The US Senate Removes State AI Regulation Ban From Trump's Big Bill

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn (photo: x @VoteMarsha)

JAKARTA - The Republican-led United States Senate on Tuesday July 1 took the majority to lift the 10-year ban on artificial intelligence (AI) regulations by the state, previously listed in the draft US President Donald Trump's major law on tax cuts and budget spending.

In a marathon session known as "vote-a-rama", senators voted 99-1 to remove the ban clause by accepting amendments submitted by Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn. This session allows legislative members to submit various amendments to the major legislation being discussed.

Senator Thom Tillis is the only one who chooses to maintain the ban.

The bill version from the Senate previously only limited states from accessing new USD 500 million in funds to support AI infrastructure if they continued to regulate AI.

A number of large AI companies, including Google (Alphabet) and OpenAI, have previously expressed their support so that AI regulations are not in the hands of each state, in order to avoid various and confusing requirements that could hinder innovation.

Senator Blackburn initially filed an amendment after agreeing a compromise with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz the day before. The compromise will cut the ban to five years and provide concessions to states to regulate issues such as protecting children's voices or child safety on the internet, provided the regulation doesn't burden AI unnaturally.

However, before the vote, Blackburn withdrew his support for the compromise.

"Language in current provisions is unacceptable to those who need this protection the most," the senator from Tennessee said in a statement. "Until Congress passes online child protection laws such as the Kids Online Safety Act and a nationally applicable digital privacy framework, we cannot prohibit states from enacting laws that protect their citizens."