By Dean Maddox – Public Safety & Crime Reporter

Sacramento lawmakers are pushing forward a controversial new bill that would prohibit law enforcement officers from covering their faces during operations—raising sharp concerns from law enforcement associations and sparking a broader debate over officer safety, federal authority, and political posturing in the Capitol.

Senate Bill 627, introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Sen. Jesse Arreguín (D-Oakland), would make it a misdemeanor for law enforcement—local, state, or federal—to wear face coverings during most operations in California. The bill, titled the “No Secret Police Act,” is a response to recent immigration enforcement raids involving masked federal agents, but its critics say it unfairly targets local police who have no involvement in those actions.

“The people introducing this bill know full well that California law already bans local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law,” said Brian Marvel, President of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), which represents over 83,000 members statewide. “This bill doesn’t touch ICE. It just puts our local cops in harm’s way.”

PORAC warned that the bill would effectively ban common protective equipment such as face shields, gas masks, and other gear officers rely on during volatile situations like riots or chemical exposures. “It forces officers to choose between their safety and breaking the law,” the group said in a public statement.

Under existing law, California already requires officers to wear badges or nameplates and be identifiable. But Wiener claims the legislation is necessary to restore public trust and ensure transparency.

“We are seeing more and more law enforcement officers, particularly at the federal level, covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all… and grabbing people off our streets,” Wiener said during a press event.

The Department of Homeland Security blasted the bill as “despicable,” noting that assaults against ICE officers have increased by more than 400 percent, and doxxing attacks against agents are becoming more frequent.

Though the bill includes exemptions for SWAT teams, medical-grade masks, and wildfire conditions, it does not exempt officers responding to riots or violent unrest—precisely the environments where protective gear is most essential.

Locally, the bill has raised eyebrows among those who remember being fined or shut down for not wearing masks during the COVID pandemic. “The same politicians who once made it a crime not to wear a mask now want to make it a crime to wear one—at least if you’re a cop,” said one Sacramento resident. “What happens if they get COVID? Is Wiener going to cover their medical bills too?”

Legal experts are already bracing for court challenges, particularly over the bill’s attempt to regulate federal officers. “Is this a reasonable regulation by the state? Yes. Does it conflict with any federal law? Maybe not,” said Sacramento attorney Mark Reichel. “But even the authors of the bill… have been openly saying we are going to take this to court. We are going to let the courts decide.”

A hearing date for the bill has not been set.