06/05/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/05/2025 10:14
Dear Majority Leader Thune, Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader Jeffries:
On behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the bipartisan organization representing the legislatures of our nation's states, territories, commonwealths and Washington, D.C., we are writing to express our opposition to the proposed 10-year moratorium on states' ability to enforce legislation regulating artificial intelligence, as included in the reconciliation bill passed by the House of Representatives. We urge the Senate to reject this provision.
The moratorium represents a clear infringement on the constitutional authority of states to legislate in response to emerging public policy challenges and opportunities. Moreover, we believe this provision constitutes a significant policy change unrelated to budgetary impacts, which would violate the Senate's longstanding Byrd Rule.
State legislatures have long served as laboratories of democracy. This is clearly the case with the rapidly evolving AI landscape, where issues of privacy, cybersecurity, workforce disruption, child safety and ethical governance demand timely and locally informed responses. State legislatures-working in a bipartisan fashion-have taken intentional and thoughtful action to build guardrails while making efforts not to stymie technological innovation. A federally imposed moratorium would not only paralyze this innovation but would also leave Americans exposed to emerging risks associated with the new technology.
Around the country, state lawmakers have enacted laws to ensure AI technologies serve the public good. These laws empower communities to weigh in on data center sitings, protecting ratepayers from increasing utility costs, preserving local water resources and maintaining grid stability.
Legislators have acted to shield children from manipulative AI-driven content, especially in social media environments and in interactions with chatbots and to require human oversight in AI-generated health insurance decisions. States are also responding to the use of AI in rent-setting algorithms that distort housing markets, employee surveillance and election interference. These legislative efforts are not reflexive overreach-they are deliberate, bipartisan and focused on safeguarding the public interest.
As drafted, the moratorium provision would create significant legal ambiguity and likely increase litigation, particularly due to vague language around what constitutes AI "entered into interstate commerce" and how to determine whether another technology performs functions "comparable" to AI. As a result, courts would be inundated with lawsuits from companies challenging state actions on the grounds that their technologies fall under the moratorium's protection. This ambiguity would invite unnecessary legal conflict, drain public resources and place states in the untenable position of regulating emerging technologies without clarity on what is or is not preempted.
Claims that state action leads to "fragmentation" ignore the constitutional framework under which states are not only permitted but obligated to act in the absence of federal leadership. States have both the right and responsibility to protect their residents through laws that reflect distinct local contexts and challenges. Uniformity must be earned through collaborative policymaking-not imposed through a decade-long federal freeze that circumvents the states' constitutional role.
As the federal government continues to grapple with the complexity of AI, states must be able to act. Consumer protection, innovation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive, they are mutually reinforcing when guided by responsible, proactive policy. A blanket moratorium would rob states of the ability to ensure that AI serves the public interest, rather than undermines it.
We urge the Senate to remove this provision and reaffirm the rightful role of states in governing emerging technologies.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. NCSL remains committed to working with you to ensure responsible and effective AI policy development. For additional information or questions, you may contact the NCSL State-Federal Affairs team.