A New York assemblyman has reintroduced a new bill that aims to essentially disable strong encryption on all smartphones sold in the Empire State.

Among other restrictions, the proposed law states that "any smartphone that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2016 and sold or leased in New York, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider."

If it passes both houses of the state legislature and is signed by the governor, the bill would likely be the first state law that would impose new restrictions on mobile-based cryptography. Undoubtedly, if it makes it that far, the law would likely face legal challenges from Apple and Google, among others.

Many local and federal law enforcement authorities have been pushing back against the widespread adoption of easy-to-use strong encryption by default. In July 2015, New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said "the safety of all American communities is imperiled by" iOS 8. In September 2014, Apple took a stronger pro-encryption stance, saying that under iOS 8 (and later) devices it was unable to access customer data. Currently, Apple is also fighting a federal government demand to help unlock a criminal suspect’s iPhone in federal court in New York.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-Staten Island), did not respond to Ars’ repeated requests for comment. However, in the bill’s written purpose, Titone cites recent attempts by federal authorities to impose a "backdoor" on strong encryption that currently exists on smartphones.

As he writes:

Recent technological advances have the potential to greatly embolden online criminals, providing new methods for abusers to avoid detection. The United States Attorney General, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and others have severely criticized the efforts of smartphone manufacturers to keep evidence immune from lawful process. Criticism, however, is not enough. … Smartphone companies benefit immeasurably from the laws protecting intellectual property, as well as from extensive federal regulation. There is no reason criminals should also benefit, and they will, as people will be defrauded or threatened, and terrorists will use these encrypted devices to plot their next attack over FaceTime. The safety of the citizenry calls for a legislative solution, and a solution is easily at hand. Enacting this bill would penalize those who would sell smartphones that are beyond the reach of law enforcement. If enacted, this bill would provide a significant deterrent to such sellers, and therefore would discourage the companies from continuing to provide such smartphone software.

At a congressional hearing in April 2015, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) swatted down law enforcement’s arguments that they needed new expansive powers to weaken crypto.

Lieu, who describes himself as a "recovering computer science major" and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves, said giving the government a backdoor was ludicrous.

"It is clear to me that creating a pathway for decryption only for good guys is technologically stupid. You just can't do that," he said at the time.

While concerned, at least some legal watchers don't believe the bill will advance very far.

"I can't totally predict whether the bill will move, but I doubt it," Andrew Crocker, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars. "It isn't a remotely credible approach—likely unconstitutional. Also, it was first introduced last June and didn't go anywhere."

UPDATE 3:49pm ET: Also, it's worth pointing out that even if this bill does pass, it wouldn't be terribly difficult for New Yorkers to cross a state line to buy a smartphone.