New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs the RAISE Act to regulate AI safety

Governor Kathy Hochul has signed the RAISE Act, making New York the second US state to enact major legislation related to AI safety.

State lawmakers passed the RAISE Act in June, but after pressure from the tech industry, Hochul proposed changes to scale back the bill. The New York Times reported that Hochul eventually agreed to sign the original bill, while lawmakers agreed to make the requested changes next year.

The bill would require large AI developers to post information about their safety protocols and report safety incidents to the state within 72 hours. A new office will also be established within the Department of Financial Services to monitor the development of artificial intelligence.

If companies fail to submit safety reports or make false statements, they can be fined up to $1 million ($3 million for subsequent violations).

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a similar safety bill in September, which Hochul referenced in her announcement.

“This law builds on the framework recently adopted in California, creating a uniform standard among the nation’s leading technology states as the federal government lags behind and fails to implement common-sense regulations that protect the public,” Hochul said.

“Big Tech thought they could worm their way into killing our bill. We shut them down and passed the strongest AI safety law in the country,” posted State Senator Andrew Gounardes, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have expressed their support for the New York bill while also calling for federal legislation, with Sarah Heck, head of external affairs at Anthropic, telling the New York Times: “The fact that two of the largest states in the country have now enacted AI transparency legislation indicates the critical importance of safety and should inspire Congress to build on it.”

Not everyone in the tech industry has been so supportive. In fact, a super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman is looking to challenge Assemblyman Alex Burris, who co-sponsored the bill with Gounardes. (“I appreciate how clear they are on this,” Boris told reporters.)

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

We also discussed Trump’s executive order, and the role Sacks and a16z have played in opposing government AI regulation, on the latest episode of the Equity podcast.