US state AI laws
The state-by-state tracker. Sort by effective date to see what bites next, or filter by status to see what is already live.
Forty-plus states have introduced AI bills; eleven are tracked here. They do not line up. Texas bans harmful uses by intent, Illinois governs hiring tools and biometrics, California stacks more AI statutes than any other state, Tennessee protects voice and likeness, Montana passed a statutory right to compute, Colorado repealed the country's first comprehensive act before it took effect, and Virginia's governor vetoed one outright. Almost all of them follow the affected resident, so a single national product can trigger several at once. Prefer questions to tables? Twelve answers on US AI law.
| State | Status | Effective | What it covers | Enforcement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 California | Partially in force | Jan 1, 2026 | Frontier transparency; training-data disclosure; AI Transparency Act (all public GenAI systems since Sep 30, 2026); companion chatbots; auditor framework; 2027 package on employment ADS, workplace surveillance, customer-service and health-care chatbots, digital replicas | Per-violation civil penalties ($5k under the Transparency Act, $50k until 2029 for falsely claiming its assistive-technology exemption, $500 to $10k under the 2027 laws); AG and public prosecutors |
 Colorado | Phasing in | Jan 1, 2027 | Automated decision technology; consumer rights; chatbot safety law (Jan 2027); AG rulemaking hearing Oct 26, 2026 | Up to $20k per violation; AG only; chatbot violations are deceptive trade practices; ADMT enforcement on hold under an April 2026 court order |
 Connecticut | Partially in force | Oct 1, 2026 (CART Act first wave in force) | CART Act omnibus: employment decision tools, AI companions, frontier whistleblowers, provenance, minors online; surveillance-pricing limits from July 2027 | AG enforcement under consumer-protection law |
 Illinois | In force | Jan 1, 2026 | AI in hiring; BIPA biometric privacy; frontier safety law (2027) with mandatory audits from 2028; AI Cabinet advisory body (Sep 2026); AI therapy ban (Aug 2025) | BIPA statutory damages via private suits; AG enforces the frontier law; IDFPR fines up to $10k for AI therapy |
 Montana | In force | Apr 16, 2025 | Statutory right to own and use compute, including for AI; limits on government AI use; name, voice, and likeness rights; election deepfake disclaimer law partly enjoined (Sep 2026) | HB 513 civil liability; Commissioner of Political Practices enforces SB 25; Right to Compute Act has no penalties; AG suing OpenAI under consumer-protection and privacy law (Oct 2026) |
 New York | Partially in force | Jan 1, 2027 | Frontier model transparency (2027); AI companion safeguards in force since Nov 2025; NYC hiring bias audit; synthetic-performer ad disclosure since June 2026; algorithmic pricing disclosure since Nov 2025 | RAISE Act up to $1m, then $3m; companions up to $15k a day; AG enforcement |
 Tennessee | In force | Jul 1, 2024 | AI voice and likeness cloning; intimate deepfakes; AI mental-health marketing and political deepfake disclaimers (Jul 2026) | Class A and Class C misdemeanors; civil and private actions; $5,000 civil penalty |
 Texas | In force | Jan 1, 2026 | Intent-based ban on harmful uses; government AI rules; AI in health records and utilization review | $10k to $200k; AG enforcement, no private suits; AG suing OpenAI under consumer-protection law (Oct 2026) |
 Utah | In force | May 1, 2024 | Generative AI disclosure; regulatory sandbox; mental-health chatbots; AI content provenance (Jan 2027); healthcare AI pilots in the sandbox (Oct 2026) | Admin fines; Consumer Protection division |
 Virginia | Lapsed / failed | No law in force | Comprehensive bill vetoed 2025; 2026 chatbot bills continued to 2027; rapid-response AI task force by executive order (Sep 2026); AI verification study due Nov 1, 2026 | VCDPA enforcement only |
 Washington | Partially in force | Mar 31, 2024 | Health data and AI inferences; chatbot law (Jan 2027) and provenance law (Feb 2027) signed March 2026 | AG enforcement; private suits under MHMD and the chatbot law |
No states match those filters.
A December 2025 executive order directs the Justice Department to challenge state AI laws and threatens federal funding for states that keep them. The Justice Department's first move was to join xAI's April 2026 suit against Colorado's original AI Act; an April 27 court order bars enforcement of that act and of its replacement, SB 26-189, for conduct through 14 days after a ruling on xAI's preliminary-injunction motion. Until the courts rule, every law in force above remains enforceable, except that a September 16, 2026 federal court order bars Montana from enforcing its election deepfake law against a former legislator and his political committee. The federal posture is covered on the United States overview.