Congress set to unveil AI draft that would preempt state laws - POLITICO
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Congress set to unveil AI draft that would preempt state laws<br>The draft legislation represents Republicans’ last realistic chance to craft federal rules governing artificial intelligence before the midterm elections.
Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) is seen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
By Jacob Wendler, Brendan Bordelon, Gabby Miller and Meredith Lee Hill06/04/2026 10:21 AM EDT
Two key House lawmakers are set to unveil bipartisan artificial intelligence legislation on Thursday that would override some state AI laws and require top developers to disclose the safety and security risks of their new AI models, over a dozen people familiar with the forthcoming discussion draft told POLITICO.<br>The rollout of the much-anticipated discussion draft by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) represents the first significant bipartisan effort to advance AI legislation before Congress’ August recess — and the last realistic chance to craft federal rules governing the technology before the midterm elections.
The 269-page framework would require top AI developers to create and implement plans to address the potentially catastrophic risks posed by their advanced models, including the potential for new systems to supercharge cybersecurity threats. It would also task third-party auditors with ensuring that AI companies comply with those plans
But it’s the proposal to preempt state rules on AI developers that has drawn the fiercest attacks from AI safety advocates and tech critics in both parties. Trahan’s decision to work with a Republican on a federal framework for AI has attracted blowback from her own party, with state lawmakers in Massachusetts and New York warning her against preempting their ability to regulate AI developers.<br>Obernolte and Trahan confirmed in a Bloomberg Law op-ed later Thursday morning that they plan to release the draft.<br>The draft legislation’s release follows delicate talks between the two lawmakers over aspects of the legislation. Those include provisions that would preempt AI safety laws like those recently passed in California, New York and Illinois to rein in cutting-edge AI developers, and the question of whether a federal vetting regime should be compulsory.<br>Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) are also expected to sign on to the framework, according to two people familiar with the matter, who — like others in this report — were granted anonymity to discuss nonpublic details.<br>The length of a sunset provision that would allow states to resume regulating advanced AI development was also a major sticking point. The lawmakers landed on a three-year phase-out in Thursday’s draft bill.<br>The draft legislation taps the Center for AI Standards and Innovation — an office within the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology — to ensure that top AI developers comply with the requirements. The draft would also formally establish CAISI, which was created via presidential executive order, and authorizes $300 million over the next three years for its budget. Top AI companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, already partner with CAISI to conduct model evaluations on a voluntary basis.<br>The bill would also require CAISI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to support the digital security of open-source code, including by providing eligible software maintainers with access to frontier AI models that can find and fix security bugs. Only individuals or organizations based in the United States would be eligible to use the models.<br>In another nod to the growing hacking risks from AI, the framework would renew a long-stalled bill that allows the federal government and critical infrastructure companies to exchange data on cyber threats. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been blocking the law’s renewal amid frustration with CISA’s past efforts to counter online misinformation.<br>Obernolte co-chaired the last Congress’ bipartisan AI task force and has long maintained that any legislation must have buy-in from both parties.<br>Obernolte allies such as Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who co-led the AI task force with him, and moderate Democrats eager to strike a bipartisan deal, such as Rep. Sam Liccardo of California, previously balked at supporting the new bill’s preemption requirements.<br>Trahan, who is co-chair of the House Democratic messaging arm and isn’t ruling out a bid for a promotion in the next Congress, is eager to clinch a bipartisan accord despite risking alienating members of her own party in Washington, top lawmakers in her state and AI safety advocates.<br>Even GOP lawmakers in red states have condemned the idea of preempting state laws and are pushing ahead on their own AI regulation.<br>Ron DeSantis, the outgoing governor...