Committee hears NCSL briefing on state trends in artificial intelligence policy

Members of the Vermont House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee heard a briefing May 15 from Chelsea Canada of the National Conference of State Legislatures on emerging state trends in artificial intelligence policy, including comprehensive laws passed in Colorado and Utah, rising numbers of deep-fake and election-related measures, and guidance states are issuing to oversee AI use in government.

The presentation framed the topic as timely: states have been active in the absence of major federal regulation, introducing hundreds of bills in 2024 and more than a thousand proposals in 2025, Canada told the committee. She said many enacted measures focus on consumer protections, transparency, government use, and targeted use cases such as elections and explicit-content deepfakes.

Canada summarized three headline trends that have produced enacted state laws: comprehensive AI statutes that target “high‑risk” uses; narrower laws aimed at specific applications (for example, election- and deep‑fake-related restrictions); and a growing set of rules, inventories and procurement guidance governing state agencies’ use of AI. She told the committee that Colorado’s SB205 and Utah’s Artificial Intelligence Policy Act were examples of comprehensive approaches enacted last year and this year that other…