In a vote of 12-0 with seven abstaining, the Nassau County Legislature passed the Mask Transparency Act, which gives police the authority to arrest or fine mask-wearers across the county who conceal their identities.

The vote took place on Monday afternoon, hours after the Nassau County Democratic Legislators announced their bill — Masked Crime Accountability Act — to counter the now passed law. The law was created in response to protesters committing crimes while wearing masks to hide their identities. Effective immediately, police can start enforcing the new law, which the minority caucus argued will have a detrimental effect on First Amendment rights.

“Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious imperative, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a manner that hides their identity when in public,” Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive, said in a statement after the bill was passed. 

The intent of the law is to prohibit the wearing of masks or other face coverings in public, unless the mask is worn for protecting the wearer’s health, safety or for religious or celebratory reasons.

The law also gives police the power to jail mask-wearers for no more than a year or fine them up to $1,000.

“Today, we will take a strong step forward.  Working with the police, we will make a difference,” Mazi Pilip, the Nassau County legislator who proposed this law last month, said at Monday’s vote 

“This is about fairness,” Jennifer DeSena, Town of North Hempstead supervisor, said in support of the law. “This is about protecting our families, our children from hate, violence, harassment and crime.”

The minority caucus contended that the law’s punishments is an overstep in constitutional rights. In the bill they presented, criminals would receive an elevated charge if they wear a mask while committing a crime, whereas the Mask Transparency Act can charge anyone violating the ban with a misdemeanor.

“We prepared an alternative bill that is much more targeted, much more efficient, and we want the Republican majority to consider that,” said Arnold Drucker, Democratic legislator.

Drucker said both the Republican and Democratic legislative bodies want to address this issue and he called for more discussion between the two parties. He said there can be a compromise between the Democratic bill and the new law.

“We’re still in agreement that something has to be done to protect our constituents from the protesters and people who are seeking to do nefarious things under the guise of wearing a mask,” Seth Koslow, a Democratic legislator, said. “We’re willing to support a bill like this, but it’s a testament to the Blakeman administration and the majority about how they’re not willing to work with us to work on a resolution that benefits everyone.”

Scott Davis, a Democratic legislator, reiterated his fellow colleague’s statements by clarifying that the reason for proposing the bill is not a blanket opposition to the Mask Transparency Act. The Democratic opposition, he said, reflects the way that law was constructed.

“We want a law that provides clarity and enforcement so that law enforcement officials aren’t confused and they know how to apply this law in an equitable fashion,” Davis said.

Under the Mask Transparency Act, a law enforcement officer may require people to remove their mask during traffic stops or when the officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or sees someone take part in criminal activity. Koslow said the police will be tasked with asking people what religion they are to make sure that they are wearing masks for legal reasons. This will, according to Koslow, lead to more complaints, more negative responses and more problems within the community.

“We do not want to put our police officers in a position where they have to use subjectivity to determine someone’s intent and why they’re wearing a mask,” Siela Bynoe, a Democratic legislator, said. 

Bynoe said the Democrats’ proposed bill is designed to protect one group of individuals while not putting others at risk. She said since African-American and Latino communities are disproportionately affected by COVID, they are going to be wearing masks more than other groups of people.

“Let’s target criminals and not citizens,” Byone said.

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Democratic Minority Caucus leader, said she anticipates the new law will be challenged by a lawsuit.

In a press release, DeRiggi-Whitton said the caucus remains open to meeting with Republican colleagues to craft legislation to protect the health and safety of Nassau County residents.