New York Passes RAISE Act, Establishing AI Regulation Blueprint

The law mirrors California's approach, creating a disclosure-driven framework for governing powerful AI models.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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New York has become a key player in artificial intelligence regulation with the passage of the Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act. The law, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, establishes a disclosure-driven framework for governing the most powerful AI models, similar to California's SB-53. The RAISE Act targets "large frontier developers" with over $500 million in annual revenue and models exceeding 10^26 operations, requiring them to publicly disclose risk assessments and mitigation plans. The law also mandates tight timelines for reporting critical safety incidents to regulators.

Why it matters

The RAISE Act signals how state-level AI governance is likely to scale and converge in the coming years, as more states look to regulate the technology. By mirroring California's approach, New York reinforces a disclosure-driven model that could become the de facto standard, especially given the state's economic influence. The law also comes amid a fragmented regulatory landscape and political tensions around state AI policies.

The details

The RAISE Act applies only to "large frontier developers" - companies with over $500 million in annual revenue that train or initiate the training of frontier models exceeding 10^26 operations. In practice, this targets a handful of major AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. The law focuses on "catastrophic risks" that could result in death, injury, or over $1 billion in damage. Covered developers must publicly disclose "frontier AI frameworks" explaining their risk assessment and mitigation practices, which must be updated annually or whenever a model is materially modified. They also have to publish transparency reports before deploying new or updated models. The law has aggressive incident reporting timelines, requiring notification to regulators within 72 hours of most critical safety incidents.

  • The RAISE Act was signed into law by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in December 2025.
  • California passed its own AI regulation law, SB-53, in 2025.

The players

Kathy Hochul

The Democratic governor of New York who signed the RAISE Act into law.

OpenAI

A major artificial intelligence company that is likely covered under the RAISE Act due to its size and the capabilities of its AI models.

Anthropic

A prominent AI research company that would also fall under the RAISE Act's regulations.

Meta Platforms Inc.

The parent company of Facebook, which operates powerful AI systems that would be subject to the RAISE Act.

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What they’re saying

“The RAISE Act reinforces that trajectory, especially given New York's economic influence and regulatory reach.”

— Gerald Kierce, CEO and co-founder at Trustible (Bloomberg Law)

“Companies that invest early in durable governance processes will be better positioned as more states follow the same playbook and the regulatory floor continues to rise.”

— John Heflin Hopkins-Gillispie, Director of policy and product counsel at Trustible (Bloomberg Law)

What’s next

Utah is now considering a bill inspired by the New York and California AI regulation laws.

The takeaway

The RAISE Act establishes a disclosure-driven framework for governing powerful AI models that could become a de facto standard as more states look to regulate the technology. The law's focus on transparency and incident reporting raises the operational bar for AI companies, signaling how state-level AI governance is likely to evolve in the coming years.