The White House has released the National AI Legislative Framework, a legislative proposal designed to establish federal oversight for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.

The framework follows previous White House executive orders calling for an “innovation first” light-touch policy framework that includes minimal specifics on regulatory guardrails for AI development and deployment.

If passed by Congress, the framework would establish national standards that pre-empt state-level regulations to reduce the complexity of the current compliance environment for developers.

Referencing the Dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution, the White House maintains that because AI is an "inherently interstate technology," no individual state should be permitted to set rules that impact the national industry.

Key components of the federal preemption include:

• Superseding State Laws: Federal law would override state frameworks that "stifle innovation" or "mandate ideological bias," specifically targeting elements of current AI frameworks in California and Colorado.
• Sector-Specific Oversight: The framework recommends empowering sector-specific regulators like the FDA and SEC to oversee the development and deployment of the technology through industry-led standards, instead of establishing a new federal agency.
• State Authority Carve-outs: States would retain authority over child safety protections, local zoning for data centers, and state government procurement of AI.

Beyond regulation, the framework seeks to integrate AI into the national economy through investment in workforce development initiatives. It proposes a federal "Digital Replica" law to protect individual likenesses and voices from unauthorized AI use. Furthermore, the White House recommends that training AI on copyrighted data be treated as "fair use" in regulation, allowing federal courts to make case-by-case determinations on potential copyright violations.

The framework outlines immediate enforcement mechanisms that do not require Congressional action.

• AI Litigation Task Force: The Department of Justice will launch a task force to sue states whose local AI laws are deemed to interfere with interstate commerce.
• Funding Leverages: The Department of Commerce may withhold Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds from non-compliant states.
• Transparency Standards: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will establish a federal disclosure standard to override varying state transparency requirements.

HIMSS will continue to monitor any Congressional action associated with the Framework. Read our White House National AI Legislative Framework Fact Sheet to learn more.