On the 12th Day of Christmas…okay, okay we’ll hit pause on singing another Christmas carol and instead take a look back at the year that was in AI policy across the states here at the Abundance Institute.
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
The exact number varies depending on what you think counts as “AI legislation” but even at the lower bound estimates, hundreds of related bills were raised and considered in statehouses from Hawaii to Maine this year. Our team at the Abundance Institute weighed in on, well, a lot of them.
1. Right to Compute
- On the pro-innovation side, Montana passed SB 212, a first in the nation proposal that reminds us that AI or advanced computing is a general purpose technology that we should be free to enjoy as citizens. The use of this technology isn’t something granted to us by the government, but a freedom to be protected by the government.
- This concept captures an Abundance mindset for AI policy very well and has caught on elsewhere; being proposed as a constitutional amendment and pre-filed bill for 2026 in New Hampshire, passed as a model bill at the American Legislative Exchange Council, and introduced as a bill in Ohio. Our own Taylor Barkley submitted written testimony on HB 392 in Ohio, published an op-ed in The Columbus Dispatch and published an article with the James Madison Institute.
2. Colorado’s Quagmire
- Passed in 2024, SB 205 has yet to be implemented in Colorado. This European Union-style approach to AI governance is heavy handed and scheduled to take effect after the upcoming legislative session in 2026. When Governor Jared Polis signed the bill into law he expressed serious reservation—signing it as a tradeoff to move separate legislation—and so have other political, business, and community leaders across the state.
- The Abundance Institute has explained why this bill will harm innovation and individuals throughout the year, and it appears other states have listened as no one else has passed the same legislation after having ample opportunities to do so. The Abundance Institute is also right in the middle of trying to improve this looming legislation with our team collaborating with key experts in the state to find a solution to prevent this Sword of Damocles from falling on Colorado’s economy.
3. Turmoil in Texas
- The Lone Star State gained national attention in the AI space earlier this year when HB 1709 was introduced: the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA). Our own Christopher Koopman penned an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle which stated, “The [bill] would create some of the strictest artificial intelligence regulations in the country, echoing recent California bills the legislature wouldn’t pass and Gavin Newsom wouldn’t sign because they were too extreme.” After Chris’ op-ed, this legislation was pulled, overhauled, and reintroduced in a different form which ultimately did pass late in the Texas session as HB 149. The final bill was an improvement over the initial proposal, and efforts to reform it will continue next year while the Texas legislature sits idle.
4. Connecticut Connection
- Just as he did last year, State Senator James Maroney introduced SB 2: An Act Concerning Artificial Intelligence. When the General Law Committee held a hearing on the bill in February it kicked off with Connecticut DECD Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe making the case against this preemptive regulatory approach. The discussion was excellent and continued through Neil Chilson’s virtual testimony and Q&A with committee members. The bill, same as last year, was not taken up on the House and we are hopeful that Sen. Maroney, one of the most well-versed state policymakers, will take up a more Abundance mindset on AI in 2026!
5. California Conundrum
- There were over 40 AI bills introduced in California alone in 2025! Neil Chilson and Taylor Barkley submitted written testimony on AB 1018 and SB 813 to highlight just a couple of instances where the Abundance Institute weighed in on AI governance in The Golden State. Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a handful of notable AI bills in 2025, just as he vetoed AB 1047 last year, but other bills like SB 53 and SB 243 were signed into law. Neil Chilson has offered a series of reforms to SB 53 that would improve the legislation and should be considered by California policymakers next year.
- Neil also submitted a comment to the California Privacy Protection Agency regarding proposed regulations governing Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT) under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Neil Chilson’s comment highlighted how the CPPA’s proposed changes were overly burdensome and costly, with minimal demonstrated consumer benefit. They risked exceeding the CPPA’s legal authority, infringing on First Amendment rights, and transforming the CCPA from a privacy law into a de facto AI regulation regime.
6. Neverending in New York
- Policymakers in Albany must have been fed up with the attention everyone was getting in Sacramento, as New York managed to propose even more bills regulating AI! Abundance Institute provided real-time analysis on several proposals, including A8884: The NY AI Act which ultimately failed to pass. Neil Chilson joined a letter expressing concerns about the impact of State Assemblymember Alex Bores’ bill A6453: The RAISE Act, which helped ensure positive reforms were made before it passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday.
7. Veto in Virginia
- One of the more notable bills that made it to a governor’s desk this year was HB 2094 in Virginia, introduced by State Delegate Michelle Lopes Maldonado. Our own Christopher Koopman offered a critique of the proposal and argued that, “America’s great advantage—its gift, really—has been that it does not regulate the future before it arrives. It allows new ideas to take shape, to be tested, to flourish or fail…But a regulatory fever is spreading.”
- Governor Glenn Youngkin’s team did their homework on this legislation and made the decision to veto it. Gov. Youngkin’s veto explanation is the mindset governors across the country should have on AI policy, and will hopefully be shared by the incoming administration led by Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger.
8. Florida Frenzy
- Florida kicked off the legislative session with the introduction of State Representative Fiona McFarland’s HB 369: Provenance of Digital Content and a myriad of other proposals regulating AI. Abundance Institute’s pro-innovation approach was shared with Rep. McFarland and other legislative leaders and they considered the tradeoffs of new regulations in The Sunshine State.
9. Nebraska Notions
- The nation’s only unicameral legislature makes for an interesting policymaking process and our own Taylor Barkley had the chance to witness it first hand as he testified (22:10 mark) on LB 642 earlier this year in Lincoln. Taylor’s testimony stated that, “We see two fundamental issues with the AICPA as drafted. First, the legislation is unnecessary…Second, the legislation is technically infeasible.” The Judiciary Committee and bill sponsor State Senator Eliot Bostar took his insights seriously as the bill failed to move forward.
10. Iowa Ideas
- Much like Nebraska, legislators in Des Moines considered HSB 294: An Act Relating to Artificial Intelligence. We were happy to see that the bill sponsor, State Representative Ray Sorensen, opted to hit pause on the bill in 2025 and is looking to find an alternative path for The Hawkeye State during next year’s session.
11. AI Infrastructure
- As demand for daily use of AI increases states are looking for solutions on how to build out data centers. Josh Smith teamed up with Turner Loesel from the James Madison Institute to publish Digital Foundations: The Essential Guide to Data Centers and Their Growth which provides an overview of data centers themselves, why they are important for the economy today and into the future, and how to address concerns over scarce water and energy resources. The Abundance Institute has also provided states with a roadmap to an abundant energy future through nuclear energy, improved interconnections, and a build what works mindset. We also made the case for why data centers can be the economic foundation for an evolving economy, particularly in rural America.
12. State Preemption
- While working at the state level to help bring about better outcomes from innovation in the AI space, the Abundance Institute has also been working with Congress to ensure an overly burdensome patchwork of state regulations doesn’t stymie this inherently interstate technology. This concept has been raised in both the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Although ultimately not included in either bill’s passage, the concept is likely to be considered in future legislation as requested by President Trump in Section 7 of his executive order, “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” Read a short summary from Neil here.
- Over the summer we worked with state level partners from across the country to send a coalition letter in support of a federal preemption. This effort brought together a great group of like-minded organizations from sea to shining sea and will help support any future preemption proposals. Much like the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998, Congress should be setting the rules of the road for interstate tools such as AI to ensure effective competition and efficient markets develop.
This list could go on-and-on, with an even longer list of thank yous to individuals and other organizations who helped drive our ideas forward across the country, but I think this offers a good look back on some of the notable moments we had in state AI in 2025. The year ahead shows no sign of slowing down, and we will continue to be a voice for the innovators of tomorrow.