According to engadget, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the RAISE Act into law on Friday, December 13th. The legislation targets large AI developers, forcing them to publish safety protocols and report any incidents within 72 hours. It also creates a new AI safety and transparency office within the Department of Financial Services. But the penalties were dramatically reduced from the bill’s June version. Instead of fines up to $10 million for a first violation, companies now face a maximum of $1 million. Subsequent violations are capped at $3 million, down from a potential $30 million.
The real impact
So, what does this actually mean? Here’s the thing: a $1 million fine for a trillion-dollar tech giant is basically a parking ticket. It’s a cost of doing business. The real teeth in this law aren’t the penalties—it’s the transparency and the new oversight office. Forcing companies to disclose safety protocols and report incidents quickly creates a paper trail and public accountability. That oversight office, issuing annual reports, will be the entity to watch. It could name and shame companies in ways that hurt their reputation more than any fine. And look, following California’s similar move from September, it solidifies a coastal blueprint for state-level AI governance.
Winners, losers, and political tension
Who wins? Honestly, the big AI firms probably do. They just avoided the much steeper fines initially on the table. They also get a somewhat predictable state-level framework to operate within, at least in New York. The losers are anyone hoping for truly punitive measures that would force a fundamental change in how these models are built and deployed. Now, the political tension is impossible to ignore. Governor Hochul signed this while, at the federal level, President Trump is pushing to preempt state laws like this one with a “minimally burdensome national standard.” We’re heading for a classic states’ rights vs. federal oversight clash in the tech world. Which framework will hold? It’s a mess, and companies caught in the middle might just lobby for the weakest option.
Beyond just safety
It’s worth noting this isn’t Hochul’s only AI move this month. She also signed laws focusing on AI in the entertainment industry. So New York is clearly trying to be a comprehensive regulator, not just on frontier model safety but on specific use cases. The full text of the RAISE Act, available on the governor’s site, sets a precedent. Other states will likely copy this template, fines and all. But does it make us safer? The reporting rules might help. The weakened fines? Not so much. It feels like a first, cautious step where a leap was needed.
