Congress
NY-12’s ‘AI guy’ hasn’t always voted in favor of tech guardrail legislation
NEW YORK — Whether the hopefuls looking to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler like it or not, their race has become a flashpoint for the national debate over how to regulate artificial intelligence — and Assemblymember Alex Bores has claimed the label of “AI guy.”
Much of Bores’ rise in the competitive campaign has stemmed from his signature policy in the state Legislature, the RAISE Act, one of the country’s landmark laws to establish guardrails for AI. It drew millions of dollars in attack ads against him from tech leaders who argue such regulations stymie innovation — and even more from those in the industry who are friendlier to AI oversight and are now boosting Bores.
Some of Bores’ opponents have sought to turn the tables on his AI message. In a recent interview, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg, one of Bores’ top opponents, criticized Bores’ RAISE Act as being “watered down” compared to how it was initially presented. He also went after the assemblymember’s promise to regulate the technology while being backed by those in the industry.
“When I hear someone talking about AI regulation who is being bankrolled by the AI industry, that reminds me of people who go in saying they’re gonna tackle fossil fuels and are actually taking money on the side from oil and gas companies,” Schlossberg said. “If we’re gonna be regulating AI, and we think it is the important issue that it is, we should have disinterested regulators, not those who have been bankrolled by one company and not another.”
Bores will often tout his record in the Legislature, where he has served since 2023. A common refrain is he was recognized by the Center for Effective Lawmaking as the “most effective new legislator” from the city and that he’s passed more than 30 bills.
But on what’s become his hallmark issue, Bores hasn’t always been a “yes.”
He has been supportive of dozens of AI-related bills, but on a handful of occasions, he’s been a detractor on bills aimed at addressing guardrails around technology and AI. That legislation includes:
- A4550, which would require the Department of Labor to study the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on the state workforce. Bores was the only one in the Labor Committee to vote no.
- A773, which would require some banks to conduct assessments on artificial intelligence in lending decisions and require applicants to consent to the technology. Bores was the only Democrat to vote against the legislation in the Codes Committee, joining Republicans.
- A3779, which would put restrictions on automated employment decision tools in hiring. He was the only no vote in both the Labor and Codes committees.
- A9430, also known as the LOADinG Act, which was touted as a “first in the nation legislation” to provide oversight of how state agencies use automated decision-making. Bores voted for it in the Science and Technology Committee, but then was one of two Democrats to vote against it on the floor.
- A4983, which provides protections regarding health data. He voted for it in the Science and Technology Committee, and then against it in Codes.
Bores expressed concerns about the specifics of these bills. With the bill on automated employment tools, for instance, he said the legislation “wasn’t addressing whether AI is the final decision, it was adding on a costly impact assessment without changing the actual standards of when bias occurs.” On the bank assessment bill, the assessments wouldn’t apply to national banks — and federal law already prohibits against discrimination for financial lending. A sticking point in the Labor Department bill was that AI use “to displace any human work” was prohibited until a study comes out at the latest in 2034.
“I think if we put forward requirements of assessments on small businesses that we’re not even estimating the cost of, then maybe we’re trying to talk about only a ban on small businesses while letting the biggest companies run wild,” he said. “You have to think about the impact of any legislation.”
Prior to his affirmative committee vote for the LOADinG Act, Bores raised concerns about applying too broad of a definition to biased outcomes, leading to his no vote on the floor. But he later approved the chapter amendment and A8295, spearheaded by the same sponsors of the LOADinG Act, which requires state government agencies to conduct impact assessments and disclose the use of automated decision-making tools.
Bores also had concerns about the definition of health data and a 24-hour waiting period to process health information in A4983. The next year, he voted in favor of a reworked version of the bill, which Gov. Kathy Hochul then vetoed for having “broad” definitions and scope, “creating potentially significant uncertainty about the information subject to regulation and compliance challenges for consumers, businesses and nonprofits.”
“AI is a deeply serious issue that requires legislators who are willing to dive into the details to make sure that New Yorkers and Americans are protected, and also that our laws are ones that actually achieve the goals they set out to do,” Bores said of his past votes. “I’ve always been a legislator that actually reads bills and actually picks up on specific revisions, and I engage with my colleagues in all of that, whether the topic is AI or anything else.”
Bores isn’t the only one who’s relying on his legislative record on tech and AI. A recent mailer from fellow Assemblymember Micah Lasher — another frontrunner for the seat — vowed the hopeful would “fight for a national ban on social media for kids under 16” and described him as a member of Congress who “will stand up to the tech titans.” The mailer also touts a long list of legislation he’s worked on that’s “protecting our kids from the dangers of social media and AI.” That includes a bill prohibiting AI chatbots from using features harmful to kids — legislation introduced by Bores that Lasher co-sponsored.
“When it comes to social media, it feels like we’ve been on autopilot for years,” Lasher writes in the mailer. “Letting a handful of tech giants make decisions — business decisions — that have enormous consequences for all of us, especially our kids.”
Schlossberg, who repeatedly goes after the AI-linked money pouring in to support Bores, has called for a federal investigation into rental car companies using AI to scan for damages and tack on fees. He also recently criticized Bores for missing AI-related votes in the Legislature, to which Bores replied, “I’m happy to put my legislative record up against anyone.”
A version of this report first appeared in New York Playbook. Subscribe here.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley rescheduled a planned vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general late Friday in a preemptive move as negotiations between the Trump administration and GOP holdouts continue.
The vote, now set for Tuesday after a scheduled Thursday vote was postponed, isn’t an indication that a deal allowing for Blanche’s confirmation is near, so much as it is a nod to Judiciary Committee rules that require three days of notice for a panel meeting.
There is no sign that President Donald Trump is about to acquiesce to the unflinching demands of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who wants a controversial settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS substantially pared back.
Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, wants the Justice Department to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and limit the scope of a tax audit immunity component of the pact.
Trump told reporters earlier Friday the fund is “dead” but added “I wish it weren’t.”
“I’d like to see them compensated,” he added, referring to people he considers victims of government abuse, including participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
To advance Tuesday, Blanche needs to pick up Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator on the panel with similar concerns. He can’t lose any GOP votes if he wants to be reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee.
“Chairman Grassley wants Todd Blanche’s nomination to be successful,” said a Judiciary Committee spokesperson, who declined to be named. “Noticing the markup gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President’s nominee. Grassley would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess as he has an excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is zeroing in on one of House Republicans’ biggest contests — a purple district in Nebraska — when he starts his recess campaign sprint.
Scalise will travel to Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District in the Omaha area for an event with Republican Brinker Harding in the coming days, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to share plans not yet made public. Republicans are digging in to defend the seat, which Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential race and is among Democrats’ best pick up opportunities this fall as they seek to flip the House.
Harding is running against Democratic consultant Denise Powell to replace retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon. Bacon, a moderate-leaning Republican, flipped the Omaha district red in 2016.
After Nebraska, Scalise is planning to travel across the country throughout August, including to defend GOP incumbents Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ and Zach Nunn’s key battleground seats in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.
He’ll boost candidates working to flip blue districts like Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Derek Merrin in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District and Mike LiPetri in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Scalise also plans to travel to Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas for campaign events over the August recess.
President Donald Trump goaded John Cornyn on social media Friday morning, accusing the Texas senator of withholding his vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination in retaliation for Trump’s central role in his political demise.
Cornyn, who lost his May primary to Texas’ scandal-ridden attorney general, the Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, has threatened to block Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee until the White House promises to permanently shelve its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” in writing — something Trump appears unwilling to do.
“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called “Fund,” which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Several Republicans bristled at the fund, which could have been deployed to compensate Americans who faced charges after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and which gives the president and his family audit immunity over taxes. At his July confirmation hearing, Blanche said that the fund, part of a settlement the president reached with the IRS, was defunct. But the administration has been “reluctant to change” the text of the settlement, Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
Trump signaled his continued support for the Jan 6 rioters on Friday.
“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined!” he wrote. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed.”
On Thursday, the president suggested that he could punt a Senate vote on Blanche until after Cornyn — and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — leaves the chamber at the end of the year. Cornyn, however, suggested on social media that there are other Republican senators with concerns about the fund.
“After the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?” Cornyn told reporters.
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