Federal AI Moratorium Out, State AI Regulation Gold Rush In

Last week, Congress voted to pass the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," codifying President Trump's domestic agenda, but one important measure did not make it past the finish line: the AI regulatory moratorium that was originally included in the bill. (See our coverage of the demise of the AI moratorium here and of the now defunct measure here.) The AI moratorium would have stopped in their tracks more than 1,000 AI regulatory bills that have been making their way through the legislative processes in state capitals since January—a legislative tsunami that amounts to half a dozen new AI-related proposals every single day.

The frenzied legislative activity in 2025 follows a year in which 45 states considered nearly 700 AI bills, with about 20% becoming law.