Albany County officials are reassessing their options after opposition mounted over a proposal to make refusing a security screening at Albany International Airport a misdemeanor.

Several groups – from Muslim advocacy organizations to the New York Civil Liberties Union – came out against the law, which was initially proposed in April under bipartisan support. Opponents of the law say it could lead to confusion, unwarranted arrests and potential racial and religious profiling. It currently sits in Albany County's Public Safety Committee.

County Sheriff Craig Apple said he's met with many of those concerned about the proposed measures and continues to work with the Legislature with hope of coming to a compromise.

"Our goal is not to make arrests, our goal is to provide safe travel," Apple said. "We're trying to get a balancing point where we're not infringing, but yet we're doing all that we can do to keep you safe."

The law aims to cover a weak spot in the current system that allows passengers to walk away without boarding their flights if security staff flags them for additional scrutiny, Apple said, adding that his deputies currently don't have legal grounds to question such a person.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration has no police power of its own and currently can only levy a fine.

The way the proposed law is written, a passenger could be in violation of the law should they leave the line even prior to going through metal detectors and having luggage scanned.

Apple and local TSA Federal Security Director Bart Johnson said there's potential for the state to pursue the matter, but nothing has been officially proposed.

"I would characterize it as it's being reviewed. Nothing's imminent," Johnson said. "Nothing has been written formally."

State Police have had early stage conversations with the TSA about a statewide approach, spokesman Beau Duffy confirmed, but "nothing has come to fruition at this point," he said.

"I think the whole involvement of the local authorities in these issues is probably a mistake," said Stephen Gottlieb, an Albany Law School professor who concentrates on constitutional law. "The federal and local authorities often stumble upon each other and create huge and unnecessary problems."

A TSA spokesperson on Tuesday said they couldn't comment on the pending legislation, but said that this isn't an official stance of the federal group.

"The local TSA Federal Security Director (Johnson) provided technical support to the Albany Sheriff's Office on legislation it was developing to improve security specific to Albany International Airport," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Apple said the local TSA reached out to the sheriff's office to see if they would support the measure.

"We believed in it, and we agreed with them, and then we approached our local legislators," Apple said, but public opposition has prompted them to take another look. "We've agreed to fall back, research it and hopefully find a balancing point."

Johnson couldn't be reached for clarification following TSA's emailed response later Tuesday.

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