Texas Enacts One of the Nation's First Comprehensive AI Laws

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 149 — the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) — into law on June 22, 2025. The law takes effect January 1, 2026, making it one of the first states to pass a comprehensive AI statute.

What the law does

TRAIGA operates on two tracks: disclosure and prohibition.

Disclosure mandates. State and local government agencies must inform consumers when they are interacting with an AI system rather than a human. Healthcare providers face a parallel requirement: patients must be told when AI is being used in their care.

Prohibited uses. The law prohibits deploying AI systems specifically designed to incite self-harm or to facilitate criminal activity, as well as systems built to infringe constitutional rights or to intentionally and unlawfully discriminate. Broad in principle, the specific enforcement contours will emerge through Attorney General guidance and early enforcement actions.

Enforcement

The Texas Attorney General holds exclusive enforcement authority. Civil penalties are tiered: roughly $10,000 to $12,000 for curable violations, $80,000 to $200,000 for uncurable ones, and $2,000 to $40,000 per day for continuing violations — a structure that distinguishes good-faith stumbles from deliberate bad actors.

Why Texas GCs and CISOs should act now

The effective date is January 1, 2026 — six months from signing. For organizations that interact with Texas government entities or provide AI-assisted healthcare services in the state, that window is narrower than it sounds. Compliance work typically requires an AI system inventory, a disclosure-design sprint, and legal sign-off before go-live.

TRAIGA does not establish a private right of action, which limits litigation exposure but does not eliminate regulatory risk. The Attorney General’s office has broad investigative authority and can move before a violation becomes public.

In practice, organizations that already maintain NIST-style AI documentation and disclosure practices will have a head start on TRAIGA’s requirements.

Frequently asked questions

What specific uses of AI does TRAIGA prohibit for every entity — public and private?

TRAIGA’s universal prohibitions apply to any developer or deployer regardless of industry: no AI system may be built with the sole intent to behaviorally manipulate users into self-harm or criminal activity, to infringe constitutional rights, to engage in intentional unlawful discrimination, or to generate child sexual content or non-consensual deepfakes. Government agencies face two additional prohibitions that private entities do not: social-scoring systems and biometric identification without consent.

Does TRAIGA preempt local city or county AI ordinances in Texas?

Yes. Under Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code § 552.003, TRAIGA supersedes and preempts any city or county ordinance that regulates AI, establishing a single statewide compliance standard. A company operating in Dallas, Houston, or Austin does not face additional municipal AI rules on top of the state law.

Can a Texas company be penalized under TRAIGA for an AI system it has not yet deployed?

No. The statute explicitly prohibits the AG from bringing a civil penalty action for an AI system that has not yet been deployed. Pre-deployment testing and development are outside the AG’s enforcement reach under Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code § 552.105(f).