Transparency Coalition releases 2025 State AI Legislation Report: 73 new AI laws in 27 states

California enacted the most (13) new AI-related laws in 2025, followed by Texas (8), Montana (6), Utah (5), and Arkansas (5).

Oct. 30, 2025 — This morning the Transparency Coalition released the 2025 State AI Legislation Report, a comprehensive guide to every new AI-related laws enacted by state lawmakers this year.

This year’s report found 73 new AI-related laws adopted by legislators in 27 states. They range widely from protections against harmful AI deepfakes to limitations on the use of AI in healthcare. A number of states raised guardrails around the use of AI chatbots by children, while some lawmakers set down guidelines for the use of this new technology in long-established fields.

Highlights from the Report:

  • Strengthening protections against AI deepfakes was by far the most-addressed issue in 2025. In both red states and blue states—15 in all—lawmakers worked together to counter the harmful abuse of AI imaging tools.

  • Protecting kids against the harms of AI chatbots proved to be the most significant issue on-the-rise. Alarming reports of teenagers committing suicide as a result of deeply emotional digital relationships led lawmakers to take action in California, Maine, New York, and Utah.

  • Concern over the use of AI in healthcare decisions drove the passage of laws in eight states. Illinois banned the commercial use of AI therapy chatbots, while California and Oregon prohibited AI systems from posing as licensed medical professionals.

State legislators answering the call

Transparency Coalition CEO Rob Eleveld expressed his gratitude to the state leaders stepping up to embrace the challenge of balancing innovation with safety in this new era. “In a year of dramatic disruption, uncertainty, and change, I’m heartened by America’s state legislators and their bipartisan efforts to protect our kids, families and citizens from AI harms,” he said.

“The 2025 AI Legislation Report is an example of the Transparency Coalition’s dual mission,” he added, “to deliver accurate, complete, and timely information to lawmakers while advocating for sensible legislation that balances innovation and safety. 2025 has seen the onrush of powerful generative AI products, the emergence of lifelike chatbots, and a greater understanding of the risks this technology holds when the singleminded pursuit of profit overwhelms any sense of accountability and responsibility.”

Download the full report here

Select image to read the full report.

Intriguing new AI-related laws

A number of states enacted noteworthy laws spurred by the novel challenges of this powerful new technology. Those include:

  • Requiring human teachers in Illinois: State lawmakers passed a law that requires actual humans, not AI systems or chatbots, to teach in all community colleges.

  • Limits on AI use by law enforcement: California and Utah acted to prevent police officers from using AI to write up incident reports.

  • “The machine did it” is not a defense: California law now prevents a defendant from claiming AI acted autonomously to cause harm to a plaintiff

  • Foreign AI not allowed: Kansas and Oregon prohibited the use of DeepSeek and other foreign-owned or developed AI systems on state computers.

Coming in Jan. 2026: More TCAI News coverage of State ai bills

As part of our mission to provide the most accurate, accessible, and thorough information to legislators, policy leaders, staff members, and the public, the Transparency Coalition will continue to offer timely coverage of AI-related bills in the coming 2026 legislative year.

Most state legislatures are scheduled to convene on or near Jan. 5, 2026. Check back regularly with our TCAI News page to stay up to date on AI policy and the issues that lawmakers are talking about.


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