Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (HB 1709)

• Authority: Texas
• Parent authority: State governments
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: Editors' Picks
• Most recent activity: Proposed
• Most recent activity date: 2024-12-23

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Exposure to toxic content
• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Disinformation, surveillance, and influence at scale
• Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
• Lack of capability or robustness
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Unequal performance across groups
• False or misleading information
• Overreliance and unsafe use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Competitive dynamics
• Governance failure

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 10-12 subdomains, with strong focus on discrimination and toxicity (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), privacy and security (2.1, 2.2), misinformation (3.1), malicious actors (4.1, 4.3), human-computer interaction (5.1), and system safety failures (7.3, 7.4). Coverage is concentrated in fairness, security, transparency, and AI system reliability domains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Information
• Finance & Insurance
• Educational Services
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Real Estate, Rental & Leasing
• Professional & Technical Services
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Management, Administrative & Support Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The Act governs AI use across multiple sectors through its definition of 'consequential decisions,' with explicit coverage of criminal justice, education, employment, financial services, government services, utilities, healthcare, housing, insurance, legal services, transportation, and elections. It also establishes sector-specific workforce development programs and regulatory coordination mechanisms.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act with mandatory obligations, enforcement mechanisms, civil penalties, and regulatory authority granted to the Attorney General and state agencies.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The document is a legislative act enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, as indicated in the opening clause.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Deployer, AI_Infrastructure_Provider
• Summary: The Act explicitly defines and imposes obligations on developers, deployers, and distributors of high-risk AI systems, as well as digital service providers and social media platforms. It also applies to state agencies using AI systems.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The Attorney General is explicitly granted enforcement authority, including the power to issue civil investigative demands, assess fines, and seek injunctive relief. State agencies may also sanction licensed individuals for violations.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Summary: The AI Council is established to monitor AI governance, issue advisory opinions, and conduct oversight. The Department of Information Resources monitors state agency AI use. The Attorney General receives reports of violations and conducts investigations.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document comprehensively covers all AI lifecycle stages from planning through operational monitoring. It addresses design requirements, data governance, model development, validation through impact assessments, deployment obligations, and ongoing monitoring requirements. The Act emphasizes risk management throughout the entire lifecycle.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Models
• AI Systems
• Generative AI
• Open Weight / Open Source

Technical Scope Summary

The document extensively covers AI systems and high-risk AI systems with detailed definitions. It explicitly addresses generative AI, biometric systems, and open source AI systems. It does not mention frontier AI, general purpose AI, foundation models, predictive AI, or compute thresholds. The focus is on systems that make consequential decisions affecting consumers.