Bipartisan lawmakers from 50 states tell Congress: Don’t stop us from acting on AI — Transparency Coalition. Legislation for Transparency in AI Now.

web

transparencycoalition.ai·transparencycoalition.ai/news/bipartisan-lawmakers-from-5...

Relevant to AI governance debates about federal vs. state regulatory authority in the US; part of ongoing 2024-2025 legislative battles over whether federal AI bills should preempt state consumer protection and AI laws.

Metadata

Importance: 52/100news articlenews

Summary

A coalition of bipartisan state lawmakers from all 50 states sent a letter to Congress urging federal legislators not to preempt state-level AI regulation efforts. The letter argues that states should retain the authority to act on AI governance while federal frameworks are still being developed. This represents a significant push-back against proposals in federal AI legislation that would override state laws.

Key Points

•Lawmakers from all 50 states signed a bipartisan letter opposing federal preemption of state AI laws
•The letter argues states are already acting on AI and should not be blocked by incomplete federal frameworks
•Reflects tension between federal and state authority over AI regulation in the US
•Transparency Coalition coordinated the effort, highlighting civil society involvement in AI governance debates
•Raises questions about the appropriate level of government for AI oversight and consumer protection

1 FactBase fact citing this source

Entity	Property	Value	As Of
Americans for Responsible Innovation	campaign	Co-organized letter signed by 260 bipartisan state lawmakers from 50 states (130R, 129D, 1I) opposing federal ban on state AI regulation	2025

Cached Content Preview

HTTP 200Fetched Apr 6, 20267 KB

Bipartisan lawmakers from 50 states tell Congress: Don’t stop us from acting on AI &mdash; Transparency Coalition. Legislation for Transparency in AI Now. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bipartisan lawmakers from 50 states tell Congress: Don’t stop us from acting on AI

 
 
 
 
 AI News Congress 
 
 

 
 
 Jun 3 
 
 Written By Bruce Barcott 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 An open letter signed by 260 lawmakers from 50 states calls on Congress to not adopt a 10-year ban on AI regulation. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 As the U.S. Senate takes up the federal budget bill passed by the House last month, Republican and Democratic lawmakers from around the nation are calling on Congress to remove a provision that would place a 10-year ban on all state-level AI laws. 

 That provision, located within the larger budget bill, states that “no State or political subdivision thereof may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.”

 The letter, signed by 130 Republicans, 129 Democrats, and one Independent, calls on the Senate to remove the moratorium from the budget package. The letter was released earlier this morning.

 “We are writing to express strong opposition” they wrote. “The proposed 10-year freeze of state and local regulation of AI and automated decision systems would cut short democratic discussion of AI policy in the states with a sweeping moratorium that threatens to halt a broad array of laws and restrict policymakers from responding to emerging issues.”

 led by republican and democratic state lawmakers

 The letter’s lead signatories are South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey (R), and South Dakota state Sen. Liz Larson (D). The effort was organized by a number of organizations involved in responsible digital governance, including Mothers Against Media Addiction, Encode, Common Sense, Americans for Responsible Innovation, and the Transparency Coalition. 

 Guffey, who chairs a South Carolina committee on AI regulations, drew praise from President Trump last month for his advocacy of the Take It Down Act . Larson has addressed AI issues and deepfake harms in her bills introduced during this year’s South Dakota legislative session. 

 “The last thing I want to do is stifle innovation,” Guffey told the Washington Post earlier today “But is it really constitutional to remove the states’ rights to protect their own citizens?”

 Among the letter’s key points:

 State lawmakers are hearing from constituents about the rise of online harms and the impacts of AI on their communities, and are determined to respond to those concern

... (truncated, 7 KB total)