Bailey: Trump’s AI Executive Order is a Bad Deal for New Jersey

Last month, President Trump issued a sweeping executive order prohibiting state-level regulation of artificial intelligence. As a member of New Jersey’s General Assembly, I strongly oppose this decision. This is broad federal overreach that undercuts New Jersey’s ability to create guardrails around an industry that is evolving faster than our regulatory structures can keep up with. It is also a clear signal that the Trump administration is prioritizing the interests and profits of the tech industry over the well-being of my constituents and the 9.5 million people who live in our state.

I usually avoid weighing in on federal issues. It is my job to work for the people of Salem and Gloucester and Cumberland counties who have asked me to be their voice in the state house. I try to do that job to the best of my ability every single day. There is very little I can do as a state legislator about the dysfunction of Washington.

However, I have spent considerable time over the past year working in the Assembly to do exactly what the President is trying to ban.

I have been outspoken about the need to regulate AI, and for our state to prevent AI data centers from driving up our electric bills. Earlier this year my legislation to study and mitigate the effect of data centers on our grid and electricity prices was signed into law. My bill requiring data centers to pay their fair share for their huge energy and transmission demands passed the Assembly this June. Both received significant bipartisan support.

I recently joined state legislators from across the 13 state PJM region in submitting a proposal that would prioritize ratepayer affordability, not the bottom line of Meta or Google or large power generators, in determining how new data centers are connected to the grid.

Meanwhile, there has been almost no federal leadership in preventing ratepayers from paying exorbitant utility bills that subsidize the enormous growth of the artificial intelligence industry. In fact, the federal government has pushed policy that would expedite the interconnection of data centers and ignore strains on prices, infrastructure, and local communities.

The need to regulate extends well beyond the material costs to consumers. Legislators in other states have worked to ban AI-generated child pornography and malicious deepfake videos. Some states have passed laws to protect democracy by prohibiting the use of AI in political ads. Here in New Jersey, I have introduced legislation to prevent AI chatbots from being represented as therapists in response to several incidents where these “therapists” encouraged young people to self-harm or take their own lives. To strip states of the ability to prevent the worst uses of artificial intelligence is irresponsible and dangerous.

The President’s preferred punishment for defying his executive order is pulling Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding. The BEAD program is designed to bring high-speed internet to people who still lack access, people who mostly live in poorer and rural communities. Salem County, where I am from, recently received $19 million from the program to upgrade broadband infrastructure, which will be transformative for thousands of the county’s residents.

Now the Trump administration is telling me that if I try to pass laws that lower electric bills or protect kids struggling with mental health, they will prevent the people I represent from having the same opportunity to get online that the rest of the country takes for granted. The irony here is barely worth mentioning.

None of this is to say that I am against AI or that I don’t recognize the economic or educational opportunities it presents. What I am saying is that we are not currently equipped to deal with the worst consequences and excesses of the AI boom.

It is the job of our state legislature to act quickly and develop policy that can effectively address the new AI landscape and the infrastructure it requires. Trump’s executive order, if legal, makes that impossible. It takes power away from the people, giving it instead to the CEOs of giant tech companies.

Washington is promising a “national standard” for artificial intelligence regulation. However, that does not yet exist. Even if it did, I’m not sure it would serve the best interests of the people of New Jersey.

Dave Bailey, Jr.

Assemblyman, 3rd Legislative District