Artificial Intelligence (AI) Legislation Tracker 2026: All 50 States (Updated 2026)
State lawmakers across the country are increasingly addressing AI through legislation in 2026
As AI technologies have burst on the scene, state lawmakers have responded by addressing concerns with this ubiquitous technology through public policy. In 2023, we saw less than 200 bills introduced across state legislatures addressing the issue of AI. But that shifted in 2024 when MultiState tracked over 600 AI-related bills with nearly 100 enacted into law. That number reached 1,200 bills introduced across all 50 states in 2025. As of March 2026, state lawmakers in 45 states have already introduced 1,561 AI-related bills, covering everything from algorithmic accountability and generative AI regulation to state laws on nonconsensual explicit deepfakes, and the legislative session is still underway.
Most states run on two year legislative sessions from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years (the exceptions are New Jersey and Virginia, which both begin a new two year session in 2026 and Texas, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota, which only hold one legislative session every two years in the odd-numbered year). Of the 44 states that begin the second year of a two-year session in 2026, 23 of those states allow bills to carry over from the previous year to the new year. Meanwhile, in the 21 non-carry over states, the bills that did not make it past the finish line by the end of 2025 are now dead and will need to be reintroduced in 2026.
Keep an eye on the bills we're tracking with the state-by-state bill tracking map below. For a comprehensive view of current state laws related to AI, see our state-by-state AI policy overviews.
A note on methodology: MultiState tracks hundreds of thousands of bills throughout the legislative process for hundreds of clients on a vast variety of topics. Each client has a different perspective on why they care about certain bills, and we customize our tracking and analysis for each client. Our tracking of "AI-related" bills below is an amalgamation of many different perspectives on "artificial intelligence" organized internally into dozens of AI subtopics. For this purpose, "AI-related" is defined broadly, and includes legislation relating to generative AI, forming task forces and committees to study AI policy, right to compute and AI regulatory sandboxes, budget items to incentivize AI-related investment in a state or boost education on using AI, nonconsensual explicit deepfakes, as well as legislation related to other "AI" related technologies such as autonomous vehicles and facial recognition systems. The growing number of bills introduced on the topic of AI is an indication of the high level of interest from policymakers in this emerging technology, but note that less than 15% of bills introduced by state lawmakers actually become law on average.
With 1,500+ AI bills introduced across 45 states in 2026 alone, keeping up with state AI legislation is a full-time job. MultiState tracks AI bills across all 50 states in real time — so your team always knows what's moving, what's stalled, and what requires action. See how MultiState's AI Legislative Tracking service works →
State AI Bill Tracker 2026
Use the interactive map below to track AI bills by state. Filter by bill status, topic, and chamber to see what's moving in your priority states.
State AI Legislation in 2026
As of March 2026, state lawmakers in 45 states have introduced 1,561 AI-related bills, already surpassing the total number of bills introduced in all of 2024. Legislative sessions are still active in many states, and this number is expected to grow throughout the year. The most active areas of legislation in 2026 include generative AI regulation, algorithmic accountability, AI use in hiring and employment decisions, and expanded protections against nonconsensual explicit deepfakes. Of the 44 states in the second year of a two-year session, 23 allow bills to carry over from 2025, meaning many bills already advanced through committee last year are positioned to move quickly in 2026.
State AI Legislation in 2025
In 2025, state lawmakers in all 50 states introduced 1,208 AI-related bills, the first year every state had introduced at least one AI-related bill. Of those, 145 bills were enacted into law in 2025, representing a significant increase from prior years. Key areas of enacted legislation included consumer protections around AI-generated content, transparency requirements for automated decision-making, and continued expansion of state deepfake laws. Many of the bills that did not pass in 2025 in carry-over states remain alive heading into 2026.
State AI Legislation in 2024
In 2024, state lawmakers in 45 states introduced 635 AI-related bills, more than three times the volume seen in 2023. Of those, 99 bills were enacted into law in 2024, with nonconsensual explicit deepfake laws among the most widely enacted category, passing in 22 states. Congress debated an additional 107 bills in 2024, reflecting growing federal interest in AI regulation even as states continued to move faster. The surge in 2024 legislation set the foundation for the record-breaking pace of AI bill introductions seen in 2025 and 2026.
