional police practices.

A coalition of 18 attorneys general earlier this month reported that between 1994 and 2017, the department initiated 69 investigations for patterns or practices of misconduct, which resulted in 40 consent agreements. Since the Trump Administration took office in 2017, there have been zero.

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, spoke favorably about the amendment at the hearing. He and Colorado’s four other Democratic representatives are among the 225 co-sponsors of the Justice in Policing Act.

“I have therefore called for this critical authority to be provided to state attorneys general, so that justice may be served even when the U.S. attorney general is unwilling to act for political reasons,” Neguse said.

Among other features, the bill would provide grants for body-worn cameras, lowers the standard required to hold officers criminally accountable for their actions, and curtails the immunity that law enforcement receives as public employees.

The bill passed out of committee on a party-line vote of 24-14. U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado’s other lawmaker on the Judiciary Committee, voted no.