Senate Judiciary advances S.208 after striking provision that would criminalize third offense for masked federal officers

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Senate Judiciary committee on Feb. 6 voted to advance S.208, a bill that would require law-enforcement officers to visibly display a name, unique radio or badge number and prohibit masks or disguises while interacting in person with the public, after removing a provision that would have made a third offense a criminal misdemeanor.

Legislative counsel Sophie Sedatny briefed the committee on constitutional risks tied to the bill, telling members that "the supremacy clause is really the key." Sedatny and other counsel framed two central legal tests: whether a state law directly regulates the federal government (intergovernmental immunity) and whether the state's rule is preempted because an official’s action is authorized and necessary under federal law (a supremacy-clause inquiry).

Why it matters: Committee members repeatedly pressed whether courts would treat the statute as an impermissible regulation of federal officers or as an acceptable, incidental burden on federal operations. Sedatny said courts focus on what the federal officer was doing and…