Sen. Gounardes and AM Bores: California Shows Commonsense AI Safeguards are Possible. Now, New York Must Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2025

New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Alex Bores issued the following statement in response to California Governor Gavin Newsom signing the AI safety bill SB53 into law:

“This groundbreaking California law makes one thing clear: commonsense safeguards on advanced AI are both necessary and possible. For AI to reach its transformative potential, it needs to be safe and trustworthy. That’s what makes this legislation so effective: it’s pro-safety and pro-innovation.

“Like California’s new law, our RAISE Act does a simple, crucial thing—ensure the most advanced AI developers have a plan to avoid putting our safety at risk. In the absence of federal leadership, California and New York can act to create a new, de facto national standard that protects our communities and enables AI to flourish.

“California has done its part. Now, it’s time for New York to rise to the moment and sign the RAISE Act into law.”

Background:

While AI drives innovation across New York—from healthcare to climate solutions—there is growing consensus among experts that the policy window to address severe risks may close soon. One recent report noted that "the opportunity to establish effective AI governance frameworks may not remain open indefinitely."

The International AI Safety Report has warned that near-future AI systems may result in “large-scale labour market impacts, AI-enabled hacking or biological attacks, and society losing control over general-purpose AI,” among other potential risks to public safety.

The Responsible AI Safety and Education Act (RAISE) Act (S6953B/A6453B) requires the largest AI companies to create basic safety and security protocols for severe risks such as assisting in the creation of bioweapons or carrying out automated criminal activity. The bill has passed both houses of the New York State Legislature and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Press Contact:

Billy Richling

Communications Director

State Senator Andrew Gounardes

billy@senatorgounardes.nyc

Anna Myers

Chief of Staff
Assemblymember Alex Bores

anna@alexbores.nyc 

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