# States Pass 109 AI Laws by Mid-2026, Focus Shifts to Data Centers

> State-level AI regulation in the US hit a record pace in 2026. By the halfway mark of the year, 29 of the 50 states had passed AI legislation, adding up to 109 laws, a volume that makes the states, not Congress, the main venue where AI rules are being written right now. Two threads stand out. The most active area is companion chatbot regulation, with 14 states passing laws aimed at the risks of AI systems that act like friends or confidants. The bigger surprise is data centers, where 28 laws mark a sharp turn from courting these facilities with tax incentives to subjecting them to oversight and audits, a response to their growing hunger for power and water. Illinois also joined California and New York in requiring safety assessments for frontier models. This patchwork is now a live political fight. The Trump administration has pushed back through an AI Litigation Task Force, arguing some state rules are overly burdensome. However it resolves, companies building AI face a map of rules that varies by state line, and that complexity is becoming a real cost of doing business.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: TechPolicy.Press · Published Sunday, September 6, 2026_

## Wortins' read

State-level AI regulation in the US hit a record pace in 2026. By the halfway mark of the year, 29 of the 50 states had passed AI legislation, adding up to 109 laws, a volume that makes the states, not Congress, the main venue where AI rules are being written right now. Two threads stand out. The most active area is companion chatbot regulation, with 14 states passing laws aimed at the risks of AI systems that act like friends or confidants. The bigger surprise is data centers, where 28 laws mark a sharp turn from courting these facilities with tax incentives to subjecting them to oversight and audits, a response to their growing hunger for power and water. Illinois also joined California and New York in requiring safety assessments for frontier models. This patchwork is now a live political fight. The Trump administration has pushed back through an AI Litigation Task Force, arguing some state rules are overly burdensome. However it resolves, companies building AI face a map of rules that varies by state line, and that complexity is becoming a real cost of doing business.

## Source

[Read the full story at TechPolicy.Press](https://www.techpolicy.press/where-state-ai-legislation-stands-half-way-into-2026/)

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