Andrew Gournardes is a New York State Senator (D) and the lead sponsor of the RAISE Act (New York RAISE Act), a frontier-AI safety bill enacted through S6953B chapter amendments and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 22, 2025.
RAISE Act sponsorship
Gournardes was the lead Senate sponsor of the RAISE Act (New York RAISE Act), which advanced as the S6953B chapter amendments. The bill was co-sponsored in the Assembly by Alex Bores and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 22, 2025.
Positions and statements
In a statement marking the December 22, 2025 signing, Gournardes said:
"This is an enormous win for the safety of our communities, the growth of our economy and the future of our society. The RAISE Act lays the groundwork for a world where AI innovation makes life better instead of putting it at risk. Big tech oligarchs think it's fine to put their profits ahead of our safety — we disagree. With this law, we make clear that tech innovation and safety don't have to be at odds. In New York, we can lead in both."
Gournardes's "big tech oligarchs" language aligns more closely with the populist framing of AI politics described in the Atlantic's Bernie-to-Bannon account than with the technocratic transparency framing prominent in California's SB 53, authored by Scott Wiener. Whether this rhetoric reflects a substantive shift in how Democratic state-level AI bills are framed, or positioning specific to this measure, remains unresolved (see AI Political Cleavages).
Relationships
- sponsored: New York RAISE Act (S6953B chapter amendments)
- related: Alex Bores (Assembly co-sponsor), Kathy Hochul (signed), Scott Wiener (CA SB 53 author; parallel state-level effort), AI Political Cleavages