21 Sep 2026
New York directs frontier AI developers to register under the RAISE Act
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced next steps for New York’s RAISE Act — large frontier AI developers will be directed to register with the state starting in November, with full transparency and 72-hour critical-incident reporting required beginning January 2027 through a new DIGIT office at DFS.
GOVERNMENT desk — while Washington stalls, New York is turning a signed AI safety law into a live registration-and-reporting machine for frontier labs.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced on 21 Sep 2026 the next steps for New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education Act, shortened to the RAISE Act. The record is a rush transcript from the New York State Office of the Governor, carried the same day by EIN Presswire and stamped September 21, 2026, 16:46 GMT, which is 12:46 p.m. Eastern. A rush transcript is a same-day text of her remarks. It is not the statute. These lines are the Governor’s, via that transcript.
What she said starts in November. New York will direct large frontier AI developers to register with the state and get ready for the RAISE Act’s transparency, safety, and incident-reporting rules. Frontier AI, in her wording, means the developers of the most advanced systems, the large labs. Register means file with the state before the full rules apply.
What she said starts in January 2027. AI companies must then comply with those standards and send regular reports to a new office inside the New York State Department of Financial Services, or DFS. DFS is the state agency that already regulates banks and insurers. The office is the Office of Digital Innovation, Governance, Integrity and Trust. The initials spell DIGIT. Hochul said the effective date of the law is January.
The 72-hour rule, still her remarks. Critical safety incidents must be reported within 72 hours. She also said companies will have to publish their safety protocols. A safety protocol is the written plan for how a developer tries to keep a system from causing serious harm. A critical safety incident is her phrase for the events that trip that 72-hour report. The rush transcript does not print the statute’s definition of that incident.
Who will run the office. Hochul announced Marc Gilman as Deputy Director of DIGIT. She said he has years in technology risk management and compliance, and that he has been general counsel on regulatory issues for financial firms. She named Attorney General Tish James as the enforcer who will see that the laws are implemented, and she named the RAISE Act’s sponsors as Senator Gounardes and Assemblymember Bores.
The kill-switch sentence is a maybe. Hochul said the state may explore safeguards like AI “kill switches” if they are deemed feasible and in the state’s interest. A kill switch, in that sentence, means a way to shut a system down. “May even explore” and “if they’re deemed feasible” are her limits. That is not a kill-switch requirement, and it is not a rule that took effect on this announcement.
What she did not number. She said companies that do not follow the rules will face civil penalties. A civil penalty is a fine a government can seek, not a criminal charge. The rush transcript does not state a dollar amount. This filing does not invent one. She said she signed the RAISE Act last year, after the Legislature passed it. She said that made New York one of the first states to put significant rules on AI, and she called the law nation-leading. Those are her descriptions. This card is the 21 Sep next-steps announcement. It is not a new statute, and it is not a federal law.
The $500 million line is the New York Post’s, not the transcript’s. Hannah Fierick’s story, published Sep. 21, 2026, at 2:28 p.m. ET, reports that beginning in November, AI developers with annual revenues exceeding $500 million will have to register with DFS. The Governor’s transcript says “large frontier AI developers” and does not print that dollar figure, and it places full compliance in January 2027, not in the November registration. File $500 million, and the Post’s line that November registration is with DFS, as the Post’s.
Plain English for the rest of the card: RAISE Act = New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education Act. frontier AI developer = a lab building the most advanced systems, as the Governor uses the phrase. register = file with the state before the full rules apply. DIGIT = the Office of Digital Innovation, Governance, Integrity and Trust, the new office inside DFS. DFS = the New York State Department of Financial Services. critical safety incident = the Governor’s phrase for an event that must be reported within 72 hours. The transcript does not define it further here. safety protocol = the written safety plan a company must publish. civil penalty = a fine, not a criminal charge. No dollar amount is in the transcript. kill switch = her exploratory phrase for a shutdown safeguard. It is not a requirement announced on 21 Sep. This filing is that announcement. It is not a federal statute.