Lawmakers Threaten Legal Fight Over AI Executive Order

(TNS) — California lawmakers say they’re not deterred by a new executive order that would threaten the state’s abilities to regulate artificial intelligence.

“Setting safety guardrails on products has been a core pillar of state law for decades, and it’s absurd for Trump to think he can weaponize the DOJ and Commerce to undermine those state rights,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. Wiener previously said he believed his comprehensive SB 53 could be targeted by the president’s new “AI Litigation Task Force.”

“If the Trump Administration tries to enforce this ridiculous order, we will see them in court.”

Wiener led the charge of 20 California lawmakers who sent a letter Thursday, before the executive order was signed, asking their congressional counterparts to push back against preemption or other efforts to limit the state’s flexibility.

“In recent years, we’ve led the way in addressing the safety and security of emerging technologies by enacting laws to inform the public when generative AI is being used, to guard against harms to minors from chatbots, and creating accountability for developers of frontier AI models,” the letter read. “These laws have established our state as a leader in balancing both innovation and safety.”

The letter also offers California’s assistance in developing AI legislation on the federal level.

“This will be achieved not by forcing state legislatures to stand idle as our constituents face challenges and seek opportunities with this technology, but through a partnership that respects state authority and leverages our collective expertise.”

President Donald Trump’s order would create a framework for the federal government to sue states that have “burdensome” AI laws, and threatens states that disobey with restrictions on broadband funding. The president has said he doesn’t want there to be a “patchwork” of state laws when it comes to AI.

“They’re always saying that. So it doesn’t bother me. I’ve heard it before,” said state Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton.

McNerney compared the AI patchwork to that of emissions regulations and privacy laws, although he said he understood why state-by-state regulation would be burdensome for companies.

Even still, “I don’t think it will discourage legislators like myself from states around the country from proposing legislation that’s narrowly tailored,” he said.

On Friday, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, also said she was undeterred by the order.

“This order is legally dubious and morally indefensible,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “We will fight this unconstitutional overreach and defend our right to protect Californians from technologies that cause real harm to real people.”

McNerney said he plans to put forward legislation during the new session, which begins in January, that would create a set of voluntary standards for AI companies, around things like watermarking, data transparency and accuracy in medical evaluations.

“I think it’s very important to get some safeguards and guardrails in AI because things are moving very quickly.”

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