ALEC Policy Champions: Utah Sen. Kirk Cullimore and Rep. Jefferson Moss Lead the Way on State Artificial Intelligence Legislation

While several U.S. states continue to pursue excessive regulations threatening America’s global leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), legislative leaders in Utah pioneered a better path forward earlier this year that states can use to take positive, constructive steps that encourage responsible AI development.

Utah SB 149, spearheaded by Senate Majority Assistant Whip Kirk Cullimore and House Majority Leader Jefferson Moss, was approved unanimously and signed into law by Governor Spencer Cox in March 2024, and later inspired ALEC’s Model State Artificial Intelligence Act. This model policy is now featured as one of our Essential Policy Solutions for 2025.

Instead of attempting to regulate “algorithmic bias,” or burying AI innovators in regulatory red tape before they can even get off the ground, Utah SB 149 focuses on easing regulatory burdens, and invites businesses and stakeholders to collaborate with the legislature on policies that “encourage development” of AI and “evaluate the effectiveness and viability of proposed regulation.”

To accomplish this, Utah chartered a first-in-the-nation Artificial Intelligence Learning Laboratory, housed within the State Commerce Department. The AI Learning Lab is now up and running and recently announced that their first case study will be the intersection of AI and mental health. The Lab is also accepting applications for regulatory mitigation agreements, similar to regulatory sandboxes.

Utah’s law also includes reasonable transparency requirements intended to inform consumers when AI is used in a transaction, and importantly places the responsibility for compliance on individuals, not the original developers of a multi-purpose AI model.

Some sources estimate that nearly 700 bills were filed in 45 states attempting to regulate AI in some fashion, and dozens more have already been pre-filed for the coming 2025 legislative session. Many policymakers have been searching for a free-market alternative to help their states become leaders in this growing field instead of saddling our maturing AI sector with punitive regulations.

ALEC commends Representative Moss and Senator Cullimore for their leadership in AI policy, and for their determination to make the Beehive State a new hub for emerging tech innovation. Congratulations!