Maryland lawmakers prepare AI regulation bills targeting housing, employment

Maryland lawmakers are set to consider multiple AI regulation bills during the January legislative session, addressing concerns about misuse in industries, privacy violations, and misinformation. The proposed legislation reflects growing recognition that artificial intelligence requires comprehensive oversight, with state officials comparing its transformative potential to electricity while acknowledging similar risks.

What you should know: Maryland’s General Assembly will weigh several AI-focused bills covering education, employment screening, and consumer protection.

• State Del. Caylin Young, a Baltimore Democrat, views AI as “transformational” and comparable to “the wheel, like electricity, like the computer and the semiconductor.”
• Young’s proposed education bill would require the Maryland Department of Education to evaluate current and future AI use in public schools, though a similar measure failed to pass last April.
• The state created a workgroup in April to develop recommendations for AI regulations in employment, housing, and other consumer-facing applications.

Why this matters: Maryland joins a growing number of states attempting to regulate AI amid minimal federal oversight, creating what experts describe as a “patchwork of differing state regulations.”

• The potential for AI safety risks became evident locally when former Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert lost his job after an allegedly AI-generated racist audio recording was falsely attributed to him.
• Republican Del. Jesse Pippy of Frederick County emphasized the need for “guardrails on AI,” citing legal cases where lawyers faced consequences for using AI-generated memos containing inaccurate information.

The regulatory landscape: Federal AI policy remains in flux following recent presidential actions and congressional debates.

• President Trump signed three executive orders in July aimed at pursuing AI “global dominance,” including easing environmental rules for data center construction.
• Trump previously rescinded President Biden’s AI guidelines that established privacy, research, and worker rights safeguards.
• The U.S. Senate rejected legislation that would have frozen state AI regulation, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans arguing such measures would hinder AI advancement.

What experts are saying: Legal and academic professionals express mixed views on the appropriate level of AI regulation.

• “There are a lot of things we can do before we get to regulation,” said Jamil N. Jaffer, a George Mason University assistant law professor and former associate general counsel to President George W. Bush. “You should try the carrot first of tax incentives and federal government procurement before the stick of regulation.”
• Arkansas information science professor Nitin Agarwal advocates for Congress to establish “a federal framework or set of guiding principles that promotes safety, transparency and accountability while providing a constant baseline across the nation.”
• The American Psychological Association plans to issue a health advisory in the coming weeks regarding AI-generated counseling apps, with APA’s Lynn Bufka stating: “AI absolutely should not be functioning without some sort of human in the loop.”

Key proposals under consideration: Maryland legislators are developing bills targeting specific AI applications and potential abuses.

• State Sen. Katie Hester previously introduced legislation to prohibit AI screening of job candidates except under strict conditions, though the measure did not pass last session.
• Young’s education-focused proposal would help schools “leverage these tools to lesson-plan faster, to grade faster, to be more creative” while addressing reading and math skill gaps.
• Consumer protection measures aim to prevent discrimination and privacy violations across multiple industries.