A 7656: Prohibits political communication containing any photo, video or audio depiction of a candidate created in whole or in part through the use of generative artificial intelligence.
What A 7656 does, verified January 8, 2026
The "Respect Electoral Audiovisual Legitimacy (REAL) Act" aims to prohibit the depiction of candidates for elected office using generative artificial intelligence in political communications. This means that no realistic photo, video, or audio depiction of a candidate or person interacting with a candidate can be created using AI. The term "generative artificial intelligence" refers to technology that can learn and make decisions to generate new data. The law will take effect immediately, effectively banning the use of AI-generated content in political ads and other communications.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to election law (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 7656
- What is the current status of A 7656?
- As of January 8, 2026, A 7656 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to election law".
- Did A 7656 pass?
- Not yet. A 7656 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 7656, and where is it now?
- A 7656 was authored by Asm. Jenifer Rajkumar. Its committee of record is Assembly Election Law. It is filed under ELN, alongside 111 other New York ELN bills this session.
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| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to election law |
| Apr. 04, 2025 | referred to election law |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, April 4, 2025 · 234 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7656 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY April 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting the depiction of any candidate for elected office which is created through generative artificial intelligence The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "respect electoral audiovisual legitimacy (REAL) act". 3 § 2. Section 14-106 of the election law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 2-a to read as follows: 5 2-a. (a) No political communication covered by this section shall 6 contain any realistic photo, video or audio depiction of a candidate, or 7 person interacting with a candidate, containing original material 8 created in whole or in part through the use of generative artificial 9 intelligence. 10 (b) For the purpose of this subdivision, "generative artificial intel- 11 ligence" shall mean any technology that engages in its own learning and 12 decision-making to generate new data. 13 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10521-01-5
Text of A 7656 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions