Hochul’s AI Move SPARKS Outrage in New York

New York’s Democrat governor is quietly trying to turn a tough AI safety bill into a Big Tech–approved copy of California law, and even her own party is sounding the alarm.

Story Snapshot

Gov. Kathy Hochul is attempting to gut New York’s RAISE Act and replace it with softer language copied from California’s SB 53.
Democrat lawmakers who wrote the bill say the rewrite caves to Big Tech pressure and strips out serious safety safeguards.
The fight unfolds as Trump’s new administration pursues a single national AI “rulebook” that could override weak blue‑state deals.
What happens in New York could decide whether tech giants answer to voters or to friendly regulators they helped shape.

Hochul’s Rewrite Turns a Tough AI Bill into a Softer California Clone

New York’s RAISE Act was passed by the state legislature in June 2025 as one of the first serious attempts to put transparency and safety requirements on so‑called frontier AI models, the large systems that can supercharge everything from finance to cyberattacks. Lawmakers crafted the bill to force powerful developers to disclose training data, document safety testing, and accept real penalties for hiding risks. After both chambers approved it, the bill landed on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk with a December 20 deadline.

Instead of signing the bill she was given, Hochul circulated redlined changes that would strip out the RAISE Act’s entire text and replace it with wording borrowed from California’s SB 53, a far lighter, industry‑friendly transparency measure. That move would swap New York’s detailed disclosure rules for a slimmer framework that tech companies already helped shape out west. Two separate sources who reviewed the edits confirmed that the changeover is essentially a word‑for‑word transplant of SB 53’s language.

Dem lawmakers cry foul as Hochul guts AI safety bill amid Big Tech pressurehttps://t.co/t6xtxt0qAA

— Spreading Fox News (@SpreadFoxnews) December 12, 2025

Big Tech Pressure Meets Democrat Infighting in Deep‑Blue New York

Big Tech lobbyists had already targeted the RAISE Act in the months before Hochul’s rewrite, warning it would “burden” AI developers who sit far from the direct point of harm and arguing that regulation should instead focus on end users and deployers. Industry groups like the Chamber of Progress urged Hochul to veto or weaken the bill, claiming it would chill innovation and push investment elsewhere. Their preferred alternative closely resembled California’s more lenient approach.

Democrat legislators who wrote and passed RAISE say Hochul’s edits do exactly what those industry memos demanded, trading away strict provisions they saw as necessary to prevent catastrophic AI misuse. Several have publicly cried foul, accusing the governor of letting corporate donors and Silicon Valley–aligned groups reshape the law after the fact. Hochul’s office insists campaign contributions play no role and says she is simply balancing innovation with consumer protection, but lawmakers argue the substance of the rewrite tells a different story.

Why This Matters Beyond New York: State Power, Federal Preemption, and Trump’s One Rulebook

The New York fight is unfolding just as President Trump’s new administration advances its own AI agenda, including talk of a “One Rulebook” executive order that could preempt some state‑level regulation. Supporters of the RAISE Act wanted New York to set a high bar for safety and transparency that Washington would have to match or exceed. If Hochul instead signs a watered‑down SB 53 clone, that benchmark shifts dramatically in Big Tech’s favor, weakening the leverage of stricter states.

Conservatives watching this process see a familiar pattern: blue‑state leaders talk tough about protecting ordinary people from powerful corporations, then quietly negotiate rules those same corporations can live with. By gutting a bill that targeted the companies building the most dangerous AI models, New York risks signaling that deep‑pocketed players can always rewrite the rules at the last minute. That stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s message of putting citizens and national security ahead of globalist tech interests.

Who Wins, Who Loses, and What Conservatives Should Watch Next

If Hochul’s rewrite becomes law, frontier AI developers gain a friendlier environment with fewer disclosure obligations and less legal exposure, while parents, small businesses, and local communities lose access to the stronger safeguards the legislature originally passed. Supporters of RAISE warn that weaker rules mean fewer tools to hold companies accountable if AI systems fuel fraud, data breaches, or critical‑infrastructure failures. They also note that children and vulnerable users are often the first victims when powerful technology is rolled out irresponsibly.

For conservative readers, the New York battle is a reminder that regulation can either protect freedom or entrench unaccountable power. Real transparency around frontier AI aligns with basic constitutional principles of accountability and limited government, ensuring bureaucrats and corporate giants cannot quietly experiment on the public. As Trump pushes for a clear national standard, the outcome in Albany will help determine whether states demand strong safeguards or settle for the light‑touch rules Silicon Valley prefers.