From Brookings: How different states are approaching AI

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The race to implement AI has now shifted to the states and, at present, 34 states are studying AI, including 24 states that have created a group to study AI and another 10 states have delegated the task to a standing committee. In addition, according to tracking by the Brookings Center for Technology Innovation,1 47 states have introduced2 AI-related legislation in 2025. New York has introduced the most legislation, but Texas has passed the most (see Table 1). As such, we believe the time has come to analyze the state of the states as it relates to AI, and this is our first of a multi-part series of papers on the topic.

. . . Analysis of the 2025 data show roughly two-thirds (173) of state AI bills were introduced by Democrats, compared to about one-third (84) by Republicans. Only three—in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Tennessee—were bipartisan efforts. Overall, Democrats have been more proactive in pushing AI governance, consistent with their broader tech-regulation tendencies. Republicans have also put forward many AI bills, often on issues like banning certain harmful uses of AI or promoting innovation. Election deepfake bans and child pornography, for example, saw bipartisan interest. On the other hand, sweeping regulatory bills (imposing strict obligations on AI developers or businesses) have mostly come from Democrats in states like California, New York, and New Jersey. Republican-led states often favored lighter-touch approaches, with Texas failing to pass a high percentage of its proposed bills.


We first analyzed a few of the major themes in the 2025 bills:

-Nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII)/Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): 53 bills introduced and 0 currently signed into law

-Elections: 33 bills introduced and 0 currently signed into law

-Generative AI transparency: 31 bills introduced and 2 currently signed into law

-Automated decision-making technology (ADMT)/High-risk AI: 29 bills introduced and 2 currently signed into law

-Government use: 22 bills introduced and 4 currently signed into law

-Employment: 13 bills introduced and 6 currently signed into law

-Health: 12 bills introduced and 2 currently signed into law


Some states introduced comprehensive AI governance bills, covering broad obligations for AI developers or government use, while others focused on narrow sector-specific or issue-specific bills. For instance, Colorado’s “Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence” bill created a wide-ranging regime for “high-risk” AI systems, requiring developers and users of such AI to implement transparency, monitoring, and anti-discrimination measures. In contrast, in 2024, California started to pursue a patchwork of many targeted laws addressing things like election deepfakes, AI-generated content warnings, digital replicas of performers (including one bill for deceased performers), and training-data disclosure, rather than one overarching framework. It is worth noting that California originally pursued a comprehensive approach, but it was vetoed by the governor. As a result, California reverted to the more piecemeal approach. These different approaches are noted by analysts as a major difference between state strategies. Also, some smaller states have primarily symbolic or exploratory bills (e.g., creating AI task forces or study commissions rather than imposing rules).