The Louisiana Regular Legislative Session convened on March 9th. Lawmakers introduced more than 20 bills related to artificial intelligence (AI) for consideration. This focus on legislating AI is in line with national trends, as regulatory proposals multiply in states across the country.
Over recent years, the economic and political forces of Louisiana have been unable to avoid the technology. Louisiana is a growing powerhouse in the field, and is home to groundbreaking technology, state of the art data centers, and academic programs oriented towards equipping students to excel in a workforce and society that uses AI. The Pelican Center for Technology and Innovation is eager to celebrate this progress, and has compiled a regularly updated list of AI accomplishments and news stories in Louisiana.
With both the national regulatory fervor and Louisiana’s own growing stakes in the future of AI, the fate of the bills introduced in this session will help set the tone for both Louisiana and the United States’ competitiveness in the digital age.
One bill of particular note is that of House Bill 734, which creates a consumer bill of rights for the use of AI. The bill includes several regulations, placing limits on the use of AI, providing for private rights of actions, and instituting a sweeping regulatory framework that would apply to all AI technology. The harms this bill seeks to avoid are valid, like protecting one’s family, data, and livelihood. However, the broad nature of the legislation ignores the protections for consumers that are already on the books, and well-established consumer protections laws and courses of legal action are a more reliable outlet for addressing grievances.
Another bill that takes an expansive approach to regulating AI is House Bill 791, creating a “People’s AI Act.” The bill would cement extensive compliance procedures for AI companies and users into law. In its current form, the proposed law would require monthly assessments to ensure that AI developers are mitigating risks, as defined by the attorney general. Like HB 734, HB 791’s instinct toward protecting consumers is appropriate. However, its methods are not effective. Placing the use and development of AI in Louisiana under such stringent conditions would have far reaching consequences: making AI cost prohibitive for smaller businesses, excluding Louisiana from the economic benefits of the AI boom, chilling innovation to the point where AI stops improving for its users to name a few.
Erin Bendily, senior vice president of the Pelican Institute, authored an op-ed for The Center Square placing the proposed AI legislation in Louisiana in the context of larger trends. She differentiates between “broad regulation of AI technology” and “targeted solutions to specific harms.” She notes that targeted solutions do exist and are currently under consideration, “Bills addressing AI-generated deepfake pornography, election interference, or fraudulent robocalls fall squarely into this category. By focusing on clear harms rather than the underlying technology, these measures can protect consumers while allowing beneficial innovation to flourish.”
Louisiana, and the United States, are at a crossroads. The 2026 Legislative Session is an opportunity to choose innovation, economic growth, and free market principles over hasty and fear-based regulation.
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