Overview

• House Republicans have included a provision in the Budget Reconciliation bill to block state governments from regulating artificial intelligence for the next decade.
• The proposal, introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie, would preempt existing and future state laws on AI, including California's disclosure rules and New York's bias audit mandates.
• Democrats and tech safety groups have condemned the measure as a giveaway to Big Tech that undermines consumer protections against AI harms like bias and deepfakes.
• Major AI firms, including OpenAI, Meta, and Google, have lobbied for federal preemption to avoid a patchwork of state regulations, citing compliance challenges.
• The provision's inclusion in the bill may face challenges in the Senate under the Byrd rule, which limits non-fiscal provisions in reconciliation bills.