Key takeaway: With just a month until 2026, state legislatures are already considering hundreds of AI and privacy bills.
This post provides key points regarding the state’s AI and privacy bill proposed last month. The content provided below is time sensitive and subject to change.
Overall important points
1. Congress in session
There are currently 38 parliaments in session. Ultimately, 46 Congresses will be in session in 2026, with Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas remaining closed. The legislatures of these four states convene every other year. The fact that Montana, Nevada, and Texas are shutting down shouldn’t be overlooked, as they considered a number of privacy and AI-related bills last year.
2. Notable early parliaments
The length of legislative sessions varies by state. For example, the California Legislature is in session but will not adjourn until the end of August. So while this is an important state to track, we are likely to see progress later this year, including the May 29 deadline for the bill to pass both chambers of Congress.
On the other hand, in some states, the legislative session is short and ends quickly. The short-session states we are closely tracking this year are Utah (closes March 6), Florida (closes March 13), Virgina (closes March 14), Washington (closes March 21), and Maryland (closes April 13).
Key points of the AI bill
1. Total billing amount
Just one month into 2026, we’ve already tracked 300 AI-related invoices (as of February 1st). Although this number is high, there are two important qualifications. First, many states rolled over their bills starting in 2025. Going into 2026, about 130 bills had already been rolled over. That said, 240 of the 300 bills were introduced this year or have seen some movement.
The second qualification is that we have narrowed the scope of bills we track this year. Our scope this year focuses on state AI bills that can directly or indirectly impact AI developers and adopters in the private sector. We do not track AI legislation that focuses on the government’s use of AI. insurance; workgroups; education; legal settings. Name, image, portrait. deep fake. CSAM and sexual content. and election interference. Of course, if these bills were included, the total number of bills would be even higher.
That said, President Trump’s executive order on securing a national policy framework for artificial intelligence does not appear to have influenced the introduction of new legislation. But just because a lawmaker introduces a new bill doesn’t mean it will become law. It’s also unclear what kind of AI law the Trump administration would be subject to. As we discuss in the next section, lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation on topics such as chatbots and pricing, perhaps indicating that they believe these are safe areas to legislate.
2. Areas of importance to parliamentarians
Of the categories we’re tracking this year, we’re seeing the most movement in chatbots, pricing, and legislation regulating health. These bills have been introduced across the country by both Republicans and Democrats.
We use the term “chatbot” to cover different types of invoices, but their overall similarity is that they deal with AI (actually GenAI/LLM) that interacts directly with individuals. These claims include companion chatbots (when a chatbot acts as someone’s “friend” or “partner”), consumer chatbots (when a chatbot engages with an individual in a consumer setting), and healthcare chatbots (when a chatbot provides medical or mental health information). We are currently tracking 51 “chatbot” claims. However, this number is less than the total number of chatbot bills because we classify bills that cover multiple issues, including chatbots, into other categories, such as Florida’s AI Bill of Rights.
Last year, several states, including California and New York, passed laws regulating chatbots. The California State Legislature is currently considering a bill to amend the Chatbot Act (SB 300). The bill passed the Senate unanimously last week.
Another topic where many new bills are being introduced is pricing. Similar to the chatbot, we use this category to group different invoices. However, in general, these bills would regulate how AI is used to set consumer prices. More specifically, these bills target topics such as supervised pricing (using personal data to set prices), algorithmic pricing (setting prices based on time of day, availability, personal data, etc.), rental prices, wages, and dynamic pricing for food and beverage establishments. We are currently tracking 62 of these invoices.
Healthcare-related AI legislation is also a hot topic in state legislatures. These bills include topics such as how healthcare professionals will use AI to diagnose patients, prescribe medications, interact with patients and create patient-related documents. Many of these bills also directly address the use of AI in mental health treatment. We are currently tracking 22 of these invoices.
3. Banknotes
Many bills are expected to move forward during the 2026 session, but as of January 2026, the following bills are showing early signs of movement.
Last month, two bills were passed by Congress in New York. A 3411 passed Congress on January 28th. This bill would require the owner, licensee, or operator of a GenAI system to provide a clear and conspicuous notice on the system’s user interface that the GenAI system’s output may be inaccurate. Meanwhile, S 8828 (Chapter Amendment to the RAISE Act) passed the Senate last week. This bill (and/or its companion bills) will be passed by the Legislature based on the agreement reached with Governor Hochul when he signed the RAISE Act last year.
Florida’s S 482 (AI Bill of Rights) failed in the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee on January 21 by a 10-0 vote and is now referred to the Appropriations Committee. Among other things, the bill would create AI rights (e.g., the right to know whether AI technology companies are collecting personal information), regulate the use of AI by chatbots and states, and create a ban on the use of personal information by technology companies. The bill is sponsored by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
On the other side of the country, Washington state lawmakers have already moved six bills out of committee: HB 2157 (High-Risk AI Systems), HB 2503 (GenAI Training Data), SB 5984/HB 2225 (Companion Chatbots), HB 2481 (Prohibiting Surveillance-Based Price Discrimination and Surge Pricing of Retail Goods), and HB 2144 (Employments).
Meanwhile, Utah’s HB 286 (AI Transparency Amendment) passed out of committee and is being considered in the 3rd House plenary, and Virginia’s SB 269 (Use of AI in Mental Health) passed out of committee unanimously.
Early passage of bills in Florida, Washington, Utah, and Virginia is not surprising given that their legislatures end in March.
Key points of the privacy bill
1. Total billing amount
We are currently tracking 181 bills, including consumer data privacy, children’s privacy, biometric privacy, data brokers, consumer health data privacy, and other topics. The most prominent category of bills we track is consumer data privacy bills (68). The high number of banknotes (compared to states) is caused by two factors. First, lawmakers in some states have introduced multiple bills. For example, we are tracking 10 consumer data privacy bills in New York. Second, we also track bills that seek to amend existing laws. For example, we are tracking six bills introduced in Virgina to amend federal consumer data privacy laws.
2. Areas of importance to parliamentarians
Regulation of children’s online activities remains a hot topic among lawmakers. Lawmakers from both parties across the country are introducing legislation in this area. This is not a partisan topic. It’s the parent topic. However, we are finding that there is no common approach among legislators, making interoperability difficult for businesses. Additionally, we’ve seen legislators in a number of states introduce App Store bills, including bills introduced in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These bills are being filed even though a federal district court in Texas recently blocked Texas’ App Store bill as unconstitutional.
Data broker/takedown bill submissions are also on the rise. Lawmakers have introduced bills this year in Hawaii, Nebraska, New Hampshire (killed the bill), New Mexico, New York, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, DC.
Finally, while no states passed consumer data privacy laws last year, several states are poised to pass consumer data privacy laws in 2026. Wisconsin lawmakers began moving a companion data privacy bill last month. Meanwhile, carryover bills in Massachusetts, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont may be worth tracking closely. Specifically, bills in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have already passed one chamber.
3. Banknotes
Many bills are expected to move forward during the 2026 session, but as of January 2026, the following bills are showing early signs of movement.
On January 20, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed A 5017 before leaving office. This bill would amend New Jersey’s Consumer Data Privacy Act and add exemptions.
In Wisconsin, AB 172 (Consumer Data Privacy) passed unanimously in the Assembly State Affairs Committee on January 28 and is now attached to the Rules Committee. Meanwhile, a public hearing was held on a related bill, SB 166. This bill was originally introduced in March or April 2025. For reference, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed a consumer data privacy bill (AB 957) four years ago this month, but the bill failed to pass in the Senate.
In Virgina, SB 338 passed unanimously from the General Law Technical Committee on January 28th. The bill would amend federal consumer data privacy laws to prohibit controllers from selling precise location data. Meanwhile, SB 232, the Consumer Data Privacy Act Amendments Relating to Children’s Privacy, was rejected by the committee by an 8-6 vote. Both bills are currently being voted on in the full Senate.
The South Carolina General Assembly passed the Age Appropriate Design Act (H 3431) in January. The bill awaits action by the governor. Meanwhile, Alabama’s HB 161 (App Store) has passed the House and appears poised to pass the Senate.
Finally, the Hawaii Senate Committee amended and advanced SB 1163. Among other things, the bill prohibits the sale of geolocation information and internet browser information without consent.
