Latest news with #GiovanniCapriglione
E&E News
5 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Texas set to create bitcoin reserve as states warm to crypto
Texas is poised to open its own 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve' after lawmakers gave broad bipartisan approval for the state to stockpile energy-intensive cryptocurrency. S.B. 21 awaits action from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to sign the bill. Lawmakers last week voted 110-25 to pass it through the House and 24-7 to get it through the Senate. The bill, which describes cryptocurrency as a 'hedge against inflation and economic volatility,' essentially lets the state invest public money into crypto. It would create a fund for the Texas Legislature to appropriate money, which the Texas comptroller would use to purchase bitcoin. Advertisement 'This bill embraces digital innovation,' said state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, the Republican who carried the bill in the state House. He called the reserve a 'financial tool aimed at strengthening the state's fiscal resilience.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmaker abruptly spiked his bill to punish cities that don't deal with homeless encampments
A proposal in the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature to enhance a statewide ban on homeless encampments met a spectacular demise late Monday when the bill's sponsor effectively ended debate on the bill. After several attempts by Democrats to weaken the bill and challenge its legitimacy through other procedural tactics, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, asked for debate on the bill to end and resume on June 3, one day after the session ends. Senate Bill 241, which had already passed the state Senate, would have forced Texas cities and counties to beef up their enforcement of a statewide ban on homeless encampments. Critics had argued the legislation won't help reduce homelessness. Capriglione, who carried the proposal in the House, told The Texas Tribune he withdrew the bill to avoid a protracted procedural process that would have ultimately killed it. Capriglione, who authored the state's ban on homeless encampments, said he plans to work on similar legislation when the Texas Legislature convenes again in two years. State lawmakers have shown exasperation with visible homelessness four years after Abbott signed the state's ban on homeless encampments into law. 'Whether it's in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas, or here we're in Austin, everybody knows that these camping restrictions on homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced,' Capriglione said. The number of unhoused Texans has grown in recent years as the state's housing costs have ballooned. Almost 28,000 Texans experienced homelessness last year, federal estimates show — about 8% more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 12,000 people experienced unsheltered homelessness, meaning they slept outdoors, in their cars or in other places where people aren't supposed to live. The bill from state Sen. Pete Flores, a Pleasanton Republican, would require cities and counties to allow residents to make formal complaints if they suspect a violation of the camping ban. The Texas attorney general could declare that city or county a 'violating local entity' if local officials don't resolve that complaint within 90 days. The state could then step in to clear encampments and recoup the costs from that city or county's sales taxes. House lawmakers made some tweaks to the bill Monday, requiring the attorney general's office to give cities and counties a 45-day heads-up that they're at risk of becoming a 'violating local entity.' They shot down other amendments, like a Democratic proposal to make it clear that cities and counties could resolve complaints about homeless encampments by finding ways to rehouse people camping there. Texas lawmakers enacted the statewide camping ban after Austin officials in 2019 relaxed restrictions on public encampments. The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness grew in following years, and Austin voters restored the city's camping ban through a public referendum. Shortly after, state lawmakers enacted the statewide camping ban — making sleeping outside or camping on public property a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine. Austin has issued more than 1,300 citations since 2021 for violations of the camping ban and related violations, according to city data. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld bans on homeless encampments last year. Homeless service providers and advocates have long argued that ticketing people experiencing homelessness only makes it harder for them to get back on their feet. Compelling local governments to do so, some have worried, might sap resources from strategies that focus on finding new housing for people experiencing street homelessness. They say those initiatives have helped Houston and Dallas reduce unsheltered homelessness by more than 25% since before the pandemic. Texas lawmakers also advanced legislation requiring cities to give neighbors a heads-up if it wants to convert a property to house homeless people. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmaker abruptly spiked his bill to punish cities that don't deal with homeless encampments
A proposal in the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature to enhance a statewide ban on homeless encampments met a spectacular demise late Monday when the bill's sponsor effectively ended debate on the bill. After several attempts by Democrats to weaken the bill and challenge its legitimacy through other procedural tactics, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, asked for debate on the bill to end and resume on June 3, one day after the session ends. Senate Bill 241, which had already passed the state Senate, would have forced Texas cities and counties to beef up their enforcement of a statewide ban on homeless encampments. Critics had argued the legislation won't help reduce homelessness. Capriglione, who carried the proposal in the House, told The Texas Tribune he withdrew the bill to avoid a protracted procedural process that would have ultimately killed it. Capriglione, who authored the state's ban on homeless encampments, said he plans to work on similar legislation when the Texas Legislature convenes again in two years. State lawmakers have shown exasperation with visible homelessness four years after Abbott signed the state's ban on homeless encampments into law. 'Whether it's in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas, or here we're in Austin, everybody knows that these camping restrictions on homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced,' Capriglione said. The number of unhoused Texans has grown in recent years as the state's housing costs have ballooned. Almost 28,000 Texans experienced homelessness last year, federal estimates show — about 8% more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 12,000 people experienced unsheltered homelessness, meaning they slept outdoors, in their cars or in other places where people aren't supposed to live. The bill from state Sen. Pete Flores, a Pleasanton Republican, would require cities and counties to allow residents to make formal complaints if they suspect a violation of the camping ban. The Texas attorney general could declare that city or county a 'violating local entity' if local officials don't resolve that complaint within 90 days. The state could then step in to clear encampments and recoup the costs from that city or county's sales taxes. House lawmakers made some tweaks to the bill Monday, requiring the attorney general's office to give cities and counties a 45-day heads-up that they're at risk of becoming a 'violating local entity.' They shot down other amendments, like a Democratic proposal to make it clear that cities and counties could resolve complaints about homeless encampments by finding ways to rehouse people camping there. Texas lawmakers enacted the statewide camping ban after Austin officials in 2019 relaxed restrictions on public encampments. The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness grew in following years, and Austin voters restored the city's camping ban through a public referendum. Shortly after, state lawmakers enacted the statewide camping ban — making sleeping outside or camping on public property a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine. Austin has issued more than 1,300 citations since 2021 for violations of the camping ban and related violations, according to city data. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld bans on homeless encampments last year. Homeless service providers and advocates have long argued that ticketing people experiencing homelessness only makes it harder for them to get back on their feet. Compelling local governments to do so, some have worried, might sap resources from strategies that focus on finding new housing for people experiencing street homelessness. They say those initiatives have helped Houston and Dallas reduce unsheltered homelessness by more than 25% since before the pandemic. Texas lawmakers also advanced legislation requiring cities to give neighbors a heads-up if it wants to convert a property to house homeless people. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is your data safe? Lawmakers say it's time for a Texas Cyber Command
AUSTIN (KXAN) — In March 2024, an IT team at Texas Retina Associates noticed abnormal activity on one of their company's servers. The company's anti-virus system detected a lateral movement — a sign that an attacker had gained credentials and was actively infiltrating their systems. The team quickly disabled their accounts and kicked out the intruder. But it was too late. 'Immediately after that, we got notification from the hacker that they had accessed our systems and had potentially removed some of our data,' said Charles Vasquez, the company's chief information officer. 'They claim to have taken a lot of our data, impacting up to 300,000 of our patients.' Texas Retina Associates, based in Dallas and with 15 locations across the state, was the victim of a cybercrime. Its patients add to the list of over 15 million Texans whose sensitive personal information was compromised in data breaches in 2024, according to Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione. In the current legislative session, Texas could take steps to lead on cybersecurity for the state's critical infrastructure. House Bill 150 would establish the Texas Cyber Command, a component of the University of Texas System, to safeguard the state's vital infrastructure and government agencies from attacks. The establishment of the Cyber Command was listed as one of Governor Greg Abbott's seven emergency items this session, making it a legislative priority. 'What the FBI told us was, for most organizations, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.' Richardson City Manager Don Magner According to the Texas Comptroller's Office, two of the most common cyberattacks include phishing and ransomware. In a phishing attack, the attacker gains access to secure systems by leading an unsuspecting target to click a fake link or attachment. Ransomware is software that locks an organization's system, requiring a ransom to be paid before restoring the data. 'It used to be low odds propositions, about 5% of ransomware attacks resulted in the victim paying the money. Now that number is as high as 48% of ransomware victims are paying the terrorists the money,' said David Dunmoyer, Texas Public Policy Foundation's campaign director for Better Tech for Tomorrow. Countries shore up their digital defenses as global tensions raise the threat of cyberwarfare These attacks take an increasingly significant financial toll on Texas cities and businesses. The FBI estimated in 2020 that victims of cybercrime in the state lost $313.6 million that year, an increase of 307% since 2016. The cleanup and verification process after a breach is also time-consuming and resource-intensive. The City of Richardson, with a population of about 120,000 people, experienced a ransomware attack in September 2024. Though they had a security plan in place and acted quickly, the recovery still took weeks and involved the FBI and investigators. 'We were able to respond almost immediately. Within less than 120 seconds, the breach was identified,' said Don Magner, the city manager for Richardson. 'But even that was still disruptive for weeks because you have to go through and verify that you understand the full extent of the breach.' Texas is a common target for cyberattacks. As of 2017, Texas ranked third nationally in its number of cyber attack victims, possibly because of its large population. The state also leads in oil and gas production, features 15 major military installations, and is an emerging technology hub — which state leaders said makes Texas attractive for those seeking highly sensitive data. Along with its major corporations and urban centers, Texas is home to remote rural communities. According to Dunmoyer, this diversity offers foreign adversaries a wide range of potential infiltration points. 'What will happen is, because we have so many of those wonderful small rural cities, that gives foreign adversaries a pattern to learn from,' Dunmoyer said. 'We call it threat detection, and so they can learn, 'Where are the weak points in the system?' And they'll scale that and emulate that across the state.' Dunmoyer says two-thirds of attacks on Texas's critical infrastructure have been linked to foreign adversaries. Vasquez and Magner both said they suspect their data breaches were the result of a foreign attacker. What is at stake here for us as Texans? Vasquez put it in the context of healthcare data, which stores information such as social security numbers, birth dates, and insurance information. 'All that information is even more valuable than the financial services information, because that information can be used to promote or conduct identity theft, which can be used to commit fraud,' Vasquez said. As cyber attacks grow more common and advanced, it's becoming increasingly difficult to escape that reality. 'I think the sad thing about it is we've all been victims of identity breaches,' said Vasquez, referencing an April 2024 AT&T security breach that affected 73 million current and former customers. 'From government, I would think that putting baseline protections in place — baseline recommendations for the type of protection you should be having — providing that instant response for smaller institutions who don't have that to be able to reach out and get advice or assistance,' he added. For local governments like the city of Richardson, Magner said he encourages investing in actionable plans in preparation for an attack and gathering internal and external partners to be able to respond quickly. 'I had several city managers that reached out after this to say, 'Hey, what can you share, what lessons learned? Because we want to, if this occurs, we want to be ready to go,'' Magner said. 'What the FBI told us was, for most organizations, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.' The aim of the Texas Cyber Command is to be that resource, especially for small municipalities and companies that handle sensitive data, so they aren't left to face threats alone when it happens. The cyber command bill, HB 150, is authored by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R–Southlake. State Sen. Tan Parker, R–Flower Mound filed identical legislation in the Senate. Both lawmakers have promoted technology- and privacy-focused bills throughout their tenures. State agencies will be eligible to utilize the command's resources, as well as local governments and private companies that house critical infrastructure who enter into contract with the command. The following are considered critical infrastructure under HB 150: Chemical facilities Commercial facilities Communication facilities Manufacturing facilities Dams Defense industrial bases Emergency services systems Energy facilities Financial services systems Food and agriculture facilities Government facilities Health care and public health facilities Information technology Nuclear reactors, materials, and waste Transportation systems Water and wastewater systems The command will assume cybersecurity responsibilities currently under the Texas Department of Information Resources, an agency chartered in 1989 to help government agencies adopt modern technology and IT guidelines. While cybersecurity was grouped into their mission, Parker said the 'threat environment has outgrown' the agency's scope. Lawmakers file bills to create Texas Cyber Command In addition, it focuses on education, research, and both proactive and reactive strategies for addressing cybersecurity threats. This includes developing cybersecurity best practices to train agencies on, creating a Cybersecurity Incident Response Unit to support agencies under attack, collaborating with federal resources to develop a portal for risk and incident management, and set up a Digital Forensics Laboratory to learn how to prevent attacks. The command will be managed by a chief who is appointed by the Governor and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. It will be administratively attached to The University of Texas at San Antonio to make use of their cybersecurity resources. The school is one of the fewer than 10 universities in the country with the National Security Agency's (NSA) cyber defense education, cybersecurity research and cyber operations designations. 'UTSA is already one of the leaders in cybersecurity education in the country, and so having Texas Cyber Command based out of there I think makes a lot of sense,' said Marc Whyte, a San Antonio City Councilman. 'This is Military City USA and it's going to be Cybersecurity USA as well.' Whyte said the city of San Antonio looks forward to housing the command, especially with its deep-rooted national security presence. This includes the FBI Cyber Squad, the 16th Air Force, NSA's Texas Cryptologic Center, and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Region 6. Heading into the last week of Texas' 89th regular session, the Texas Cyber Command bill awaits approval from the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce. The bill passed in the House last month 130-13. Despite its general bipartisan support, it raised some questions in both its house and senate committees. Where Abbott's emergency priorities stand as session end nears With the presence of federal agencies and third-party companies that already work to regulate and respond to cyber attacks in the state, members on the House Committee on the Delivery of Government Efficiency questioned the need for a centralized, statewide command. Vasquez raised similar concerns, questioning if a statewide command would mean more regulation within the private sector. Capriglione addressed these concerns in the context of the state's electrical grid. 'We're definitely not making the claim that there's no cybersecurity protections in the grid or in any of the private companies, for instance, that go and participate on the grid, but this is additional help, responsiveness, training, and other efforts that will go and support those pieces of critical infrastructure,' said Capriglione to the committee. Furthermore, only agencies under the direct purview of the state are required to follow the command's regulations. Local governments and private industries like Texas Retina Associates can choose to opt-in to the command program, only then subjecting them to mandatory security standards. In the senate committee, members questioned Parker on the need for the command to be attached to a university rather than being a standalone state function. Chairman Charles Schwertner, R–Georgetown, expressed concern over security lapses at universities nationwide, citing espionage threats and describing them as 'soft targets' for foreign cyber attacks. 'I question our wisdom that for the last 20 years, we've been slowly taking our educational institutions and giving them functions outside of the educational realm,' said Vice Chair Phil King, R–Weatherford, at the committee hearing, sharing Schwertner's sentiments. 'UTSA is really incubating this program. It is really incubating for speed,' said Parker in response. 'We can be up and running in 18 months as opposed to three to five years with some other option trying to have the same level of capability.' Parker also highlighted that the chain of command for the program would run directly to the Governor, not through the university system. It would also be physically located in an existing, standalone building downtown already equipped with high-tech security measures. Parker said he's open to adding more safeguards to ensure the command is secure at the university level. Ernie Ferraresso, director of the Florida Center of Cybersecurity, speaks highly of having their cyber center attached to a university. 'We have such a great relationship with our whole university,' Ferraresso said. Similarly, Cyber Florida was established by their state legislature in 2014 and is attached to the University of South Florida. Unlike the Texas Cyber Command, Ferraresso and his team are technically employees of the university, not the state. While they carry out special projects on behalf of the Florida legislature for the good of the state, a main priority of their center is becoming a leader in cybersecurity academic education and addressing the cyber workforce shortage. 'Because we are a university, people are more inclined to share information with us because we're not a regulatory agency, we're not an enforcement organization,' Ferraresso said. Ferraresso notes that the goals of the Texas Cyber Command differ in that it aims to be the cyber operations organization for the state. He says carrying out cyber missions at that scope depends on obtaining both high-level permission and resources, requiring a direct line of approval through the governor's office. Regardless, he says the resources of a university have been invaluable to their center's growth. 'You have access to the students, you have access to the faculty membership,' Ferraresso said. 'That's the other part that's always interesting around here is, I get to run into and talk to really, really smart people every day. And that's worth its weight.' As cyber threats continue to evolve, so too must the state's response. Following an executive order by President Donald Trump that shifted cybersecurity responsibilities to the states, the legislation before Texas lawmakers aims to position the state at the forefront of this critical challenge. 'It is the policy of the United States that State and local governments and individuals play a more active and significant role in national resilience and preparedness…' read the executive order. Regardless of the outcome of the current bill this session, lawmakers, companies and government entities agree that cybersecurity remains a pressing issue that demands action. 'If we don't take action, I think we put our vulnerability at great risk and I believe that there is a clock that is ticking,' said Parker to the senate committee. 'I would submit that the time is now to take this step to protect the citizens and the livelihoods of 31 million Texans.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers push to regulate AI in government and the tech industry
With AI tools embedded in everyday life — from customer service chatbots and ChatGPT to predictive policing algorithms — Texas is seeking to place boundaries around the fast-growing technology by imposing a host of rules and appointing 'a new sheriff in Texas' digital town.' House Bill 149, authored by state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is Texas' attempt to create guardrails that allow innovation while protecting people from potential harm, said state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, the bill's Senate sponsor, at a recent committee hearing. The bill would require government agencies to disclose when Texans are interacting with an AI system on a state agency website and ban the capture of biometric identifiers without consent — including retina, iris or facial scanning, fingerprints and voice prints. The bill also would prohibit industry from developing AI systems designed to manipulate human behavior and prohibit discrimination and deep fake child exploitation. The Texas Attorney General's office would be charged with enforcing the bill, aided by an online complaint system. Violators would face civil fines of up to $100,000. 'I don't think yet we really need to worry about a Terminator scenario of killer robots,' said Kevin Welch, president of EFF-Austin, a consumer advocacy group that advocates for the protection of digital rights. 'I would say it's important to focus on real harms, which is one thing I do really like about this bill. It focuses on real harms and not hypothetical sci-fi scenarios.' Supporters say the bill is a necessary first step to prevent harms like racial profiling, privacy violations, or opaque government decision-making. Critics have warned that the bill could stifle innovation and may introduce legal uncertainty if not tweaked to clarify certain language. David Dunmoyer, the campaign director for Better Tech for Tomorrow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit research institute based in Austin, says the bill is about 'getting AI policy right before the whole horse is out of the barn,' which means getting the 'right guardrails and the right regulatory system in place that ensures we're not just preserving humanity, but advancing it and furthering it.' He said the bill focuses on outcomes by drawing clear boundaries around what AI should not be allowed to do and increasing transparency. 'Really it boils down to balancing the need for some policy and regulation around this to protect people's privacy and their transparency and the need to not stifle innovation,' said Sherri Greenberg, an AI expert and assistant dean for state and local government engagement at the UT-Austin. Greenberg added that the attorney general would have the authority to enforce AI regulations regardless of where the AI system is based. The bill would prohibit government agencies from using AI systems to assign 'social scores' or rank people based on personal data. In the private sector, developers would be prohibited from designing AI tools that incite self-harm, violence, or criminal behavior. The bill also would restrict the use of AI to limit a person's access to political content or infringe on freedom of expression or association. The bill would also create the Texas Artificial Intelligence Council, housed within the state Department of Information Resources. The 10-member advisory body would monitor AI use across state government, flag harmful practices, recommend legislative updates and identify rules that may be impacting innovation. For the AI industry, the bill creates a regulatory 'sandbox,' a controlled environment where developers can test AI systems free from certain state rules without being penalized. Lawmakers have said the sandbox is designed to balance technological freedom with public oversight. The bill has already cleared the lower chamber and was voted out of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee earlier this week. The next step in the legislative process is a vote by the full Senate. If approved, the bill would come with a $25 million price tag and add 20 new full-time staff positions, including 12 in the AG's office. Even if the law passes, its impact could be short-lived if Congress steps in. A recent draft of the 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill would put a 10-year moratorium on new state AI laws, which could freeze bills like HB 149 before they take effect. HB 149, if it becomes law, would take effect on Jan. 1. Dunmoyer, who testified in support of the bill at a recent hearing, said that the bill addresses industry's concern of getting punished for trying to innovate. 'This bill seeks an environment of compliance rather than punishment,' he said, adding that the bill 'provides what the industry has asked for, which is clear rules of the road and protection against a litigious hellscape.' While the bill offers some flexibility for industry to address potential harms, Welch, president of the consumer advocacy group EFF-Austin, said the bill prohibits private right of action, meaning it blocks citizens from suing companies that violate their rights through AI. 'I feel like [these laws] often end up as being a lot of nice words and sentiments, but the actual rights of citizens aren't protected,' he said. 'I do feel that if we really want to give these laws teeth, we have to make it where citizens can bring lawsuits.' Dunmoyer said that the bill creates a new online portal where Texans can submit complaints to the attorney general, who he calls 'a new sheriff in Texas' digital town,' to investigate potential violations. Meanwhile, Anton Dahbura, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy, said regulating AI is far more complicated than lawmakers seem to realize. He argues that AI isn't a single, well-defined entity, it's really a broad and evolving field of technologies and techniques. This misunderstanding, he warns, leads to misguided attempts at regulation that may not be enforceable or effective. Dahbura remains neutral on whether AI should be regulated, but he stresses that any such efforts need to be informed and precise. He suggests that regulation should focus on outcomes — holding people accountable for harm or illegal actions regardless of the tools used — instead of trying to legislate the technology itself. Dahbura said he also sees a problematic narrative forming around AI as a threat that must be neutralized, likening it to a "pitchforks and torches" approach. 'It feels a little bit like people are marching up the hill to get the bad guy that is AI,' he said. 'And if they corner the bad guy, then everything is great.' The risk of taking regulations too far, he added, is placing unnecessary and ill-conceived burdens on the industry, potentially stifling innovation without offering real protections for people. Lawmakers have created other advisory bodies aimed at studying the impacts of AI. In 2023, the state approved a bill that created an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council within the Department of Information Resources to study how AI systems are used in state government, whether they infringe on legal or constitutional rights and recommending ethical guidelines. That council was disbanded after submitting its report to lawmakers in December 2024. A separate AI and Emerging Technologies Select Committee also made recommendations such as requiring state agencies to audit their AI systems annually, provide state employees with training on AI ethics and data privacy and the formation of an AI sandbox. This recommendation led to HB 149's sandbox program. A major concern raised during initial hearings was the deceptive potential of AI — from cloned voices to deepfakes — and how such technologies could undermine democracy and public trust. By mid-2024, agencies were required to report their AI activities to the advisory council, whose findings informed this year's legislation. Capriglione, who also championed HB 4, the state's landmark data privacy law, played a central role. Alongside Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, they held meetings with experts in AI, consumer advocacy and technology to figure out what responsible AI governance should look like in Texas. Out of these meetings came a bill by Parker focused on regulating AI within government agencies and Capriglione's first attempt to regulate AI in the private sector. Capriglione's original proposal, HB 1709 — also known as the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act — focused on regulating AI in health care, employment, and finance. It was modeled after the European Union's AI Act. But the tech industry pushed back, calling it too broad and burdensome. 'Regulating AI in industry is a more difficult proposition,' said Greenberg, the UT-Austin AI expert. 'You may get pushback from industry saying that this is going to put us behind or stifle innovation.' The bill never made it to a House committee. Capriglione came back with HB 149. Across the country, nearly every state in the country introduced legislation related to AI this year, while others already have laws on the books. Texas carefully studied Colorado's AI law, which was signed into law this month and targets AI systems used in decisions related to education, employment, financial services, government services, health care, housing, insurance, or legal services. The bill aims to prevent discrimination based on protected characteristics like age, race or gender. Texas lawmakers are also considering other AI-related bills during this legislative session, which ends June 2. One would require that political advertisements disclose whether images, audio, or video have been substantially altered using AI. Another bill seeks to prohibit AI-generated child pornography. Disclosure: The Texas Public Policy Foundation has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
