This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Most of the bills Virginia lawmakers proposed this year to regulate artificial intelligence were either scrapped or shelved until 2027 — and the fate of the few surviving bills depends on if they can pass three tests.
People can use AI for everything from simple tasks like writing grocery lists to accessing crucial tools such as therapy. To set guardrails on the technology, state legislators put forward various bills for the 2026 General Assembly session, such as rules aimed to protect children and to set up AI guidance for K-12 public schools.
Many of the bills didn't clear the House of Delegates' Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee. Del. Cliff Hayes (D–Chesapeake), the committee's chair, says AI bills need to pass three tests before advancing and having a chance to become law.
AI bills can't conflict with Virginia's Consumer Data Protection Act or have a significant fiscal impact on the state budget, Hayes said. They also can't clash with President Donald Trump's executive order that threatens to withhold broadband funding from states that enact laws that seek to rein in AI.
"When you're dealing with state resources and policy, it's not always the greatest thing to be first," Hayes told VPM News earlier this month. "Sometimes you need to let some of this new stuff kind of settle."
Hayes said that his own AI-related bills, including one to set limits on concert ticket resales, didn't pass because they couldn't clear the three hurdles he outlined.
Other AI legislation that didn't get a greenlight this year includes bills to set rules for AI use for therapy, make police disclose AI tools used in criminal investigations and require quarterly reports detailing how state employees have been impacted by the technology.
Legislators who put forward AI bills that were rejected mainly cited Trump's executive order and concerns that the proposals would endanger Virginia's much-needed broadband funding.
Trump issued an executive order late last year that calls for a national AI standard and a task force that may sue over any state laws deemed overly burdensome.
It also directs US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to withhold some funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program from states that enact "onerous" laws that threaten to hold back the rapidly growing industry.
The Commerce Department approved Virginia's final proposal for the broadband funding in November. According to federal documents, Virginia's final allocation from the program is close to $1.5 billion.
Del. Michelle Lopes Maldonado (D–Prince William), a former technology lawyer, carried many of Virginia's AI-related bills this year. One of her bills sought to prohibit children's use of chatbots if the interactions can encourage or manipulate them to harm people, hurt themselves or have suicidal ideation.
Before Maldonado's bill was heard, she raised doubts over whether Trump's order was constitutional. She also told VPM News that she felt her legislation — which was ultimately continued to 2027 — was likely safe because it focused on child safety, which is one of the topics Trump's order allows states to regulate.
But last week, Maldonado pointed out that the White House issued a warning to Republican-led Utah over AI legislation that also focused on child safety.
"I think that there is a lot being balanced right now, and the House is really trying to take a practical approach about how far do we lean in, given the broader environment and the potential targeting of Virginia," Maldonado said.
State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D–Fairfax) proposed legislation that would require health care carriers to disclose AI used for claims coverage.
On Monday, it became the latest AI bill that the House Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee continued until 2027 over broadband funding fears.
"Concerns are real. I think it's not the concern with AI itself. It's the concern that we have a federal government who does not want us to do anything," Salim told VPM News after the bill was shelved. "When they're trying to pull back funding, it puts limitations on what the state can do."
But Hayes, who has a 30-year background in technology management, told VPM News that he also believes many of the AI bills are premature and not "sound structurally in terms of technology."
"We need to make sure we get it right that way first," he added. "We're not in the business of passing ideas. We're passing law."
Hayes said legislators decided years ago that they should look to bolster AI oversight in Virginia. He noted the work of Virginia's Joint Commission on Technology and Science, a group he leads that's tasked with considering and recommending potential new AI rules.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration — including the attorney general's office, state agencies and other stakeholders — have played a part in the process, but Hayes said that the vetting started before Spanberger took office and the 2026 session.
A Spanberger spokesperson said the governor's office "has been working with bill patrons to ensure legislation relating to artificial intelligence responds to the needs of Virginia workers, aligns with the Governor's goal of making Virginia the top state in the nation for business, and accounts for recent federal actions — particularly those that risk federal broadband infrastructure funding that has been allocated to the Commonwealth."
"Yes, we want to be fast, we want to be innovative, but at the same time we want to be the seat belts," Hayes said. "We want to go safe."
Navya Annapareddy, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia School of Data Science, said AI regulations need to balance the tradeoff between innovation and safety.
"The ones that will be successful, in my opinion, are the ones that clearly define what mechanisms are essentially violating either existing state-level laws or building towards a uniform national standard, which we are far away from," Annapareddy said.
Hayes says that state lawmakers need to address AI harms and other concerns because the federal government has not put forward a plan yet.
Among the measures that are still alive is a bill that would require Virginia's Board of Education to develop guidance that local school boards would have to use to craft AI policies.
State Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D–Fairfax), who is carrying the legislation, said it aims to offer guidance to local school systems without stifling AI innovation.
"Ensuring that our students' data is protected, ensuring that their data can't be sold to companies that are going to make money off of them," she told VPM News last week.
Pekarsky said she understands the broadband funding concerns, which also spiked her other AI-focused bill, but she hopes the House will pass her bill to set AI guidelines in public schools.
"I don't think we can legislate from a position of fear," Pekarsky said. "This is very real. This has the potential to either help or hurt our students, and I think we need to do what is right in the commonwealth."
On Monday, the House Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee didn't take up Pekarsky's bill, referring it instead to the chamber's education committee.
There are AI bills that passed the Virginia Senate similar to ones that failed to advance out of the House, including one to establish rules for chatbot use by children that is close to the bill Maldonado put forward. Salim proposed a bill that calls for candidates to disclose when they use AI in political campaign ads, a measure that's similar to one that was already tabled in the House.
Maldonado said that she feels legislators are aligned on trying to protect children and make sure AI developers have rules in place that offer protections from the growing technology.
"I don't think they're going to move forward this year, but I am hopeful that as we see things play out, we can see where we can potentially do things in the future, in the near future, not long away future, but near future," she said.
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