GREAT WORK! Mask Ban stopped in the budget!

Hi Friends!

We are reaching out to you with a little bit of pre-Shabbos/Shabbat/Weekend news: New York State finally has a budget, and because of all the work you put in — signing, calling, organizing — we stopped a mask ban. 

This is a big deal. Governor Hochul did all she could to try to get a mask ban passed. She used the budget process, where she has the most legislative power, and she used a sneak attack by not naming it as a priority until two weeks before the budget was due. And thanks to your efforts, she got something so incredibly watered down that our opposition said this is a “nothingburger” and plan to continue.

What we know: There is no mask ban. Masks are still legal. You cannot be arrested or stopped for wearing a mask. This is because of you and how hard you and others like you across New York fought against this unconscionable policy. Whether you made calls, got your neighbors and networks involved, and organized office visits, our collective actions made a massive difference. It gave legislators who knew this was a terrible idea the support they needed to push back against the Governor, who held up the state budget for the latest it has been in 15 years, for trying to include this nonsense. 

Unfortunately, this was not a complete victory. The budget includes a new secondary charge
of “evading arrest by concealing identity,” which is a class B misdemeanor that can only be charged if you are accused of another more serious crime. Legal experts believe the new charge is unlikely to be enforced, given its weak penalties and difficult burden of proof. We are cautiously optimistic that the new charge will rarely, if ever, be enforced.

We're still talking to legal experts to understand exactly what this means, but we feel confident that this is significantly less harmful than what the Governor tried to force through back in mid-March. Unfortunately, the other side knows this too and has said that they see it as just the first step, and plan to continue pushing for a Masked Harassment bill. We’ll stay organized and ready to push back when this comes up again, likely before the legislative session ends mid-June. 

In the meantime, take a breath and celebrate what we accomplished together. We are so grateful for everyone who got involved, including you! Have a great weekend, and we’ll be back in touch when we know more about next steps.

Gut Shabbos/Shabbat Shalom/Have a great weekend!

J4MR