AI regulatory moratorium provides time to get the standard right

Note: This is a joint Mountain States Policy Center op-ed with Abundance Institute.

For states like Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, the 10-year regulatory moratorium on artificial intelligence recently passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The committee's decision to advance this pause on state-level AI regulations marks a crucial step toward creating the regulatory certainty needed to attract substantial tech investment to our region, diversifying our economies and creating high-paying jobs across the American West.

The Western states stand at a pivotal moment. While Washington has established itself as a tech powerhouse, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana offer untapped potential with their lower costs of living, abundant renewable energy resources, and high quality of life that increasingly attracts talented workers seeking alternatives to coastal tech hubs.

What these states need now is regulatory certainty to attract AI companies looking to expand. The proposed federal moratorium would provide exactly that—a stable, predictable environment where tech firms can invest with confidence, knowing they won't face a confusing patchwork of conflicting regulations across state lines.

The scale of the emerging regulatory challenge is staggering. More than 1,000 AI-related bills—roughly eight every day—have been introduced across state legislatures in just the first four months of 2025. This uncoordinated flood creates precisely the kind of regulatory uncertainty that drives investment away from emerging tech ecosystems like those developing in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

Measures like New York's proposed RAISE Act would require qualifying AI labs to hire third-party inspectors under ambiguous rules. If Western states feel compelled to create their own competing requirements, companies would face the burden of navigating different auditors in different states evaluating them on different metrics—directly undermining our region's attractiveness for new facilities and jobs.

Even basic definitions aren't consistent across proposed legislation. Terms like "developer," "high-risk," and "consequential decision" vary widely from bill to bill. This definitional chaos creates legal uncertainty that deters the very investments our Western states need to diversify beyond traditional resource-based economies.

The moratorium provision passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would create a 10-year window of opportunity for states like Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana to develop their tech ecosystems under stable, predictable conditions. This breathing room would allow our states to focus on what really matters for attracting tech investment: workforce development, infrastructure improvements, and business-friendly environments.

Importantly, the moratorium doesn't block state efforts that remove barriers to innovation, streamline permits, or apply tech-neutral rules equally to AI and non-AI systems. Our states can and should continue creating favorable business environments while maintaining appropriate consumer protections through existing laws.

The pause would also prevent a harmful race among Western states to create competing regulatory regimes, which would fragment our regional market and undermine the collaborative interstate approach needed to compete with established tech hubs.

Critics have spread several misconceptions about the moratorium. First, it wouldn't leave AI unregulated in our states. Existing laws covering privacy, consumer protection, civil rights, product liability, anti-fraud statutes, and tech-neutral sector rules all continue to apply. The moratorium simply prevents a maze of new, conflicting AI-specific rules.

Second, rather than primarily benefiting Big Tech, the moratorium levels the playing field for emerging tech ecosystems like ours. Without it, established companies gain an insurmountable advantage, while the smaller innovators most likely to consider our states are disadvantaged.

Finally, this isn't about undermining states' rights. Our states retain their traditional police powers and can enforce all their generally applicable laws—they just won't be forced into a counterproductive regulatory arms race that fragments the regional market while Congress works on a coherent national framework.

The AI revolution presents a historic opportunity for economic diversification throughout the American West. Washington can strengthen its position as a tech leader, while Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana can establish themselves as attractive alternatives to traditional coastal tech hubs.

With the committee's approval of the moratorium provision, we're one step closer to the regulatory certainty that will allow our Western states to focus on building the infrastructure, workforce, and business environment needed to attract AI investment.

While the moratorium still needs to pass additional legislative hurdles, the committee's approval signals growing recognition that a patchwork of conflicting state regulations would harm American innovation and competitiveness. For Western states looking to build tech economies, this progress toward regulatory certainty couldn't come at a better time.

If the moratorium becomes law, our Western states will have a decade to develop coordinated regional approaches that showcase our unique advantages—abundant clean energy, affordable living costs, outdoor lifestyle amenities, and a growing tech talent pool. With regulatory certainty as a foundation, we could market the Western states as a unified, innovation-friendly region.

The potential of AI to transform our regional economies is enormous. But that potential can only be realized if companies have the confidence to invest here. The committee-approved moratorium takes us one step closer to providing exactly the stable, predictable environment needed to make the American West a new frontier in artificial intelligence.

Taylor Barkley is Director of Public Policy at Abundance Institute. Sebastian Griffin is the lead researcher for the Junkermier Center for Technology and Innovation at Mountain States Policy Center.