Gov. Youngkin Vetoes Virginia AI Bill
Virginia won’t be the next state with an AI law regulating development, deployment and use of high-risk systems. Calling the proposed requirements “burdensome,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed HB-2094 Monday.
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“Our Administration has worked tirelessly to build the Commonwealth into a place where companies of all sizes can thrive, including AI innovators,” Youngkin wrote in a veto message. “Our efforts have added thousands of tech jobs, and secured hundreds of millions in new economic growth from businesses moving to or expanding in Virginia. The regulatory framework called for by HB 2094 would undermine this progress, and risks turning back the clock on Virginia’s economic growth, stifling the AI industry as it is taking off.”
“There are many laws currently in place that protect consumers and place responsibilities on companies relating to discriminatory practices, privacy, data use, libel, and more,” added Youngkin. “HB 2094’s rigid framework fails to account for the rapidly evolving and fast-moving nature of the AI industry and puts an especially onerous burden on smaller firms and startups that lack large legal compliance departments.”
The Virginia governor’s “veto aligns with the federal administration's deregulatory stance on emerging technologies,” privacy lawyer Andrew Folks of Frankfurt Kurnit blogged. “Republican leadership has uniformly prioritized innovation and American competitiveness in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, rather than focusing on safety and governance. This dynamic is playing out similarly at the state level.”
The Democratic-controlled legislature could override the veto with two-thirds votes. However, neither the House nor Senate reached that threshold in split votes last month on the bill (see 2502200003). The last two votes were 52-46 in the House and 21-19 in the Senate.