A handful of New Mexico lawmakers described their plans for the upcoming legislative session during a summit Monday focused on artificial intelligence, which states increasingly find themselves trying to regulate amid a permissive federal environment.
New Mexico Reps. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) and Linda Serrato (D-Santa Fe) moderated a panel conversation in Albuquerque, featuring a national expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures and a state lawmaker from Virginia.
They all described a difficult and changing landscape for states that seek to, for example, crack down on discriminatory algorithms; prevent chatbots from sparking inappropriate relationships with children; or require artificial intelligence companies or their clients to disclose more with the public about their use of the technology.
The Virginia lawmaker, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, said her efforts at “comprehensive” AI reform at her statehouse failed due to there being “just too much gap between comfort levels, understanding, etc, to be able to move forward with more.”
One challenge she and other state lawmakers have faced is in defining “artificial intelligence” in legislation, she said.
“I don’t believe that any of the states have a definition for AI. There really isn’t one quite sufficient yet, because the technology is growing so rapidly,” she said.
In the meantime, she recommended New Mexico lawmakers use a definition for “AI system” that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organization of 38 developed economies, has developed.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 38 states adopted 100 pieces of AI-related legislation in 2025. But Chelsea Canada, who advises states on AI regulations for the organization, said Monday that few states have adopted comprehensive legislation that tackles consumer protection or data privacy concerns. And, in some cases, governors have vetoed those bills, she said.
Instead of more ambitious proposals, states have increasingly focused more on “narrow” protections, like the 10 states that adopted AI regulations governing the healthcare industry in 2025, Canada said.
Chandler told Source New Mexico after the panel that she intends to reintroduce a pared-down version of House Bill 60 during the upcoming legislative session. That bill, which died in the House, contained 15 different sections aimed at “developers and deployers” of AI, including transparency and anti-discrimination requirements.
“That was a big algorithm bill, and the forces were out and about to try to squash that,” she said, adding later that she was referring to “Big Tech.” During the next legislative session she said she intends to focus more narrowly on transparency measures, including ensuring users know when they’re communicating with AI chatbots.
“At a minimum, people need to be reminded that they’re interacting — especially young people — with a machine and not a human,” she said.
Looming over any state-level AI regulation is the possibility that the federal government will ban states from imposing rules on companies or their clients. President Donald Trump recently drafted an executive order that would punish states that enact their own AI regulations.
“I’ve been told that [AI companies] are continuing to push” Trump to prohibit states from regulating AI, Chandler said. “And the President is very amenable.”
