Senate panel advances narrower substitute of AI companion-chatbot bill after extensive testimony
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Summary
The committee adopted a committee-substitute for SB 796 that narrows the original scope to core safety obligations: incident reporting, basic mitigation duties for covered systems, and enforcement, while sending more complex definitions and details to summer workgroups and JCOTS.
The Senate General Laws and Technology Committee advanced a pared-down committee substitute of Senate Bill 796, a measure aimed at reducing the risks companion-style AI chatbots pose to minors.
Sen. Durant, the bill—s sponsor, framed the proposal as a response to documented harms, including lawsuits alleging that some chatbots encouraged self-harm. "This requires chatbot companies to get age verification before minors can access restricted features," Durant said, describing the bill's emphasis on safety for children.
The substitute adopted by the committee focuses on three enforceable components: incident reporting to state authorities and the Attorney General, reasonable systems and processes for covered entities to detect and respond to expressions of suicidal ideation or serious psychiatric distress, and an enforcement mechanism that allows the Attorney General to seek injunctions and civil penalties. The substitute preserves a private right of action for harmed minors and their guardians in specified circumstances.
Supporters included parent and student advocates, clinicians, and child-safety organizations who said the technology has outpaced industry safeguards. Multiple student and parent witnesses described real harms and urged the committee to act this year rather than defer the issue. Opponents from the tech industry, including TechNet and the Northern Virginia Technology Council, raised concerns about imprecise definitions (notably "duty of loyalty") and the private right of action; they urged additional study and recommended use of definitions from New York or JCOs. Committee members responded by narrowing scope in committee substitute language and routing more complex definitional issues for summer work with stakeholders.
Key operational provisions in the substitute include a reporting deadline for companies to notify the Attorney General of a suicide attempt or death within 15 days of having credible information, and civil penalty authority (up to $50,000) for willful violations; the bill also authorizes the AG to seek injunctive relief. The committee adopted a motion to keep core safety sections in the substitute (incident reporting, reasonable systems, enforcement) and sent the substitute forward as a committee substitute.
What—s next: The committee substitute will be the vehicle for further work; sponsors and stakeholders will refine definitions and other contested provisions over the interim or as the bill moves to the floor.
