State Representatives Nick Kupper (R-25) and Julie Willoughby (R-13) spearheaded a letter to Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) urging them to modify a portion of the so-called "big beautiful bill," demanding a 10-year moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
Specifically, the "big beautiful bill" includes provisions allocating $500 million to modernize government functions with the help of AI and automation, but at the cost of preventing individual states from enforcing their own standards on the development of AI.
Reps. Kupper and Willoughby are not the only Republicans rankled by this part of the bill, as some Republican Senators have expressed opposition, as USA Today noted in the above link.
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As such, Kupper and Willoughby hope for Sens. Gallego and Kelly to be among the Democrats opposed to the AI regulation moratorium.
"The sweeping federal moratorium on enforcing laws like these is an unjustified overreach and would unnecessarily delay important protections for our residents," the State Representatives wrote in their letter, adding, "A blanket prohibition on state action could also hinder innovation and accountability by freezing regulatory progress and halting enforcement of common-sense reforms at the state level for an entire decade."
After all, as their press release noted, Kupper and Willoughby have both sponsored bipartisan bills affecting AI that were recently passed into law. For instance, Willoughby's House Bill 2175 prohibits algorithms from making final decisions on medical claim denials or prior authorization requests, while House Bill 2678 updates state criminal law to address AI-generated images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
"These are practical laws designed to protect Arizonans," Willoughby said in their joint press release, adding, "Washington shouldn't be dictating whether we can enforce them."
Similarly, Kupper said, "A 10-year freeze on state authority, with no federal alternative in place, is dangerous. We're asking Senators Kelly and Gallego to stand up for Arizona."
