US state AI laws (Colorado, California, Texas)
With no federal AI law, US states regulate AI themselves, mostly through disclosure duties and rules for automated decisions about people.
Colorado’s 2024 AI Act, modeled on the EU approach, never took effect: in May 2026 it was repealed and replaced by an automated decision-making law, from January 1, 2027, that requires notice before use, an explanation after an adverse decision and a right to human review, without the earlier duty of care or impact assessments. California has a frontier model transparency law (SB 53), an AI content disclosure law (SB 942) and CCPA rules on automated decision-making technology from January 1, 2027; Texas has its own law from January 1, 2026. A December 2025 executive order set up a federal task force to challenge state AI laws, but only Congress can preempt them, and it had not by November 2026.
Related terms
- EU AI Act: The EU regulation on AI systems: bans some uses, regulates high-risk ones, and sets transparency and AI literacy duties.
- US state privacy laws: With no federal privacy law, about 20 US states have their own comprehensive privacy laws in effect in 2026, each with its own thresholds and details.
- CCPA and CPRA (California privacy law): California’s consumer privacy law: rights to know, delete, correct and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, browser signals included.
- Agent autonomy levels: How much an AI agent may do without a person: suggest only, act with approval, act and report, or act alone within limits.
