PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today joined Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, and Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark and 35 other state attorneys general in a bipartisan letter to Congress voicing opposition to a sweeping and dangerous U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee amendment to the budget reconciliation bill that imposes a 10-year prohibition on states from enforcing any state law or regulation addressing artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making systems.
“As AI technology rapidly advances, the threats it poses are coming into view,” said Attorney General Mayes. “From displacing workers to guzzling precious water supplies and enabling fraud and exploitation, there is urgent work to be done to protect Arizonans from the dangers of this powerful technology. We must act now to establish guardrails and prevent harm from AI. Congress must not tie the hands of state leaders working to protect their residents and ensure the ethical development of this rapidly evolving technology.”
AI promises to revolutionize America’s economy, spur achievement and innovation, and improve lives across the country. However, the rise of such technology presents real, immediate dangers ranging from explicit material and election interference to deception, exploitation, and harassment against consumers. In the absence of federal leadership, state legislatures and attorneys general have continued to be at the forefront of ensuring AI is not abused and that consumers are protected. As the letter to Congress emphasizes, state laws and 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.”
If enacted, the amendment would strip away essential state protections without replacing them with a viable federal regulatory framework and silence state leaders who are best positioned to respond. Any effort to prohibit states from enacting and enforcing laws aimed at regulating AI and protecting consumers will leave AI entirely unregulated at any level and Americans completely exposed to its known harms and evolving, real-world risks—ultimately leading to dangerous consequences for the American people. The bipartisan coalition of attorneys general respectfully urges Congress to reject the AI moratorium added to the budget reconciliation bill.
Led by the attorneys general of Colorado, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Vermont, Arizona Attorney General Mayes joins the attorneys general of American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, 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, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin in the bipartisan letter to Congress.
