The U.S. Senate has removed provisions from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would not only have deterred states from regulating artificial intelligence but also could have undone measures already passed by Texas lawmakers to safeguard Texans from the potential harms of AI.
State Sen. Angela Paxton sent a letter this week to Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn ahead of the Senate vote on the legislation, requesting that the AI regulatory prohibition provision be removed, as it was included in the House version of the measure.
“In the spirit of federalism, protecting Texans from potential harms due to Al, and giving us the flexibility we need to design policies to deal with the imminent Al revolution, I ask you not to undo the important work Texas has already done on this issue,” wrote Paxton.
“Let the states lead when it comes to striking the balance between protecting our citizens from potential harms due to Al and ensuring that America leads on Al development.”
Paxton specifically highlighted the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, a new law that encourages AI development while allowing legislators to explore how best to regulate it to protect Texans’ privacy in the coming years. The act would have been irrelevant if the OBBB provision had passed.
Originally, the provision was proposed as a 10-year bar on state legislatures regulating the use of AI.
Several compromises were suggested, including shortening the 10 years to five years and placing restrictions on federal funding to discourage state legislatures from passing AI regulatory measures. However, all of those attempts were ultimately knocked down during the Senate’s vote late Monday night.
“This is a major victory for states, like Texas, to be able to protect children from AI abuse,” Paxton wrote on X. “Thank you to the advocates and lawmakers that stood up to [Big Tech] and worked tirelessly to strip this provision!”
The OBBB has returned to the U.S. House for final approval of changes made by the Senate before heading to President Donald Trump for his signature.
