Revised version of Texas TRAIGA passes House, heads to Senate

April 24, 2025 — A revised version of the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) passed the state House 146-3 yesterday, creating a system intended to regulate government-deployed AI while allowing the nascent industry to grow. The bill, SB 149, now goes to the state Senate.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Tarrant) originally filed the bill as HB 1709, which was greeted with aggressive pushback from the tech industry and free-market groups.

When the bill was refiled on March 14 as HB 149, its key elements were largely limited to AI systems developed or deployed by government agencies.

TCAI’s Guide to TRAIGA, Revised: the full bill explained in clear language.

revised version focuses on state agencies

HB 149, the version that passed, will establish a “Texas Artificial Intelligence Council charged with ensuring artificial intelligence systems in this state are ethical and developed in the public’s best interest.” The council’s goals are to ensure that AI systems “do not harm public safety” or “undermine individual freedoms.”

Under the bill, government agencies will be required to disclose to consumers when they are interacting with an AI system. Systems will be prohibited from “dark pattern” interaction, or any “user interface designed or manipulated with the effect of substantially subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice.”

TRAIGA also bans the government from using AI to create “social scores” for users, and from using biometric data without consent. Government agencies also are prohibited from discriminating against users based on their political viewpoints, as well as from blocking, banning, removing, deplatforming, demonetizing, or otherwise limiting users.

two amendments added

Two amendments Rep. Capriglione added on the House floor on Wednesday involved provisions to ensure AI systems couldn’t infringe or restrict any individual’s constitutional rights, and to prohibit the use of AI to create “certain sexually explicit content and child pornography.”

The bill now heads to the Senate. The Texas legislature is scheduled to adjourn on June 2, 2025.