What’s Next for State AI Laws After Trump Order

The White House plans an executive order to block states from passing laws regulating AI, as we reported Wednesday. Instead of state laws, the order suggests there should be a federal law governing the information that AI companies have to disclose and how they handle potential bias in models. 

Specifically, it directs White House AI “czar” David Sacks and government agencies to help make recommendations that Congress could write into law. The possibility of a federal replacement makes this latest effort different from a similar push earlier this year to block state AI laws, when such a provision was removed from the Big Beautiful budget bill by a vote in the Senate at the last minute. At the time, a federal replacement looked less likely.

While we don’t know what a Sacks-endorsed federal standard will include, we already have a sense that it won’t look like California’s SB 53 or New York’s Raise Act, which focus on transparency: They require the largest AI companies to write, publish, and comply with safety policies for managing severe risks from their technology. 

Many AI companies have taken those steps voluntarily, but the legislation allows the states’ attorneys general to penalize companies that violate their safety policies. They would also require AI companies to report to state officials if their models are involved in safety incidents, such as theft of a model that is then used to cause harm. (SB 53 was signed into law in September and the Raise Act is awaiting a decision from New York’s governor.)