THE US House of Representatives have passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing act.

The legislation would ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement. It would also create national standards to make it easier for police to be held accountable.

Nine months after Floyd, a 46-year-old black man was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, lawmakers voted to approve the reform measure named after him with votes 220 votes in favour and 212 votes against.

The House had previously passed a version of the bill last year, but the Republican controlled Senate did not consider it.

The bill includes prohibitions on so-called qualified immunity which protect law enforcement from certain lawsuits – this is one of the primary provisions that will need to be negotiated with Republican senators.

Californian congresswoman Karen Bass, who authored the bill, said that if passed, the measures would “actually decrease the number of times we have to see people killed on videotape.”

She also went on to denounce resistance to the bill’s passing, which she said were built on racism and stereotypical fears about how “the scary black people are going to attack you if you try to rein in the police.”

Bass has contacted South Carolina Senator, Tim Scott who is also the only black Republican in the Senate, to ensure he can deliver Republican support.

Earlier this week, Scott said: “We have to protect individual officers.”