A host of bills hoping to put new limits on artificial intelligence were presented during the 2026 legislative session, but threats from the Trump administration played a part in killing them.
“You know we’ve had customers tell us, ‘Oh, we’re not using AI’ and all of a sudden, they see they’re using a lot of AI," said Dean Scontras with Island. "And you can see where its flowing from and to”
Island, Scontras said, helps companies detect AI use and put guardrails on its use for government and private clients. That’s important because AI is pretty much everywhere… and it’s also mostly unregulated, largely because President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December which seeks a “carefully crafted national framework,” instead of a patchwork of state regulations that could “stymie innovation.”
Chesapeake Delegate Cliff Hayes chairs the House of Delegates’ tech committee. He had a bill which would’ve established such a framework to create trusted AI providers, kind of like Better Business Bureau certification. But he turned the bill into a study because…
“The executive order of the president that he had pretty much threatened all states with the use of their broadband funding in the commonwealth of Virginia," Hayes told Radio IQ Tuesday. "That's $1.48 billion at stake.”
Hayes said the threat of withholding broadband money is being felt in other states as well.
As for a silver lining, the delegate said the delay gives Virginia time to see how other states, including those that aren’t facing billions in cuts from Trump, are successfully regulating.
"Virginia has a reputation of being a leader when it comes to technology," Hayes said. "But being a leader doesn't mean you have to be first."
In the meantime, Senator Tara Durant, a Spotsylvania Republican, is none too pleased with the legislature killing her bill that aimed to put limits on chat bots when they interact with kids.
She said it was inspired by stories of young folks getting unhealthy advice or worse from these bots.
“Can these children wait another day?" Durant said in a phone call Tuesday. "My answer is no.”
Notably one AI-related law did get through this past session, an effort by Roanoke Democratic Delegate Sam Rasoul. It asks the Virginia Department of Education to collect data on AI's use and develop guidance for use in schools, though he said it falls far short of the mandate he would have liked.
“I believe AI and technology in classrooms is among the top immediate threats to our education system," he said, before begrudgingly admitting: "Our goal with this bill is not to encroach on the EO.”
Hayes promised new AI regulations, with an eye on AI chat bot regulations for youth, in time for 2027. Whether or not federal funding will clear before then remains to be seen.
