DeSantis Slams White House AI Preemption as Florida Senate Backs 37-1 Bill of Rights
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 11
DeSantis Slams White House AI Preemption as Florida Senate Backs 37-1 Bill of Rights
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 11
Summary
DeSantis on Thursday called possible federal preemption of state AI rules “bad policy and even worse politics,” warning it could block future Florida regulation.
Florida’s push has included a Senate-passed AI bill of rights, a lawsuit against OpenAI and a criminal probe into whether a chatbot aided a deadly school-shooting suspect.
The bill of rights would have required chatbots to share minors’ interactions with parents, allow time limits and send alerts about self-harm or violent statements, but the Florida House never gave it a hearing.
James Uthmeier last week asked a judge to force OpenAI to obtain parental consent for some young users’ data collection and sought damages and operating changes.
Florida still enacted data-center rules requiring large facilities to cover their own utility-service costs, even as the Trump administration weighs broader national AI preemption over state-by-state laws.
With a federal AI framework on the horizon, will state-level efforts to protect children online become obsolete?
When an AI is implicated in a fatal crime, where does legal accountability truly lie?
Are consumers unknowingly footing the bill for the AI boom through higher utility rates as its power usage soars?
Florida’s 2026 AI Bill of Rights Collapse: State-Federal Power Struggle and the Future of AI Regulation
Overview
Florida's proposed 'AI Bill of Rights' (SB 482) failed to pass in the House in April 2026, despite strong support in the Senate and ongoing advocacy from Governor Ron DeSantis for strict state-level AI regulation. The bill aimed to protect minors and ensure transparency, including a 45-day cure period for AI companies to fix violations and significant fines for non-compliance. Its failure highlights the tension between state efforts to regulate AI and the push for a unified national framework, reflecting broader debates about whether states or the federal government should lead on AI policy.