Overview

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five laws that include SB 627, a first-in-the-nation ban on most face coverings for on-duty local and federal officers, with exemptions for undercover work, medical masks and tactical gear, and an exemption for state police.
• Companion measures require officers to display identifying information, restrict immigration enforcement access to nonpublic areas of hospitals without a judicial order, and mandate school notifications and warrant requirements when agents come onto campuses.
• The mask ban takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, while the identification, school and health-care provisions are effective immediately.
• The Department of Homeland Security denounced the mask ban as “despicable,” arguing masks protect agents from doxxing and harassment, as supporters counter that transparency deters abuse and impersonation.
• Law-enforcement groups and legal scholars say California’s ability to apply the mask rule to federal agents is uncertain and likely to be litigated, following months of Los Angeles raids that triggered protests and National Guard and Marine deployments.