New York Finalizes AI Safety Law After Last-Minute Negotiations (RAISE Act)
Weekly Update, Vol. 83.
Key Takeaways
The final New York AI safety law closely aligns with the California AI safety law, focusing on regulating frontier AI models and introducing new reporting and transparency requirements for large developers.
The New York RAISE Act exempts academic research and narrows its scope to frontier models developed or operated in New York, which may help address legal challenges and clarify compliance obligations.
Key provisions of the New York AI safety law include mandatory safety plans, transparency reports, and incident disclosures, with large frontier developers facing additional requirements and assessments to fund oversight.
Unlike earlier drafts and the initial proposal, the final RAISE Act omits third-party audit and whistleblower protections, but maintains a 72-hour incident reporting rule and lowers civil fines compared to the original proposal.
State AI legislation in 2026 is expected to remain a priority, with New York enacting several other AI-related laws last year, including new rules for chatbots, synthetic media disclosures, and funding for AI research initiatives.
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New York, in usual fashion, waited right up until the final moments of 2025 to make final decisions on key bills. Perhaps the most high-profile AI proposal in the Empire State was the RAISE Act, which the governor signed in late December, but with some significant changes aligning the bill to California’s own AI safety law enacted last year.
Lawmakers approved the RAISE Act (NY AB 6453 / SB 6953) back in June 2025, but because of some unique aspects of the legislative process in New York, the governor had until the end of the year to act on the bill. Speculation about whether she would sign it into law or veto the bill stretched out until December 19, when Gov. Hochul (D) signed the bill into law, but with significant changes.
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