Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA)

The Texas Legislature enacted HB 149 in 2025 as the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act. The act took effect January 1, 2026. It amends Texas Business and Commerce Code and Government Code provisions and regulates certain AI uses in the state. Its structure differs from Colorado’s high-risk-system framework: Texas prohibits specified conduct, establishes selected disclosure requirements, creates a state AI council and regulatory sandbox, and assigns enforcement to the attorney general. The act prohibits developing or deploying an AI system with specified intent to incite or encourage self-harm, violence, or criminal activity; to unlawfully discriminate against a protected class; to infringe specified constitutional rights; or to produce certain unlawful outcomes. It also addresses biometric identifiers and other conduct under conditions stated in the statute. These provisions should be read with their definitions, intent elements, exceptions, and other applicable law. The act does not make every inaccurate or harmful AI output an automatic violation. Disclosure duties apply to defined settings, including certain government uses and AI used by health care providers in services or treatment. The exact trigger and timing depend on the statutory text, so organizations should not generalize a government-chatbot example to every private consumer service. The act establishes an AI regulatory sandbox administered through the Department of Information Resources, with participation subject to application and program conditions. It also provides an attorney-general complaint and investigation route, a 60-day notice-and-cure period before an action in specified circumstances, and civil penalties. The statute does not create a general private right of action for individuals. A review should map the Texas system, use, statutory trigger, disclosures, prohibited-intent risks, complaints, and sandbox status. Keep evidence of safeguards and remediation. The act operates alongside other state and federal laws; compliance with TRAIGA alone does not resolve civil-rights, privacy, health-care, or consumer-protection obligations. Because this is a new law, official amendments, implementing information, and enforcement practice may clarify how specific provisions work.