# New York A 8515: Enacts the whale awareness act

New York A 8515, Enacts the whale awareness act, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rebecca Kassay (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-07 (SIGNED CHAP.208) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A8515-2025
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: New York A 8515
- State: New York
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Enacts the whale awareness act
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-05-20
- Last action: 2026-08-07, SIGNED CHAP.208
- Sponsor: Rebecca Kassay (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 16
- Subjects: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (191 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Whale safety info for New York boaters: benefit, low. The law creates the Whale Awareness Act and defines unsafe interactions with whales and other marine mammals. The environmental agency develops and posts guidance online to help boaters avoid harming marine mammals, working with NOAA, the Coast Guard, and state partners. Party and charter boat owne…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rebecca Kassay (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Andrew Hevesi (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Brian Cunningham (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Chris Burdick (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Dana Levenberg (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Donna Lupardo (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jen Lunsford (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: John T. McDonald III (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jonathan Jacobson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Khaleel Anderson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Linda Rosenthal (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Michael J. Fitzpatrick (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Robert C. Carroll (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Sam Berger (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Steven Raga (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tommy Schiavoni (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tony Simone (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | FLOOR Vote | pass | 59 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Assembly floor vote | pass | 132 | 0 |   |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-08-07: SIGNED CHAP.208 (House)
- 2026-08-07: DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR (House)
- 2026-03-05: RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: PASSED SENATE (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: 3RD READING CAL.376 (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: SUBSTITUTED FOR S2292B (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: DELIVERED TO SENATE (House)
- 2026-02-24: PASSED ASSEMBLY (House)
- 2026-02-12: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING CAL.259 (House)
- 2026-02-10: REPORTED (House)
- 2026-02-05: PRINT NUMBER 8515A (House)
- 2026-02-05: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (House)
- 2026-01-07: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (House)
- 2025-05-20: REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (House)

## Bill text

- Amendment A, 2026-02-05: [PDF](https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/A8515A)
- Original, 2025-05-20: [PDF](https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/A8515)

## Related bills

- S 10643: Relates to labor peace agreements and the cannabis industry wage board; repealer (signed)
- S 9051: Prohibits artificial intelligence companions from using features which are considered unsafe for minors (signed)
- A 5175: Requires certain security features and warning labels on baby monitors (signed)
- A 11443: Relates to commercial food fish licenses (signed)
- A 10343: Relates to fees and expenses in unemployment insurance proceedings; extending effectiveness (signed)
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## Sources
- [Amendment A (PDF)](https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/A8515A)
- [Original (PDF)](https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2025/A8515)

## Related
- [S 10643: Relates to labor peace agreements and the cannabis industry wage board; repealer](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-S10643-2025)
- [S 9051: Prohibits artificial intelligence companions from using features which are cons…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-S9051-2025)
- [A 5175: Requires certain security features and warning labels on baby monitors](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A5175-2025)
- [A 11443: Relates to commercial food fish licenses](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A11443-2025)
- [A 10343: Relates to fees and expenses in unemployment insurance proceedings; extending e…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A10343-2025)
- [A 10052: Extends the effectiveness of the authority of the town of Red Hook to impose re…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A10052-2025)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/NY-A8515-2025 (as of 2026-10-19).