New York Lawmakers Oppose Federal Preemption of AI Safety Laws
- •NY state lawmakers Bores and Gounardes urge House Democrats to oppose federal AI preemption.
- •Proposed federal framework could override New York's RAISE Act, which mandates AI transparency and reporting.
- •Congressional negotiations between Reps. Obernolte and Trahan remain stalled over mandatory model release and disclosure rules.
New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores and State Senator Andrew Gounardes, both Democrats, have formally urged House Democrats from New York to reject federal legislative efforts that would preempt state-level artificial intelligence safety laws. The lawmakers specifically target ongoing negotiations between Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), which seek to establish a federal framework capable of overriding regulations like New York’s RAISE Act. Signed into law last year by Governor Kathy Hochul, the RAISE Act imposes transparency and reporting requirements on AI developers to mitigate potential catastrophic risks.
In their letter sent on Thursday, Bores and Gounardes criticized federal proposals to block state action, arguing that Congress has failed to implement a comprehensive approach to address AI-related harms. The state legislators contend that federal preemption would undermine transparency standards that allow the public to identify when powerful systems fail. This push from New York follows similar opposition from Massachusetts state lawmakers who previously warned Trahan against reaching a deal that would limit state-level oversight.
The congressional negotiations led by Obernolte and Trahan currently remain at an impasse regarding whether federal transparency requirements should be mandatory and if the government should possess the authority to block the release of dangerous AI models. Meanwhile, Bores, who is currently running for Congress to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, faces significant political opposition; a pro-AI super PAC network called Leading the Future has reportedly spent over $1 million on advertising against his candidacy. Both Trahan and Obernolte’s offices declined to comment on the letter.