**Federal Guidance Revives Debate Over State AI Legislation** The Trump administration has released new policy guidance for Congress on regulating artificial intelligence, which seeks to override most state AI laws. This move comes after a failed attempt to limit state AI legislation in the summer and an executive order in December that established an AI Litigation Task Force to curb state laws deemed restrictive. The new framework, released on Friday, aims to keep federal AI regulation minimal while overriding several state AI laws. It argues that state laws create an inconvenient regulatory patchwork that stymies innovation. The administration and AI companies claim that state laws slow development, harm jobs in the tech sector, and cede ground in the AI race to countries like China. However, experts dispute this notion, stating that safety and progress are not mutually exclusive. **State AI Laws Under Threat** The framework suggests that state laws must not "act contrary to the United States' national strategy to achieve global AI dominance." This means that states cannot "regulate AI development, because it is an inherently interstate phenomenon with key foreign policy and national security implications." It also targets the area of liability around model misuse by prohibiting states from "penalizing AI developers for a third party's unlawful conduct involving their models." **Federal Legislation: A Mixed Bag** While the framework seeks to override most state AI laws, it allows certain state protections to remain in place. For instance, states can use AI at their discretion for "services they provide like law enforcement." Additionally, the framework would not preempt state zoning laws governing where data centers and other AI infrastructure can be built. **Federal Approach to AI Safety Criticized** Researchers and experts remain dissatisfied with the federal approach to AI safety. They argue that the framework's light-touch approach to regulation is insufficient, particularly in the absence of clear guidelines for AI safety. The administration's emphasis on national competitiveness and global dominance has led some to question whether the federal government is prioritizing safety over innovation. **Federal Legislation Offers Some Concessions** The framework does offer some concessions to state concerns. It calls on Congress to codify a pledge by AI companies to cover the rising energy costs of data centers. This move acknowledges the growing impact of AI on the environment and seeks to address the issue at the federal level. However, the extent to which this concession will satisfy state concerns remains to be seen.