Key facts
- New York opened a registration portal on November 10, 2026 for large frontier AI developers to register by January 1, 2027.
- The RAISE Act applies to companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue and takes effect at the start of 2027.
- Penalties under the RAISE Act can reach $1 million for one violation and $3 million for subsequent violations.
- Governor Kathy Hochul launched the New York Center for AI Responsibility and Research at Binghamton University on November 10, 2026.
- California's SB 53 took effect in January 2026 and requires critical safety incident reports within 15 days.
- Illinois's SB 315 is set to take effect at the start of 2027 and includes independent safety compliance audits.
New York opened a registration portal on November 10, 2026, requiring large frontier AI developers such as Anthropic and OpenAI to register by January 1, 2027, under the RAISE Act. The law, which takes effect at the start of 2027, applies to companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue and requires them to publish safety frameworks, report critical safety incidents within 72 hours, and issue public model transparency reports.
The newly formed Office of Digital Innovation, Governance, Integrity, and Trust (DIGIT) will implement the RAISE Act and oversee large frontier AI labs. Penalties can reach $1 million for a single violation and $3 million for subsequent violations. The state can also bring enforcement actions against companies that fail to register, though a spokesperson declined to provide specifics.
"Tech moguls tell us that their vision for AI is inevitable," Governor Kathy Hochul said at a press briefing on November 10, 2026. "They tell us get on board or get left behind …That any collateral damage is worth it as long as we win the race to the AI cliff." Hochul also launched the New York Center for AI Responsibility and Research at the State University of New York's Binghamton University. The center will independently evaluate the safety, security, and operation of advanced AI systems and work with DIGIT to review companies' safety frameworks. Hochul first announced the center in January with $55 million in donations and capital.
"We're building a national model for smart, sensible AI regulation, a model that puts communities above corporations and people above powerful technology," Hochul said.
The RAISE Act is not New York's only AI safety law. The state began enforcing a law in 2025 requiring AI companion operators to regularly inform users they are talking to a bot and to make reasonable efforts to detect suicidal ideation and self-harm. In October 2026, Hochul signed a separate chatbot safety law for minors, restricting deceptive human-like interactions, emotionally manipulative or sycophantic responses, and encouragement of suicide or disordered eating. That law takes effect June 1, 2027.
Other states have passed similar AI safety and transparency bills. California's SB 53, which took effect in January 2026, mandates that frontier AI labs publish safety frameworks, enact whistleblower protections, and report critical safety incidents within 15 days. Illinois's SB 315, set to take effect at the start of 2027, has similar requirements plus independent safety compliance audits.