Senate Judiciary reviews amended S.208 on officer mask ban, exceptions and tiered penalties

Legislative counsel Sophie Stanny told the Senate Judiciary committee on Jan. 30 that an amended version of S.208 would tighten identification rules for law-enforcement officers and set a framework of exceptions and penalties for a proposed ban on officers wearing masks while interacting with the public.

Stanny, presenting a scribe-call (strike-all) amendment, said identification would include an officers name or a unique radio or badge number and their agency. She described a consolidated subsection that explicitly covers surgical masks and N95 respirators and noted the draft mirrors existing cold-weather exception language used for emergency-shelter programs.

"The law enforcement officer shall not wear any mask or personal disguise while interacting with the public in the performance of the officer's duties," Stanny said while explaining the prohibition and how…