New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs RAISE Act regulating AI safety

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the RAISE Act, making New York the second state in the U.S. to enact major AI safety legislation.

The state Legislature passed the RAISE Act in June, but Hochul proposed changes to scale back the bill after lobbying from the technology industry. The New York Times reported that Hochul ultimately agreed to sign the original bill and that lawmakers agreed to implement the changes she requested next year.

The bill would require large-scale AI developers to publicly disclose information about their safety protocols and report safety incidents to the state within 72 hours. It will also create a new office within the Department of Financial Services to oversee AI developments.

Companies that fail to submit safety reports or make false statements can be subject to fines of up to $1 million ($3 million for subsequent violations).

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a similar safety bill in September, which Hochul noted in his announcement.

“This legislation builds on California’s recently adopted framework, which creates uniform standards among the nation’s leading technology states at a time when the federal government has lagged behind and failed to put in place common-sense regulations that protect the public,” Hochul said.

“Big Tech thought they could defeat our bill. We shut them down and passed the strongest AI safety law in the country,” tweeted state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, one of the bill’s sponsors.

While OpenAI and Anthropic both voiced support for the New York bill, they also called for federal legislation, with Sarah Heck, head of external affairs at Anthropic, telling the NYT: “The fact that two of the nation’s largest states have enacted AI transparency legislation shows the critical importance of safety and should encourage Congress to ensure it.”

Not everyone in the tech industry was so supportive. In fact, a super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman is attempting to challenge Gounardes and Rep. Alex Boas, who co-sponsored the bill. (Boas told reporters: “I appreciate that they spoke up about it.”)

This comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to challenge state AI laws. The order, backed by President Trump’s AI czar David Sachs, is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to rein in countries’ ability to regulate AI, and is likely to be challenged in court.

The latest episode of the Equity Podcast also discussed the Trump executive order and the role Saks and a16z played in opposing state AI regulations.