US States / Cities — AI-related Legislation
US States · AI Legislation Activity
Colored by approximate count of AI bills introduced and enacted in 2024–2025 (NCSL / IAPP basis). Click a state with a dedicated page for details.
Flagship law
Observations
- California, Texas, Colorado, and New York lead on both volume and substance; all four have 2026-applicable comprehensive AI statutes.
- Red-state (Texas) + blue-state (California / Colorado) convergence on AI legislation cross-cuts ideology — a rare cross-partisan regulatory moment.
- The Mountain West + Plains states cluster at bucket 0–1: low legislative density despite some introduced bills. Federal EO 14365 (Dec 2025) targets the high-bucket states for preemption.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”At the federal level the United States still has no comprehensive AI legislation (and EO 14179 pushed further in a deregulatory direction); the hard-law main theatre of AI governance is at the state level.
The 2025 legislative session: 1,208 state AI bills were introduced nationwide, 145 enacted (IAPP / NCSL statistics). Several comprehensive state AI laws enter their effective phase in 2026 (Colorado, California SB 53, Texas TRAIGA).
Trump EO 14365 (2025-12-11): the federal government launched a preemption offensive against state AI laws, but the legal profession generally considers that an executive order cannot independently preempt state law; in the near term, state AI laws continue to take effect.
Collected (three comprehensive state laws + sectoral state and municipal laws)
Section titled “Collected (three comprehensive state laws + sectoral state and municipal laws)”State laws (comprehensive AI)
Section titled “State laws (comprehensive AI)”- Colorado AI Act (SB24-205) — effective 2026-06-30 (postponed by 2025 amendments) · the first US comprehensive state AI anti-discrimination law, structurally closest to the EU AI Act.
- California SB 53 (Transparency in Frontier AI Act) — effective 2026-01-01 · the first US state law specifically targeting frontier AI, with a 10²⁶ FLOP compute threshold.
- Texas TRAIGA (HB 149) — effective 2026-01-01 · the Republican-led version of a comprehensive AI law, focused on prohibiting harmful uses + preempting local ordinances.
Municipal law (sector-specific)
Section titled “Municipal law (sector-specific)”- NYC Local Law 144 (AEDT) — enforcement began 2023-07-05 · the first US law with concrete compliance requirements for AI hiring tools.
State law (sector-specific)
Section titled “State law (sector-specific)”- Colorado HB26-1195 — Psychotherapy AI Restrictions — signed 2026-06-03, effective 2026-08-12; requires real-time professional participation or review for therapeutic communications and recommendations, plus informed consent for AI recording or transcription.
Comparison of the three comprehensive state laws
Section titled “Comparison of the three comprehensive state laws”| Dimension | Colorado AI Act | California SB 53 | Texas TRAIGA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Anti-discrimination / high-risk AI | Frontier AI transparency | Prohibition of specific harmful uses |
| Covered entities | Developer + Deployer | Large frontier developers with annual revenue ≥ $500M | All entities |
| Compliance burden | High | Medium | Low |
| Penalties | Per CPA | $1M / violation | $10K-$200K / violation |
| Party lead | Democratic Party | Democratic Party | Republican Party |
| Preemption of local ordinances | — | — | Explicitly preempts cities and counties |
Relation to the federal level (state of play as of 2026-06-30)
Section titled “Relation to the federal level (state of play as of 2026-06-30)”- Federal deregulation + state-level regulatory resistance: the Trump administration pushes preemption; state AGs push back.
- EO 14365 litigation threat: the federal preemption campaign continues, but no executive order by itself displaced the Colorado Act before its 30 June effective date.
- Practical takeaway: firms should continue to comply with existing state laws in the near term and await federal-court rulings over the medium term.
- Large-state demonstration effect: the legislation of California / Colorado / Texas / Illinois / New York is frequently drawn on by subsequent states (across the ideological spectrum).