Kathy Hochul abandons plans to make ‘masked harassment’ a crime

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has backed away from a proposal to create a new criminal offense called “masked harassment” and impose broader restrictions on wearing face masks in public, as state budget negotiations come to an end.

Instead, Hochul is now pushing for more narrowly focused restrictions that would increase penalties for individuals who commit assault or harassment while wearing a mask. The original proposal, endorsed by Hochul and introduced by state Sen. James Skoufis, drew criticism from lawmakers who warned that it could be used to target protesters who wear masks to conceal their identities during demonstrations.

“If one is convicted of an existing crime, e.g. harassment or menacing, and the individual convicted was wearing a mask, that there'd be some penalty enhancer during sentencing,” Skoufis said, according to a report by the Gothamist. “I'm supportive of this approach. I think it's a fair compromise.”

Hochul has also clarified that while she opposes the use of masks to harass or intimidate, she supports exceptions for those wearing them for medical or religious reasons.

Restrictions on public mask-wearing has been a high priority for Hochul during this year’s budget negotiations, and the issue has been among the final points of contention. Despite ongoing talks, the legislature passed a stopgap measure this week to fund state operations through Thursday, with many details still unresolved.

“I think a lot of things are still pending,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes. “I don't think we'll have anything done this week, but hopefully by next week at the pace things are going.”

A Siena College poll released Tuesday found that 64 percent of voters support making it a crime for someone to wear a mask to hide their identity while threatening or harassing others.