Attorney General J.B. McCuskey didn’t join 40 other state attorneys general calling on Congress to reject what they call an “irresponsible” federal measure that would block states from setting their own regulations on the use of artificial intelligence for the next 10 years.
Right now, states have the authority to set their own AI rules. The West Virginia Legislature recently passed a bill prohibiting the creation, distribution or possession of AI-generated child pornography.
A letter from the National Association of Attorneys General issued earlier this month said the “broad” AI moratorium measure, which is tucked into President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill, would be “sweeping and wholly destructive of reasonable state efforts to prevent known harms associated with AI.”
McCuskey’s office didn’t respond to questions about why he didn’t sign onto the letter, which included Republicans from Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia.
“This bill does not propose any regulatory scheme to replace or supplement the laws enacted or currently under consideration by the states, leaving Americans entirely unprotected from the potential harms of AI,” the letter read. “Moreover, this bill purports to wipe away any state-level frameworks already in place. Imposing a broad moratorium on all state action while Congress fails to act in this area is irresponsible and deprives consumers of reasonable protections.”
According to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 26 states adopted or enacted at least 75 new AI measures. Some of those measures have sought to ban the creation of deepfakes for political campaigns or ban the use of AI to send spam calls or texts.
Republicans in Washington behind the proposed state-level ban say there’s an urgent need to pass a unified, federal set of guidelines after more than 1,000 pieces of legislation relating to AI have been introduced just this year. A 10-year moratorium on state’s enacting AI laws could give Congress the time to pass those guidelines, they say, and the language banning states from setting their own AI regulations was rolled into the 1,100 page controversial budget bill.
Congress would prohibit enforcement of any existing laws on AI and decision-making systems. But Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, doesn’t think that West Virginia’s new law banning the use of AI in child pornography would be struck down should the federal measure pass because of how it’s written.
The measure, Senate Bill 198, made it a felony offense in West Virginia to use or entice a minor to assist in creating computer-generated images for child pornography or create a visual portrayal of a minor engaging in any sexually explicit conduct. It also bans the distribution of AI-generated child pornography. Weld, an attorney, said it addressed a loophole in the state’s current laws prohibiting child pornography as AI is a growing industry.
“The federal provisions would allow for SB 198 to go into effect because it doesn’t affect laws of general applicability … because [the bill] affects AI, but also it doesn’t discriminate between using artificial intelligence to manipulate an image or create a visual portrayal of a minor … using Adobe Photoshop or something like that,” he explained.
Weld said he was “reluctant” about states potentially losing their ability to regulate AI.
“I don’t like to see states being able to legislate on their own in areas that they generally have the authority to,” he said. “States are the laboratories of democracy for a reason.”
There are limited AI laws in West Virginia, but lawmakers have begun introducing legislation on the topic and exploring how it might work in government. In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill that launched a pilot program to explore how AI could be used to assess road quality and predict maintenance projects.
Last year the House of Delegates created the AI Select Committee that advanced four AI-related bills. Three of those measures died in the Senate, and one resolution, which created an AI Task Force, passed the full Legislature. The AI Task Force was asked to determine the state agency or agencies that would develop AI policies, consider public interest use cases for AI and more. The task force is supposed to submit a report by July.
The National Conference of State Legislatures also opposes the proposed moratorium on states’ ability to regulate AI, saying in a letter to U.S. House members that it “is an infringement on states’ authority to effectively legislate in this rapidly evolving and consequential policy domain, and in our view, is a violation of the Byrd Rule.” The rule — named for late Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd — governs the budget reconciliation process and provisions deemed “extraneous” are prohibited.
The AI law moratorium measure was packaged with $500 million to modernize federal IT programs with commercial AI systems through 2035.
The U.S. House narrowly approved the GOP-backed massive tax and spending bill with the AI measure on Thursday. Both West Virginia Reps. Riley Moore and Carol Miller, R-W.Va., voted in support of the bill, and it now heads to the U.S. Senate.
In Washington D.C., a House subcommittee earlier this week took its first major step in discussing widespread regulations for AI legislation at the federal level.
Support for federal guidelines or regulation around AI technologies received bipartisan support in the last Congress, States Newsroom reports.
On May 22, McCuskey sent a letter on behalf of 15 attorneys general to the Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission outlining the need “for federal officials to establish a Strategic Electricity Reserve to protect our nation’s energy grid.” It would be used in cases of power shortages or emergencies.
In a news release, McCuskey said, “the reserve will provide a layer of security that is needed now more than ever.”
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
“West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.”
