Overview
- Senate Bill 5855 received its first hearing before Washington’s Senate Law & Justice Committee on Jan. 14, with an executive session set for Thursday.
- The measure would bar local, state and federal officers from using identity‑concealing face coverings during public interactions, with exemptions for medical needs, hazardous conditions, undercover work and SWAT operations, and it allows civil suits against unlawfully masked local or state officers.
- Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office and community advocates urged passage to bolster transparency, while the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and the Association of Washington Cities warned of new legal exposure and costs for municipalities.
- Department of Justice representatives told lawmakers the Supremacy Clause prevents the state from regulating federal agents and argued masking protects officers as DHS data show steep increases in assaults, doxxing and threats against ICE personnel, including a rise in reported assaults from 19 in 2024 to 275 in 2025.
- Washington’s proposal mirrors California’s anti‑masking law that is paused for federal agents while a Los Angeles judge weighs DOJ’s request to block it, prompting some lawmakers to suggest waiting for the court’s ruling.