HR5388-119

What This Bill Does

The American Artificial Intelligence Leadership and Uniformity Act is a federal AI preemption bill. It defines artificial intelligence, AI models, AI systems, and automated decision systems, states a national policy favoring U.S. AI dominance, sectoral and technology-neutral governance, permissive interstate-commerce rules, innovation by small businesses and open-source developers, and preemptive federal leadership, and requires the President through OSTP, AI/Crypto, National Security, Economic Policy, Domestic Policy, OMB, and other officials to issue a national AI action plan within 30 days. The action plan must identify legislative or administrative actions needed to ensure U.S. leadership, prevent state-by-state regulatory uncertainty, and support innovation, competition, national security, and civil liberties. For five years after enactment, states and political subdivisions may not enforce laws or regulations limiting, restricting, or otherwise regulating AI models, AI systems, or automated decision systems in interstate commerce. Exceptions preserve laws that remove legal impediments or facilitate AI deployment, allocate state benefits or services, enforce private contracts, protect trade secrets, regulate government procurement or deployment, implement state education standards, or enforce generally applicable technology-neutral criminal, civil-rights, consumer-protection, privacy, data-security, labor, licensing, tort, contract, property, tax, insurance, antitrust, or election laws. The bill also says it does not newly authorize federal agencies to impose substantive AI design, performance, data-handling, documentation, or civil-liability requirements beyond existing law.

Who Benefits and How

AI developers benefit from a five-year pause on state or local AI-specific restrictions for models and systems in interstate commerce. Open-source AI developers benefit because the policy section calls out permissionless innovation and open-source development. Small technology companies benefit from reduced risk of complying with different state-by-state AI rules during the moratorium. Federal AI policy officials benefit from a 30-day national action plan process that centralizes AI governance priorities.

Who Bears the Burden and How

State AI regulators lose authority to enforce many AI-specific restrictions during the five-year moratorium. Local governments regulating automated decision systems must fit within exceptions for procurement, services, education, or technology-neutral law. Consumer protection advocates may bear burden if AI-specific state rules are delayed even though general laws remain enforceable. White House science and technology officials must produce a national AI action plan within 30 days.

Key Provisions

• Defines AI models, AI systems, and automated decision systems.
• Requires a national AI action plan within 30 days.
• Preempts state and local AI-specific regulation of covered systems in interstate commerce for five years.
• Protects technology-neutral criminal, civil-rights, consumer, privacy, labor, tort, contract, tax, insurance, antitrust, and election laws.
• Limits any implication that federal agencies receive new substantive AI regulatory authority.