Gov. Hochul Drops Bid for New Crime of ‘Masked Harassment’ in NY Budget Talks

As negotiations over the late state budget limp along, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed restriction on wearing facemasks in public remains one of the last sticking points.

But after weeks in which a partial mask ban hardly came up, officials said Hochul this week proposed narrowing her demand by only seeking tougher penalties for people who commit assault or harassment while wearing masks.

That new offer, according to state Sen. James Skoufis, means Hochul has abandoned her push to create a new criminal offense of “masked harassment.” The Democratic governor had previously endorsed legislation introduced by Skoufis that included both harsher penalties and the new offense.

Skoufis’s bill has encountered significant resistance from progressive state lawmakers. They said the new masked harassment offense was subjective and could be used to crack down on protesters who wear masks to conceal their identities.

Skoufis said the new language responded to those concerns.

“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. “I’m supportive of this approach. I think it’s a fair compromise.”

Hochul’s spokesperson Avi Small didn’t return messages seeking comment. Hochul has said she opposes people wearing masks to harass, threaten or intimidate others. She supports exceptions for people who wear masks for medical or religious reasons.

Restrictions on public masking have been a top priority for Hochul during negotiations over the state budget, which will spend more than $250 billion and is three weeks past its April 1 due date. Mask policy is one of the last major sticking points in budget talks.

A Siena College poll released Tuesday found 64% of voters surveyed supported making it a crime for a person to conceal their identity with a mask while threatening or harassing someone. The poll also found broad support for Hochul’s proposal to prohibit students from using cellphones in schools.

Lawmakers last week said they reached the framework of an agreement to change laws around discovery, which dictate how evidence is shared before a criminal trial. They left the Capitol before Easter hopeful that the rest of the spending plan would start falling into place.

But that optimism was somewhat tempered on Tuesday. Legislators approved a stopgap bill that will fund the government through Thursday. They then retreated behind closed doors to receive briefings on the status of talks and emerged to say many things haven’t been resolved.

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

Legislators stressed that the new proposal hasn’t been agreed to, and it’s unclear whether Hochul will continue to hold up the budget over the policy item. The governor told reporters over the weekend that mask restrictions weren’t among her original budget priorities, and a bill might instead be considered after the budget is resolved.

Story by Jimmy Vielkind/WNYC/New York Public Radio Network
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Image: Gov. Kathy Hochul tours a COVID-19 vaccination and testing site in Johnson City in this Dec. 20, 2021, file photo. (Credit: Mike Groll/Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office)