House Judiciary Committee reviews S.208 requiring officer identification, limiting masks; legal experts say federal preemption unlikely

The House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 17 examined S.208, a bill that would require law-enforcement officers operating in Vermont to display identifying information and generally prohibit masks or disguises while interacting in person with the public.

Sophie Zadatni of the Office of Legislative Counsel walked the committee through the bill’s text and related constitutional issues, telling the panel that the statute would add a chapter to Title 20 and ‘‘includes any officer of a federal law enforcement agency or any person acting on behalf of a federal law enforcement agency.’’ She warned that constitutional concerns arise when a state law reaches federal officers but said state police powers allow Vermont to regulate officers acting within state boundaries.

Zadatni summarized a recent U.S. district-court decision in California that evaluated similar measures. She noted the court found ‘‘there’s no federal law or regulation that requires federal law enforcement officers to wear facial coverings,’’ and that the federal government in that case did not pursue express, field, or conflict preemption arguments. The California court denied a preliminary injunction for one identification measure but held that a masking provision violated…