HB 2094: High-risk artificial intelligence; definitions, development, deployment, and use, civil penalties. - Virginia

Appropriations Substitute → General Laws and Technology Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from a House Appropriations substitute to a Senate General Laws and Technology substitute, changing the committee proposing the bill and adding new definitions and exemptions. The substantive policy content regarding AI regulations remains largely the same, though the Senate version includes additional definitions for 'facial recognition' and modifies some exemption language for financial institutions and insurers.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on regulating high-risk artificial intelligence systems in Virginia, but the Senate version added specific definitions for facial recognition technology and expanded certain exemptions for regulated financial institutions and insurance companies.

TECHNICAL

Changed the proposing committee from House Committee on Appropriations to Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology, reflecting the bill's transfer between legislative chambers.

Removed some placeholder formatting and spacing from the House version that was not substantive policy content.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'facial recognition' to clarify what constitutes facial recognition technology versus facial verification technology.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified exemptions for banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to clarify that they are exempt if subject to state or federal regulator jurisdiction with published guidance on AI use.

Expanded insurance company exemptions to include systems that aid in preventing algorithmic discrimination under existing unfair discrimination statutes.

Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute → Appropriations Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended from a Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute to an Appropriations Substitute, resulting in the removal of Section 59.1-613 (Construction of chapter) and a reduction in the bill's section numbering from 59.1-607 through 59.1-613 to 59.1-607 through 59.1-612. This change removes the severability clause that would allow parts of the bill to remain in effect if some provisions were found unconstitutional, potentially making the entire AI regulation chapter vulnerable to being struck down entirely.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on high-risk artificial intelligence systems, but the removal of the severability provision means the entire chapter could be invalidated if any single provision is found unconstitutional, rather than allowing the remaining provisions to stay in effect.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed Section 59.1-613 which contained the severability clause, eliminating the legal mechanism that would allow the bill to remain partially effective if some provisions were found unconstitutional.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill's section numbering range from 59.1-607 through 59.1-613 to 59.1-607 through 59.1-612, reflecting the removal of the construction chapter.

Updated the bill description to reflect the new section range and changed the bill type from 'Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute' to 'Appropriations Substitute'.

Enrolled → Communications, Technology and Innovation Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from its enrolled version to a House substitute version, primarily changing section numbers from 59.1-607 through 59.1-612 to 59.1-607 through 59.1-613, and updating the title of the bill to reflect 'deployment' instead of 'development' in the description. The substantive policy content regarding high-risk artificial intelligence regulations appears unchanged in the provided text, with most modifications being formatting, numbering, and minor word substitutions (such as 'provided' instead of 'made available' in one definition).

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain substantively unchanged; the amendment appears to be primarily a technical revision with minor wording adjustments rather than substantive policy modifications.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers changed from 59.1-607 through 59.1-612 to 59.1-607 through 59.1-613, indicating a new section was added or renumbered.

Bill title description changed from 'development, deployment, and use' to 'deployment, and use' in the House substitute version.

Added page header information including bill number 25105027D and amendment date information.

DEFINITION

Minor wording change in the 'Artificial intelligence system' definition, changing 'made available to deployers or consumers' to 'released on the market'.

Minor wording change in the 'Developer' definition, changing 'made available to deployers or consumers' to 'provided to consumers'.

Engrossed → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 10, 2025

MODERATE

The bill moved from an 'Engrossed' draft to its final 'Enrolled' version for signing into law. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, but there are minor text refinements, formatting adjustments, and a few specific definition clarifications that were made during the final legislative process.

Scope change

The scope and applicability of the bill remain unchanged; it still regulates high-risk artificial intelligence systems in Virginia.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Artificial intelligence system' was slightly refined to clarify that systems used for development, prototyping, and research are excluded only after they are made available to deployers or consumers, rather than just 'released on the market.'

A new definition for 'Facial recognition' was added to the Enrolled version to provide clarity on what constitutes facial recognition versus facial verification technology.

The definition of 'Developer' was updated to replace 'consumers' with 'deployers or consumers' for consistency and clarity.

The definition of 'General-purpose artificial intelligence model' was updated similarly to the 'Artificial intelligence system' definition, clarifying the exclusion applies after systems are made available to deployers or consumers.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and spacing adjustments were made throughout the document to conform to final legislative printing standards.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 7, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove Section 59.1-613 (Enforcement and Civil Penalties) and Section 59.1-612 (Exemptions), reducing the bill's scope from 7 sections to 6 sections. This significantly weakens the bill by eliminating the enforcement mechanism and removing specific exemptions for certain industries like banks, insurers, and healthcare providers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reduced by removing enforcement provisions and exemption categories that previously allowed certain regulated industries to be exempt from the bill's requirements.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed all enforcement provisions including civil penalties, Attorney General authority, and violation procedures that would have allowed the state to penalize non-compliance.

EXEMPTIONS

Removed exemptions for banks, credit unions, insurers, healthcare providers, and other regulated entities that previously shielded them from the bill's requirements.

DEFINITION

Modified the definition of 'Artificial intelligence system' to explicitly exclude systems used for development, prototyping, and research activities before market release.

Modified the definition of 'Consequential decision' to change 'court supervision' to 'court supervision' and 'housing' to 'access to housing'.

High-risk artificial intelligence; definitions, development, deployment, and use, civil penalties.

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors