One of the most controversial sections of the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ is a 10-year moratorium on state and local governments from enacting restrictions on artificial intelligence.
Multiple House Republicans, notably Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have vehemently opposed the moratorium.
“I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there. We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states hands is potentially dangerous. This needs to be stripped out in the Senate,” Greene said earlier this month.
“When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it. We should be reducing federal power and preserving state power. Not the other way around. Especially with rapidly developing AI that even the experts warn they have no idea what it may be capable of,” she added.
"The Big Beautiful Bill contains a provision banning state & local governments from regulating AI. It’s worse than you think," Massie said.
"It would make it easier for corporations to get zoning variances, so massive AI data centers could be built in close proximity to residential areas," he added.
"This isn’t a conspiracy theory; this was a recent issue in my Congressional district. It was resolved at the local level because local officials had leverage. The big beautiful bill undermines the ability of local communities to decide where the AI data centers will be built," he noted.
This isn’t a conspiracy theory; this was a recent issue in my Congressional district. It was resolved at the local level because local officials had leverage. The big beautiful bill undermines the ability of local communities to decide where the AI data centers will be built. pic.twitter.com/0mHcUs2RXd
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 5, 2025
Now, a group of 17 Republican governors want the 10-year moratorium scrapped from the budget reconciliation bill.
The governors asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday to remove the controversial provision.
"The letter is led by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and signed by the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming," Axios reports.
"I stand with a majority of GOP governors against stripping states of the right to protect our people from the worst abuses of AI. The U.S. must win the fight against China – on AI and everything else. But we won't if we sacrifice the health, safety, and prosperity of our people," Sanders wrote.
I stand with a majority of GOP governors against stripping states of the right to protect our people from the worst abuses of AI. The U.S. must win the fight against China – on AI and everything else. But we won't if we sacrifice the health, safety, and prosperity of our people. pic.twitter.com/cms8Xmacx5
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) June 27, 2025
Read the full letter:
Axios reports:
The governors wrote in the letter that the provision "threatens to undo all the work states have done to protect our citizens from the misuse of artificial intelligence."
Earlier on Friday, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the provision does not violate the Byrd Rule as long as its conditions only apply to a $500 million pot of AI deployment grants.
Sanders wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post against the AI moratorium earlier this week.
ADVERTISEMENT"In just the past year, states have led on smart regulations of the AI industry that simultaneously protect consumers while also encouraging this ever-developing and critical sector," the governors write.
"I fully agree with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and majority of governors and state attorney generals who are against the 10 year AI moratorium in the Big Beautiful Bill. Federalism, which our country was founded on, must be preserved at all times! Take it out of the BBB!!!" Greene said.
I fully agree with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and majority of governors and state attorney generals who are against the 10 year AI moratorium in the Big Beautiful Bill.
Federalism, which our country was founded on, must be preserved at all times!
Take it out of the BBB!!! https://t.co/hYcVqvq4LX
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 27, 2025
A few Republican senators have also voiced opposition to the moratorium.
It remains unclear if the provision will stay in the bill.
From POLITICO:
The letter comes as the first Senate vote on the megabill is expected Saturday. The provision is expected to face a bipartisan push on the floor to strip it from the bill. The Senate parliamentarian signed off on a rewritten and narrowed version of the moratorium on Friday.
A small bloc of GOP senators — most notably Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) — oppose the moratorium for infringing on states’ rights and others are thought to harbor reservations as well. It would take four Republicans joining with the Democrats to remove the provision.
A bipartisan group of 40 state attorneys general previously voiced opposition to the AI moratorium in a mid-May letter.
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