Tennessee AG Skrmetti Leads Bipartisan Push Against AI Oversight Ban

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leadership opposing a proposed federal budget amendment that would ban states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) products.

The amendment in the budget reconciliation bill that imposes a 10-year prohibition on states from enforcing any state law or regulation addressing AI and automated decision-making systems reads as follows:

[N]o state or political subdivision may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

The coalition said the impact of the amendment would “be sweeping and wholly destructive of reasonable state efforts to prevent known harms associated with AI.”

“This bill would directly harm consumers, deprive them of rights currently held in many states, and prevent State AGs from fulfilling their mandate to protect consumers,” the coalition said.

The attorneys general argue that states have worked to pass laws regulating new technologies and protecting consumers. They added that blocking states from acting would leave a dangerous gap in regulation, especially in the absence of meaningful federal action.

The letter said that imposing a “broad moratorium” on all state laws without further action from Congress would be “irresponsible” and “deprive consumers of reasonable protections.”

“This bill will affect hundreds of existing and pending state laws passed and considered by both Republican and Democratic state legislatures…These laws and their regulations have been developed over years through careful consideration and extensive stakeholder input from consumers, industry, and advocates. And, in the years ahead, additional matters—many unforeseeable today given the rapidly evolving nature of this technology—are likely to arise,” the attorneys general wrote.

The coalition closed the letter by reiterating its call on Congress to reject the amendment while also emphasizing its commitment to working with federal entities to address challenges raised by AI technologies.

“To the extent Congress is truly willing and able to wrestle with the opportunities and challenges raised by the emergence of AI, we stand ready to work with you and welcome federal partnership along the lines recommended earlier. And we acknowledge the uniquely federal and critical national security issues at play and wholeheartedly agree that our nation must be the AI superpower,” the coalition said.

In addition to Tennessee’s Skrmetti, the letter was led by the attorneys general of Colorado, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and joined by the attorneys general of American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Jonathan Skrmetti” by Tennessee Attorney General.