Over 200 state lawmakers urge Congress to oppose AI preemption in House proposal

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Just over 200 state lawmakers from across the country are calling on members of the House and Senate to reject a proposal to preempt some state regulations of artificial intelligence for three years, citing the technology’s impact on kids, artists and creators and workers.

The letter, sent by 203 state lawmakers to Congress on Tuesday, said “we take seriously our responsibility to safeguard our constituents from AI harms to children, workers, artists and creators, families, and consumers.”

The preemption provision “would freeze a sweeping set of state laws and tie the hands of lawmakers at a moment of rapid technological transformation,” the lawmakers added in the letter, first shared with The Hill.

The letter, organized by the non-profit Americans for Responsible Innovation, refers to a measure included in a discussion draft of a national framework on AI being floated by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) in the House.

The discussion draft proposes overriding state regulations that target AI model development for three years. This would not necessarily preempt state laws dictating how AI is used once released, as other proposals have suggested.

The draft “expressly does not preempt laws of general applicability, common law remedies, or laws regulating AI use or deployment,” a summary of the draft said.

The state lawmakers, made up of 104 Democrats, 98 Republicans and 1 independent, said the provision, even if limited, would apply to a “sweeping category of laws,” including measures about AI models trained on copyrighted materials, antidiscrimination training laws and private protection bills.

“Not only is the provision extremely broad as written, but the tech industry will almost certainly weaponize such a provision in court to strike down state measures not intended to fall within the scope of GAAIA,” they wrote.

The prospect of an AI preemption law has been in talks for more than a year, but Washington has largely stalled on getting anything across the finish line. The Senate came close to passing a moratorium on new state AI regulations last year, but it fell through at the last minute.

State lawmakers have long had concerns over preemption, along with some Republican governors willing to break with President Trump on the issue.

Tuesday’s letter compares the AI revolution to the emergence of social media, which has since faced growing backlash over the platform’s impacts on society, especially minors and young adults.

“The lessons of the social media era are clear: allowing Silicon Valley to write its own rulebook leaves industry unaccountable and leaves American families vulnerable to AI’s dangers,” the lawmakers wrote.

While the proposal was introduced in a bipartisan fashion, interparty and partisan agreements over AI regulation continue to stall legislation in Congress.

In the Senate, lawmaker and Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is leading negotiations with the White House to finalize text for an AI preemption package, her spokesperson told The Hill.

The package would include bills related to the protections of “kids, creators, and communities,” but it is not clear what the terms of preemption would be.

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