US lawmakers introduce 781 AI bills in just 66 days

If you thought AI product updates were shipping fast this year, take a look at Capitol Hill and state legislatures across the United States.

Just 66 days into 2025, lawmakers across the country have already introduced 781 bills targeting artificial intelligence, according to legislative tracking data from consulting firm MultiState. That means in slightly more than two months, politicians have already proposed more AI laws than they did in all of 2024, when the total reached 743 bills. For comparison, 2023 saw fewer than 200 proposals.

A patchwork of local rules

The flood of legislation spans completely different angles depending on where you look.

In Maryland, lawmakers proposed H.B. 1331, which focuses on regulating high-risk AI models used in consequential decisions like hiring or lending. In Texas, legislators introduced the sweeping Texas Responsible AI Governance Act. Meanwhile, Massachusetts lawmakers filed HD 3750, targeting healthcare insurance providers and requiring them to disclose whenever AI reviews patient claims.

Because there is no overarching guide, states are essentially improvising their own playbooks, turning the country into a chaotic patchwork of compliance rules.

The void in Washington

The main driver behind this surge is inaction at the federal level. Unlike the European Union, which passed its sweeping EU AI Act, the U.S. Congress has repeatedly struggled to agree on any federal framework.

The White House hasn't stepped in with aggressive guardrails either. In late January, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to promote AI development free from ideological bias while supporting economic competitiveness and national security. But Trump has yet to endorse major congressional legislation, leaving local lawmakers to fill the silence on their own.

Why it matters

For builders and startups, this is a massive operational headache. Having to comply with 50 different state laws instead of one clear national standard is practically a tax on innovation. Large enterprises can easily hire teams of lawyers to track every local twist, but an early-stage startup trying to deploy an AI agent across state lines could get burned fast.

We think this legislative gold rush looks more like political panic than thoughtful policy. While addressing issues like automated healthcare denials and algorithmic bias is necessary, fragmenting the regulatory landscape across hundreds of uncoordinated bills risks hurting domestic competitiveness without actually solving core safety challenges.