Bipartisan State Leaders Pass Federalism Resolution Days After Trump AI Order
Days after President Donald Trump posted an executive order that seeks to stop state AI laws, the bipartisan Assembly of State Legislative Leaders passed a resolution on restoring federalism and empowering states, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said Tuesday in a news release. In the resolution, the state leaders oppose federal preemption of state laws and urge the federal government to preserve the role of states as labs of democracy.
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The group, which includes about 40 state legislators in leadership roles, maintains “that federal agency rules, congressional legislation, and executive orders must respect the constitutional division of powers and encourage diversity in state policy without imposing uniformity,” said the resolution, which was passed Monday. “We oppose federal preemption of state laws except when a direct conflict with the Constitution arises or the issue cannot be effectively addressed at the state level.”
Trump’s AI executive order has received bipartisan pushback, including from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom (see 2512150050), who are both also expected to make presidential runs in 2028, and each party’s co-chair on the Future Caucus’s AI task force (see 2512120042).
At a media briefing last week, NCSL CEO Tim Storey said 2026 would likely be an "extremely active year around AI" in state legislatures, regardless of Trump's EO (see 2512090043).