Texas - Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (HB 149) (2025)

Signed on 22 June 2025 and effective 1 January 2026, the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act takes a prohibited-purposes approach rather than the risk-tiering used elsewhere. It bars developing or deploying an AI system for enumerated purposes, including intentional behavioural manipulation that incites self-harm or crime, unlawful discrimination against a protected class (with an intent requirement), social scoring by government, unauthorized biometric identification of individuals, and producing unlawful content such as child sexual abuse material or certain deepfakes.

The Act imposes disclosure duties on government agencies that use AI to interact with consumers, and constrains state-agency biometric and AI use, including consent requirements for biometric data. It creates a Texas Artificial Intelligence Council and a regulatory sandbox, with the Department of Information Resources supporting the sandbox. Enforcement is exclusively by the Texas Attorney General, with no private right of action, and includes a complaint process and a cure period before civil penalties. Reported penalty tiers reach into the six figures per violation for uncurable or continuing violations.