Anticipated outcomes of state AI legislation following the failed moratorium's collapse
In a significant shift, the trend in state-level artificial intelligence (AI) legislation is witnessing a pronounced increase in diverse and innovative laws, with states taking the lead as primary regulators of AI. This surge in state AI bills is expected to outpace the earlier trend in digital privacy laws, as states address a broad range of AI-specific issues from automated decision-making to deepfakes and healthcare.
This acceleration in state AI regulation is primarily driven by the absence of comprehensive federal policy on AI. After the U.S. Congress rejected a proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state AI regulations in mid-2025, states have continued to introduce and pass numerous AI-related bills, demonstrating strong legislative momentum at the state level.
One prominent voice in this area is Hope Anderson, a partner at the law firm White & Case. Specialising in Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity, Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and AI Regulatory and United States law, Anderson predicts an acceleration in the development of state-level AI legislation. She compares this trend in AI legislation to previous actions around digital privacy, noting that while privacy laws tend to follow more uniform and broadly applicable frameworks, AI laws are more fragmented and sector-specific, resulting in a patchwork of state regulations.
California, for instance, has enacted the AI Transparency Act effective in 2026, and New York recently passed the Responsible AI Safety and Education Act (RAISE Act) focusing on large AI model developers. The federal government has shown interest in avoiding a federal patchwork by seeking a uniform AI regulatory standard but has not yet enacted comprehensive legislation, leaving states as primary innovators in AI governance.
Despite the Trump administration’s emphasis on a single federal standard to prevent a patchwork of restrictive state laws, states remain active in AI regulation, pushing forward with varied and experimental measures reflecting the wide array of AI applications and risks. The anticipated acceleration in the development of state-level AI legislation is a response to the broad impact of AI across sectors and the vacuum left by limited federal action.
For more information regarding AI regulatory matters and non-privacy data regulation, Hope Anderson can be contacted. The article discussing this anticipated acceleration in the development of state-level AI legislation was published in Tech Brew. While the author's name is not specified, the insightful analysis provided offers valuable perspectives on the current state and future direction of AI legislation in the United States.
- The increasing trend in state-level AI legislation is primarily driven by the absence of comprehensive federal policy on AI, as states take the lead as primary regulators.
- Hope Anderson, a partner at White & Case, predicts an acceleration in the development of state-level AI legislation, comparing it to previous actions around digital privacy.
- California and New York are examples of states that have enacted AI-specific laws, such as the AI Transparency Act and the RAISE Act, respectively.
- The anticipated acceleration in the development of state-level AI legislation is a response to the broad impact of AI across sectors and the vacuum left by limited federal action, with states continuing to introduce and pass numerous AI-related bills.
