S 3586 AI for Mainstreet Act 2026 (Require small business development centers to assist small business with the use of AI)

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Proposed
• Most recent activity date: 2026-01-07

Risk subdomain coverage

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

• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of approximately 3 risk subdomains. It briefly addresses AI system security vulnerabilities (2.2), cyberattacks (4.2), and lack of robustness (7.3) through mentions of cybersecurity guidance, data protection, and planning for unexpected circumstances. Coverage is very limited and focused on providing guidance to small businesses rather than detailed risk mitigation measures.

Sector coverage

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

• Professional & Technical Services
• Management, Administrative & Support Services

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

• Agriculture, Mining, Construction & Manufacturing
• Trade, Transportation & Utilities
• Information
• Finance & Insurance
• Real Estate, Rental & Leasing
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
• Accommodation, Food & Other Services

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs Professional and Technical Services (small business development centers providing AI guidance) and Management, Administrative, and Support Services (business support services). The guidance provided is intended to assist small businesses across all economic sectors in using AI, making it broadly applicable but not sector-specific in its regulatory requirements.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a U.S. Congressional bill that amends the Small Business Act with binding obligations. It uses mandatory language requiring small business development centers to provide AI assistance to small businesses.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress; Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
• Summary: The document is a Congressional bill introduced to amend the Small Business Act, as indicated by the header and enactment clause.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_User
• Entities: Small business development centers; Small business concerns
• Summary: The bill requires small business development centers to assist small business concerns with AI use. Development centers are obligated to provide services, while small businesses are the beneficiaries/users of AI guidance.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Small Business Administration (implied through administrative structure of Small Business Act)
• Summary: While not explicitly named in this amendment, the Small Business Administration oversees the Small Business Act being amended and would be responsible for ensuring small business development centers comply with these new requirements.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Small Business Administration (implied)
• Summary: No explicit monitoring body is named in the document. Monitoring would likely fall to the Small Business Administration as the agency responsible for overseeing small business development centers.

AI Lifecycle Stages

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

• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document primarily covers the Deploy and Operate and Monitor stages of the AI lifecycle, focusing on how small businesses can incorporate AI into their operations, protect data, improve cybersecurity, and plan for unexpected circumstances. It does not address earlier stages like planning, data collection, or model development.

Technical Scope

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

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document references artificial intelligence broadly without distinguishing between models, systems, or specific types. It defines AI by reference to existing legislation but does not explicitly discuss AI models, systems, frontier AI, GPAI, foundation models, generative AI, or compute thresholds.