Attorney General Jackley, AGs Oppose Budget Amendment Prohibiting States from Enforcing Artificial Intelligence Regulations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 16, 2025

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and 39 other Attorneys General announce they oppose a proposed Congressional budget amendment that would impose a 10-year prohibition on states from enforcing any state law or regulation addressing artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making systems.

The amendment, which would be part of the budget reconciliation bill if approved, would strip away essential state protections without replacing them with a viable federal regulatory framework and silence state leaders who are best positioned to respond.  The Attorneys General have sent a letter to Congressional leadership expressing their concern.

“As Attorney General, I fully support the State’s ability to impose reasonable regulations on AI within South Dakota,” said Attorney General Jackley. “AI has its benefits, but left unchecked, it could lead to real dangers to the public ranging from explicit material and election interference to deception, exploitation, and harassment against consumers.”

Attorney General Jackley is a long-time advocate of reasonable regulations of AI. Senate Bill 79, passed by the 2024 State Legislature, included his legislation that revised certain definitions to the current child pornography laws and criminalized the possession, manufacturing, or distribution of child pornography.

Other Attorneys General who signed the letter are from American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The letter can be found here:

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