California Passes Measure Banning Law Enforcement From Wearings Masks To Hide Identity Amid ICE Raids

California lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that would ban most law enforcement officers from covering their faces when dealing with the public.

The legislation, passed by Democratic lawmakers who control both chambers of the legislature, would apply to both local and federal agencies. (RELATED: Dems Unveil Anti-ICE Face Mask Bill Immediately After Coordinated Attack Against Agents)

It now heads to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s desk to sign, whose support is unknown, though he gestured support for such a measure in a July 10 interview with The Tennessee Holler when talking about masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

“So, we have a bill, we’re looking at the constitutionality of it. It appears that we don’t have the legal authority for federal agents, but we do for other law enforcement authorities.” Newsom said. “There’s some amendments being made in the bill, and our legal team’s looking at it.”

Scott Wiener — the author of the legislation — claimed the bill was in direct response to ongoing ICE raids occurring in California during an interview with ABC10 Thursday.

“ICE agents, bounty hunters, and who knows who else are running around, basically wearing ski masks, grabbing people from their front yards, from bus stops, from their workplaces, and throwing them into unmarked vehicles and taking them, we don’t even know where.” Mr. Wiener said.

“SB627 will ban this kind of extreme masking with reasonable exemptions for medical masking, SWAT teams, certain kinds of undercover operations,” he went on to say.

In the same segment, Brian Marvel of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), claimed this bill would cause unnecessary liability for local law enforcement officers doing their jobs.

“Officers that are wearing masks in good faith are going to lose their qualified immunity,” he said in the same ABC10 segment. “Unfortunately, we’re a very litigious society, and any opportunity to sue a police officer, or police department, or local agency… it happens, and it happens quite frequently, and unfortunately, the officers now are going to be on the hook potentially.”

The bill would exempt other things like translucent or clear masks, motorcycle helmets, N95 medical or surgical mask, and breathing apparatuses necessary to protect against toxins, gas, and smoke.

Any “willful and knowing violation” would result in either an infraction or a misdemeanor, and only applies to officers who have committed an assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, abuse of process, or malicious prosecution while covering their face, according to the bill.

This legislation is believed to be the first of its kind, though similar bills have been introduced in other states and in Congress, The New York Times reported Thursday.

A sister bill was also passed Thursday which would require local, state and federal officers to visibly wear identifying information such as their name or badge number on their person.

If passed, SB627 would go into effect in January, the outlet added.