In press conference, lawmakers from UT, SC, OH, TN, WI, MT speak out
On Thursday, Republican state lawmakers joined together in a press conference urging Congress to reject the proposed AI state law moratorium in the budget and reconciliation bill. Lawmakers from states including Utah, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Montana joined the event, voicing opposition to the measure and urging Congress to remove it before passing the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Watch the press conference here.
The measure facing opposition would require states and localities to freeze any laws “regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems,” or else lose federal broadband funding. The provision has faced widespread, bipartisan opposition from state lawmakers, attorneys general, advocacy groups, and voters.
“State lawmakers are sending a clear message to Congress: the moratorium threatens a range of state laws from kids online safety to pro-innovation measures, and it needs to be struck from the bill,” said ARI Senior Advisor Satya Thallam. “Preventing lawmakers back home from doing the hard work of legislating on AI issues for the next decade would be a historic mistake. Congress shouldn’t be working in opposition to state lawmakers, but hand-in-hand with state legislators to get AI policy right.”
Lawmakers attending today’s press conference included:
- Sen. Heidi Balderree (R-UT)
- Sen. Louis W. Blessing (R-OH)
- Rep. Doug Fiefia (R-UT)
- Rep. Brandon Guffey (R-SC)
- Rep. Dan Knodl (R-WI)
- Sen. Barry Usher (R-MT)
- Sen. Bo Watson (R-TN)
- Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-WI)
Read ARI’s latest research on the broad range of state laws that would be impacted by a moratorium on state AI laws. ARI has also helped to gather over 25,000 voter petitions urging Congress to reject the measure.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at www.ari.us.