About 260 state lawmakers from both parties are urging Congress to remove a provision from President Donald Trump’s budget bill that would ban states from regulating artificial intelligence for 10 years.
The provision in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passed the House 215-214 last month and now faces an uncertain future in the Senate. It would prohibit states from enforcing any laws regulating AI systems during the moratorium period.
The letter represents rare bipartisan opposition, with signatures from lawmakers in all 50 states — roughly half Republicans and half Democrats, according to organizers.
“Over the next decade, AI will raise some of the most important public policy questions of our time, and it is critical that state policymakers maintain the ability to respond,” the lawmakers wrote.
More than 30 states have already passed AI-related laws addressing deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and election security. Under the proposed moratorium, those laws couldn’t be enforced.
Forty state attorneys general have also opposed the provision, along with more than 140 organizations including consumer groups and academic institutions.
The measure has drawn support from some Republicans who argue state regulations create a confusing patchwork that hurts innovation.
“The people who can’t deal with that are two innovators in a garage trying to start the next OpenAI, the next Google. Those are the people we’re trying to protect,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif.
But Senate passage appears doubtful. Budget experts say the AI provision likely violates reconciliation rules requiring all measures to be budget-related.
“I feel pretty damn confident that the moratorium is going to fall out,” said Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress, who previously worked for the Biden White House.
Several Republican senators have expressed concerns about the overall bill. Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., worried it would override Tennessee laws protecting artists from AI-generated deepfakes.
The bill also includes billions in military AI spending while cutting civilian oversight.
Republicans hope to pass the legislation by July 4. The measure extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and increases border security funding while reducing spending on Medicaid and food assistance programs.
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One Response
Because project 2025 wants deep fakes and algorithmic bias, that is why the moratorium has been slipped into a “budget bill”. These are tactics used to manipulate and mislead voters. How perfect to have a moratorium on that for 10 years…..why not forever if you really think it is for innovation? No, it is so DJT can remain in office and keep ravaging your country. Do not let this pass.