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November 13, 2025
Texas enacted the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (Act), effective January 1, 2026, to establish a framework for regulating artificial intelligence (AI). The Act applies to entities that develop, deploy, or market AI systems in Texas, businesses that offer AI-powered products to Texans, and state agencies using AI systems.
Prohibited Uses of AI
The Act prohibits certain harmful uses of AI, including to generate child sexual abuse imagery or illegal deepfakes, to incite self-harm or criminal activity, to infringe on constitutional rights, or to engage in unlawful discrimination.
It also prohibits government entities from using AI for social scoring – i.e., evaluating or classifying people based on social behavior or personal characteristics with the intent to calculate or assign a social score that is likely to result in detrimental or unfavorable treatment or the infringement of their rights.
The Act further prohibits a governmental entity from developing or deploying an AI system that uses people’s biometric data if the data collection would infringe on their rights.
Regulatory Sandbox
The Act promotes responsible innovation through a new regulatory sandbox program.
A regulatory sandbox is a regulator-supervised controlled environment in which companies can test new products and services with relaxed or modified regulations for a limited time. It allows regulators to understand the potential challenges and benefits associated with innovations, while allowing companies to test new ideas without the risk of regulatory non-compliance.
Here, the Act allows companies to test AI systems for up to 36 months. During that period, approved program participants are exempt from certain state regulations and penalties, but they still are required to comply with the Act’s core prohibitions.
Transparency
The Act requires government agencies to clearly disclose when citizens are interacting with an AI system.
Artificial Intelligence Council
The Act establishes a new council to support AI innovation, identify potential legislative improvements, and provide guidance on AI systems.
Enforcement
The Texas Attorney General has exclusive enforcement authority for the Act. No private right of action exists. The Act allows the Attorney General to obtain civil penalties of up to $12,000 for curable violations and up to $200,000 for uncurable violations.
Takeaways
Take the time now – before the Act’s January 1, 2026, effective date – to review and evaluate your uses of AI to ensure compliance with the Act.
The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Texas, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
