As readers of this newsletter know, this year saw a huge jump in interest in artificial intelligence policy at the state level. Last year, we saw 99 bills enacted into law at the state level after lawmakers introduced 635 bills. This year, MultiState has tracked 136 AI-related bills that states have enacted into law so far during the 2025 legislative sessions.

This week, we’ll begin a multi-part series examining how enacted laws define important terms in AI policy. This first article will focus on the “deployers” and “integrators” of artificial intelligence models. Next week, we will focus on definitions relating to model-developer regulation.

In California, like in 19 other states, citizens can circumvent the governor and the legislature altogether and enact laws directly through a ballot measure. And a week after Gov. Newsom vetoed the more restrictive AI chatbot bill, supporters of that effort filed a ballot measure that lifts much of the same bill language for the 2026 ballot.

California has long been a national leader in technology policy, and that continued in 2025, particularly in artificial intelligence legislation. The California State Legislature considered 48 AI-related bills this year, ultimately approving several significant measures. The headline of this year’s enactments is Sen. Scott Wiener’s (D) high-profile AI safety bill (CA SB 53), signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The new law, which we wrote about a few weeks ago, establishes requirements for developers of frontier AI models, focusing mostly on very large models without requiring obligations on deployers.

As we enter the final months of 2025, California is poised to make the biggest changes regarding AI regulation this year. While notable proposals failed to make it across the finish line in other states, in the last two weeks, California has issued new AI regulations, signed a major AI safety bill into law, and Governor Gavin Newsom (D) still has a substantial AI employment bill awaiting his decision. This comes as two agencies in California have also released final regulations this year addressing AI. 

Last week, the California Legislature wrapped up its 2025 legislative session, but not before passing several AI-related bills, including a major AI safety bill aimed at AI model developers (CA SB 53). Known as the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), Senator Scott Wiener’s (D) measure is designed to protect against catastrophic risk posed by certain “frontier” AI models. If signed into law, it could provide a template for other states to follow.

As California’s legislative session winds down, attention is once again on the Golden State to see whether it will maintain its leadership role in regulating emerging tech issues like artificial intelligence. Dozens of proposals were axed last week, but many key measures remain under consideration as lawmakers enter the final stretch. The surviving AI bills cover a wide range of priorities, from regulating foundation models and algorithmic pricing to protecting children from harmful chatbot interactions.

In 2024, Colorado became the first state in the nation to enact a broad algorithmic discrimination law with SB 205. The law aimed to place guardrails on the growing use of artificial intelligence by requiring developers and deployers of “high-risk” systems to use reasonable care to prevent algorithmic discrimination and to conduct impact assessments when AI systems were used in consequential decisions. But even upon signing the bill, Gov. Jared Polis (D) acknowledged that changes would have to be made before the bill took effect in February of 2026. Colorado lawmakers were unable to find a solution earlier this year and will redouble their efforts during a special session, hoping to revise the law to mitigate potential harms while also allowing AI to flourish as an industry.

Before it adjourned this week, the New York Legislature passed an important AI safety bill — the RAISE Act — through both chambers last Thursday. Unlike the algorithmic discrimination bills that have proliferated this year, which place requirements on any organization using AI tools, New York’s RAISE Act is an AI safety bill, placing requirements on the developers of the most powerful AI models.

The Texas Legislature approved the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA), an AI regulation bill that is much scaled-down from the ambitious “red state model” bill sponsor Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R) originally proposed. While the bill does impose limited guardrails and transparency measures, it is a retreat from robust regulation, a victory for industry groups wary of new compliance burdens, and a reflection of the political headwinds facing AI legislation across the country. The governor has until June 22, 2025, to decide whether to sign the bill into law.

This year, several states introduced large comprehensive consumer protection AI bills, many of which have been substantially amended or failed to see much movement. However, states have also introduced smaller, more targeted AI legislation that addresses certain topics such as insurance, renting, and employment. But even these more targeted AI bills appear to be struggling to make it through the legislative process, with only a few making it to a governor’s desk.