The GUARD Act package includes creation of the first municipal AI oversight office, minimum standards for ethical use, and a public directory of all reviewed City AI systems — alongside the Council’s AI Positioning Document and new Grassroots AI Digital Literacy Initiative.

New York, NY — Today, the New York City Council and Chair Jennifer Gutiérrez passed the GUARD Act — Guaranteeing Unbiased AI Regulation and Disclosure — one of the first comprehensive municipal frameworks in the nation designed to bring real oversight, accountability, and transparency to the City’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision systems (ADS).

For years, AI and ADS have quietly shaped high-stakes decisions for New Yorkers — who gets housing, how the NYPD takes action, who is flagged by enforcement, how benefits are distributed, how to interact with the government, and which neighborhoods receive resources. But under the Adams administration, the Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) talked a big game about being “AI-ready” while failing to build any of the guardrails needed to actually manage the technology. Although OTI released an AI Action Plan in 2023, the plan’s principles and guidance are voluntary to integrate, lack enforcement, and do not include required compliance measures. OTI released strategies without enforcement, guidance without standards, and “oversight” without any real authority. Agencies were effectively left on their own — deploying tools with no centralized review, no transparency, and no meaningful accountability – and on many occasions, not being able to deploy tools at all. 

With this package of bills, that era ends.

“We teach children right and wrong, and we hold doctors and engineers to professional standards — but until now, we’ve had none for artificial intelligence,” said Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, Chair of the Committee on Technology. “The GUARD Act finally puts real oversight and support in place — not voluntary guidelines or feel-good strategies, but enforceable standards. We are governing AI before it governs us, and giving the next administration an actual system to build on, not a patchwork of stopgaps.”

“As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into city operations, we have a responsibility to ensure it serves New Yorkers’ best interests. My legislation, Intro 926, creates clear, responsible standards for AI use across city agencies to ensure fairness, safeguard privacy, and increase transparency in government technology. As AI transforms decision-making processes, we cannot afford to move forward without proper oversight and I thank Council Member Gutiérrez for her advocacy to pass the GUARD Act. This package of legislation establishes essential guardrails to protect the rights of all New Yorkers,” said Council Member Julie Menin

The vote comes alongside:

  • Chair Gutierrez’s AI Positioning Document, outlining the long-term governance structure needed to protect civil rights, modernize procurement, and train public employees.
  • The Council’s Grassroots AI Education & Engagement Initiative, funding 22 community organizations citywide to deliver accessible “AI 101” training, host over 100 listening sessions, build multilingual materials, and bring communities into the conversation — not after the fact, but now, while the rules are being written.  

The GUARD Act establishes three critical pillars of AI governance:

  • Intro 199 (Gutiérrez) — Creates an independent Office of Algorithmic Data Accountability to audit, monitor, and regulate agency AI tools, and investigate public complaints. Both of the below bills, as well as Local Law 35, and all other AI and ADS programs and legislation going forward will fit into this office. 
  • Intro 926 (Menin) — Establishes mandatory citywide standards for fairness testing, privacy, transparency, and independent evaluation.
  • Intro 1024 (Gutiérrez) — Require the Office of Algorithmic Accountability to publish a list of all artificial intelligence systems for which it has conducted a pre-deployment assessment.

With the passage of the GUARD Act, New York City becomes a national benchmark for municipal AI regulation — proving that cities can embrace technological advancement without surrendering public accountability, civil rights, or democratic values.

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