House Republicans have passed through committee a nationwide, 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state and local laws and regulations that impose requirements on AI and automated decision systems. The moratorium, which would not apply to laws that promote AI adoption, highlights the widening gap between a wave of new state AI laws and the light-touch approach to AI regulation embraced by the Trump Administration and 119th Congress. The proposed moratorium passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee 29-24 at the May 14 markup of its budget reconciliation bill, after overcoming united Democratic opposition and rejecting an amendment from Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) to remove the moratorium language. The moratorium, if enacted, could reshape the AI regulatory landscape in the United States, restricting state efforts to regulate AI regardless of whether Congress moves forward with its own regulatory framework. However, the moratorium likely faces procedural hurdles in the reconciliation process, making its prospects uncertain.
The moratorium would prohibit state and local governments from enforcing “any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems during the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.” Notably, the moratorium would not apply to laws or regulations that (1) have the “primary purpose and effect” of removing legal impediments to, facilitating, or streamlining procedures for the deployment or operation of AI, (2) impose AI requirements required by federal law or “generally applicable laws” that apply “in the same manner” to other technical systems with “comparable functions” to AI, or (3) that impose “reasonable and cost-based” fees or bonds that apply to both AI and non-AI models and systems alike.
The release of the proposed moratorium follows mounting concerns from Republican members of Congress and the AI industry about the effects of a patchwork of state AI laws on U.S. innovation, national security, and competitiveness in AI. The moratorium signals that the GOP Congress may be willing to take on a greater role in U.S. AI regulation – echoing debates around state privacy law preemption in recent years.
Nevertheless, passage of the moratorium is likely to face significant obstacles in the reconciliation process. Specifically, the Senate’s Byrd Rule prohibits reconciliation bills from containing policy provisions that are “extraneous” to the budgetary goals of reconciliation, including provisions that do not produce a change in federal outlays or revenues or have budgetary effects that are “merely incidental” to the provision’s policy goals. If the reconciliation bill that includes the AI moratorium provision passes the full House, Democratic senators could raise a point of order on the Senate floor to challenge the moratorium under the Byrd Rule. If the presiding officer sustains the point of order, the Senate may only overturn the decision with a 60-vote majority. Senate Republicans, who currently hold a 53-47 seat majority, would need at least seven Democratic votes to meet this threshold.
At the May 14 House Energy and Commerce markup, Representative Jay Obernolte (R-CA) sought to address potential issues with the Byrd Rule, stating that the moratorium was needed to “safeguard” the reconciliation bill’s proposed $500 million in funding for the Department of Commerce to “modernize” federal IT systems using AI. Because a moratorium on state AI rules does not bear directly on federal budget outlays or savings, the Senate parliamentarian could potentially rule that any budgetary impact of the moratorium is merely incidental to its policy goals, rejecting the language as violating the Byrd rule.
The proposed AI moratorium comes as state legislatures consider hundreds of new AI laws in the 2025 legislative session, with dozens of state AI laws enacted in 2024 and 2025 so far. While the moratorium may face opposition from lawmakers in states with AI laws on the books, others may support the House GOP’s approach – including Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D), who signed the Colorado AI Act into law in 2024 and has expressed support for a two- to four-year moratorium to allow Congress the opportunity to establish a federal AI regulatory framework.
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