Thirty Pennsylvanians were among 260 state lawmakers from all 50 states who signed a letter to members of the U.S. House and Senate, dated Tuesday. It asked for removal of language from the high-profile budget reconciliation bill — referred to by some as "the big beautiful bill" — that would prevent states from regulating AI.
"The proposed 10-year freeze of state and local regulation of AI and automated decision systems would cut short democratic discussion of AI policy in the states with a sweeping moratorium that threatens to halt a broad array of laws and restrict policymakers from responding to emerging issues," the letter said.
The Pennsylvania signers included the minority leaders in both chambers of the state General Assembly: Democratic Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County and Republican Rep. Jesse Topper of Bedford County.
Mr. Costa, alluding to the fact that there is no federal regulatory framework for AI in place, said that blocking state regulation of the industry for a decade would allow unfettered development that "is not in the best interests of anyone."
Such a scenario, he said, might actually crimp the growth of the AI industry in Pittsburgh by removing lawmakers' ability to deal with unforeseen circumstances that affect the industry. The "preemption" by the federal government on state regulations, he said, is harmful.
Mr. Topper said states "should have the authority" both in regulating AI and in any other area that is supported by the constitution.
Another Republican signer was Rep. Natalie Mihalek of Allegheny County. Like Mr. Topper, she said in an interview she was "very concerned" about a potential scenario where there are no federal or state laws regulating AI.
"We have to wrap some parameters around it," Ms. Mihalek said. She added that states "are well within our rights to do so."
The Democratic chairman of House Communications & Technology Committee, Rep. Joe Ciresi of Montgomery County, said he had not seen the letter but would have signed it if he had.
His committee on Tuesday gave unanimous approval to a bill that would prohibit dissemination of political campaign advertisements that contain artificially generated misrepresentations of a candidate. That bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
"The federal government is trying to take over everything," said Mr. Ciresi.
In the Senate on Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee gave unanimous approval to a bill that would amend forgery provisions in state law to include so-called "deepfakes" that artificial intelligence has made much more convincing. That bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
The prime sponsor of the bill, Sen. Tracy Pennycuick of Montgomery County, was among those who signed the letter to federal lawmakers.
The national-in-scope letter was at least the third one pushing back against the proposed squelching of state laws on AI.
Another was signed by 40 state attorneys general, including Pennsylvania's Dave Sunday. A third letter of protest came from 140 organizations, among them the national umbrella organization that includes the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.
Coordination of the Tuesday letter was done by the advocacy nonprofit Americans for Responsible Innovation.
"Lawmakers from every state in the country are sending a clear message that the proposed ban on state AI laws would freeze a whole range of common-sense laws that voters depend on," said Brad Carson, the group's president. "There's room for a debate on preemption of a targeted set of state AI laws with the passage of a federal framework for AI governance. But this proposal fails on all counts, with an overbroad scope and nothing to offer when it comes to federal governance."
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