A 8515: Enacts the whale awareness act directing the department of environmental conservation to establish recommendations and educational materials for reduction of marine mammal interactions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8515 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY May 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. KASSAY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, the navigation law and the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to enacting the whale awareness act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "whale 2 awareness act". 3 § 2. Article 13 of the environmental conservation law is amended by 4 adding a new title 9 to read as follows: 5 TITLE 9 6 WHALE AWARENESS ACT 7 Section 13-0901. Marine mammal interaction recommendations and educa- 8 tional materials. 9 13-0903. Distribution of materials. 10 § 13-0901. Marine mammal interaction recommendations and educational 11 materials. 12 The department shall establish recommendations and educational materi- 13 als for reduction of marine mammal interactions. In developing such 14 recommendations and educational materials, the department shall consult 15 with the port authority of New York and New Jersey, the department of 16 transportation, and any other relevant agencies, and such agencies shall 17 provide appropriate assistance to the department. In furtherance of the 18 foregoing, the department shall also seek input from the United States 19 coast guard, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and the 20 marine mammal commission. For purposes of this section, "marine mammal 21 interaction" means an act that constitutes harassment within the meaning 22 of 16 U.S.C. 1362. 23 § 13-0903. Distribution of materials. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04652-05-5 
 A. 8515 2 1 Recommendations and educational materials developed pursuant to 2 section 13-0901 of this title shall be provided to registrants of 3 vessels registered in the state in accordance with section twenty-two 4 hundred fifty-one of the vehicle and traffic law. 5 § 3. Section 75 of the navigation law, as amended by chapter 361 of 6 the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 7 § 75. Educational program. In order to protect the public interest in 8 the prudent and equitable use of the waters of the state and enhance the 9 enjoyment of pleasure boating and other sports thereon, the commissioner 10 shall initiate and put into effect a comprehensive educational program 11 designed to advance boating safety, which provides for the training of 12 all boat operators in the safe operation of vessels including personal 13 watercraft and specialty prop-craft. Such educational program shall 14 include basic information regarding the prohibitions against harassment 15 of marine mammals within the meaning of 16 U.S.C. 1362. 16 § 4. Section 2251 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding 17 a new subdivision 10 to read as follows: 18 10. Marine mammal interaction prevention. In issuing a registration 19 pursuant to this section with respect to any registration application 20 where the address therein is in the county of Suffolk, Nassau, Kings, 21 Queens, New York, Richmond, Bronx, Westchester, or Rockland, the commis- 22 sioner shall also provide marine mammal interaction prevention recommen- 23 dations and educational materials developed pursuant to section 13-0901 24 of the environmental conservation law. 25 § 5. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, 26 section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent 27 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or 28 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation 29 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof 30 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 31 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 32 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 33 had not been included herein. 34 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 35 it shall have become a law.