As Congressional Republicans strive to enact Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” by July 4, the Senate parliamentarian has been quietly examining its comprehensive provisions. While certain contentious elements, like the suggested SNAP funding cuts, have been eliminated, one unexpected feature persists: a 10-year ban prohibiting states from regulating artificial intelligence.
Senate Budget Committee Democrats report that the Senate parliamentarian indicated the AI moratorium aligns with the special budgetary rules the Republicans are employing to push the bill forward. If enacted, the provision would bar states from implementing new AI regulations for ten years and would punish those that do by withholding federal broadband funding.
The provision isn’t finalized yet — it can still face challenges on the Senate floor and only requires a simple majority vote to be excised from the bill. Nevertheless, it has faced bipartisan criticism. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene notably acknowledged she had not reviewed the bill and said she would have opposed it had she been aware that the provision was included.
If the spending package is approved as is, it would signify a significant victory for tech companies eager to steer clear of a fragmented environment created by varying state-level AI laws. With no thorough federal AI framework in existence, states have been left to navigate a convoluted array of data privacy, copyright, and algorithmic governance challenges independently. This moratorium would effectively cease those endeavors.
To date, 47 out of 50 US states have either implemented or suggested some form of AI legislation, illustrating widespread, bipartisan apprehension regarding the unchecked proliferation of the technology. Over 200 state lawmakers from both parties have urged Congress to eliminate the moratorium, cautioning that it could undermine a wide spectrum of consumer protection laws.
These include rules designed to ensure children’s online safety, addressing issues stemming from generative AI, and regulating how governments adopt and implement AI systems.