<STYLE><!--U {color: Green}S {color: RED} I {color: DARKBLUE; background-color:yellow} P.brk {page-break-before:always}--></STYLE> <BASEFONT SIZE=3> <PRE WIDTH="99"> <FONT SIZE=5><B> STATE OF NEW YORK</B></FONT> ________________________________________________________________________ 2292--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions <FONT SIZE=5><B> IN SENATE</B></FONT> January 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee 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 <B><U>The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-</U></B> <B><U>bly, do enact as follows:</U></B> 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 <B><U>TITLE 9</U></B> 6 <B><U>WHALE AWARENESS ACT</U></B> 7 <B><U>Section 13-0901. Marine mammal interaction recommendations and educa-</U></B> 8 <B><U>tional materials.</U></B> 9 <B><U>13-0903. Distribution of materials.</U></B> 10 <B><U>§ 13-0901. Marine mammal interaction recommendations and educational</U></B> 11 <B><U>materials.</U></B> 12 <B><U>The department shall establish recommendations and educational materi-</U></B> 13 <B><U>als for reduction of marine mammal interactions. In developing such</U></B> 14 <B><U>recommendations and educational materials, the department shall consult</U></B> 15 <B><U>with the port authority of New York and New Jersey, the department of</U></B> 16 <B><U>transportation, and any other relevant agencies, and such agencies shall</U></B> 17 <B><U>provide appropriate assistance to the department. In furtherance of the</U></B> 18 <B><U>foregoing, the department shall also seek input from the United States</U></B> 19 <B><U>coast guard, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and the</U></B> 20 <B><U>marine mammal commission. For purposes of this section, "marine mammal</U></B> 21 <B><U>interaction" means an act that constitutes harassment within the meaning</U></B> 22 <B><U>of 16 U.S.C. 1362.</U></B> EXPLANATION--Matter in <B><U>italics</U></B> (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [<B><S> </S></B>] is old law to be omitted. LBD04652-03-5 </PRE><P CLASS="brk"><PRE WIDTH="99"> S. 2292--A 2 1 <B><U>§ 13-0903. Distribution of materials.</U></B> 2 <B><U>Recommendations and educational materials developed pursuant to</U></B> 3 <B><U>section 13-0901 of this title shall be provided to registrants of</U></B> 4 <B><U>vessels registered in the state in accordance with section twenty-two</U></B> 5 <B><U>hundred fifty-one of the vehicle and traffic law.</U></B> 6 § 3. Section 75 of the navigation law, as amended by chapter 361 of 7 the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 8 § 75. Educational program. In order to protect the public interest in 9 the prudent and equitable use of the waters of the state and enhance the 10 enjoyment of pleasure boating and other sports thereon, the commissioner 11 shall initiate and put into effect a comprehensive educational program 12 designed to advance boating safety, which provides for the training of 13 all boat operators in the safe operation of vessels including personal 14 watercraft and specialty prop-craft. <B><U>Such educational program shall</U></B> 15 <B><U>include basic information regarding the prohibitions against harassment</U></B> 16 <B><U>of marine mammals within the meaning of 16 U.S.C. 1362.</U></B> 17 § 4. Section 2251 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding 18 a new subdivision 10 to read as follows: 19 <B><U>10. Marine mammal interaction prevention. In issuing a registration</U></B> 20 <B><U>pursuant to this section with respect to any registration application</U></B> 21 <B><U>where the address therein is in the county of Suffolk, Nassau, Kings,</U></B> 22 <B><U>Queens, New York, Richmond, Bronx, Westchester, or Rockland, the commis-</U></B> 23 <B><U>sioner shall also provide marine mammal interaction prevention recommen-</U></B> 24 <B><U>dations and educational materials developed pursuant to section 13-0901</U></B> 25 <B><U>of the environmental conservation law.</U></B> 26 § 5. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, 27 section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent 28 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or 29 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation 30 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof 31 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 32 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 33 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 34 had not been included herein. 35 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 36 it shall have become a law.