A 5008: Waives the ability of government agencies in New York to claim copyright protection except where the record reflects artistic, creative or scholarly works of authorship, academic course materials, or scientific or academic research, or if the copyright owner intends to distribute the record of derivative work based on it to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership.
What A 5008 does, verified May 5, 2026
The bill aims to amend the Public Officers Law in New York to clarify the copyright protection for government records. The bill waives any copyright in a record prepared by an agency that is required to be disclosed, except in certain cases. These exceptions include records that reflect artistic, creative, or scholarly works, academic course materials, or scientific research. Additionally, if the copyright owner intends to distribute the record or a derivative work based on it to the public, they may elect to waive the copyright. The bill will take effect sixty days after it becomes a law.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: advanced to third reading cal.354 (2026-04-23)Alert me
Quick answers about A 5008
- What is the current status of A 5008?
- As of May 5, 2026, A 5008 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on April 23, 2026, was "advanced to third reading cal.354".
- Did A 5008 pass?
- Not yet. A 5008 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 5008, and where is it now?
- A 5008 was authored by Asm. Steven Raga with 2 coauthors. It is filed under PBO, alongside 82 other New York PBO bills this session.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions4 total · showing 4
| Apr. 23, 2026 | advanced to third reading cal.354 |
| Apr. 21, 2026 | reported |
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to governmental operations |
| Feb. 10, 2025 | referred to governmental operations |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 10, 2025 · 253 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5008 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAGA, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to the ability of government agencies in New York to claim copyright protection The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 89 of the public officers law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 11 to read as follows: 3 11. Any copyright in a record prepared by an agency that is required 4 to be disclosed pursuant to the provisions of this article is waived, 5 except where the record reflects or includes artistic, creative or scho- 6 larly works of authorship, academic course materials, or scientific or 7 academic research, or if the copyright owner intends to distribute the 8 record or a derivative work based on it to the public by sale or other 9 transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or license. If any of the 10 foregoing exceptions apply, the copyright owner may in its discretion 11 elect to waive any such copyright. 12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 13 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02535-01-5
Text of A 5008 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions